What Danny Hughes (DCPA) pays attention in music.
Where does the soul of your music come from?
I think the soul of my music comes from an aggregation of significant experiences over time, inspiration from vocalists/collaborators, and hearing new and old music from other artists. When I’m making music or listening to old favorites, there is a narrative from my own past attached to those songs. New music that I’m producing or discovering attaches itself to the present narrative.
To keep a universal spirit in my music, I pay attention to what’s happening in my hometown and also around the world.
Why were you inspired to make your latest release?
‘Keep Your Eyes Closed’ is for anyone who’s navigating some sort of existential conflict. I’d had the recorded vocals from Marcia (MISHA) Sondeijker for almost a year before I really started to build a production around it. I’ve been going at the music business professionally for 6 years, and that has its share of ups and downs. The music industry is daunting and comes with a lot of outside criticism and self-doubt. For me, this song is a reminder that any time I’m overcoming a new challenge or experiencing negative feedback, I try to just relax and keep a patient mindset and channel that energy to becoming better. I’ve come to know that I’m paving my own way in life now, and things will work out with time and effort.
In some way, everyone around the world was forced into unfamiliar adversity during the past couple of years. I hope the song can bring positive energy to many and lift them through hard times.
How would you describe the release in one word?
Empowering.
How much love do you put into making a new single?
I try to put as much as possible into each release. I think similar to loving a person, love for a production can increase your commitment heavily to that song, and in turn cause you to bring out your best artistry.
How much time do you have to make sure you spend on new music?
I try to spend at least 40 hours per week working on new material, spread out across all days of the week. After doing music full time for a while I realized that planning for live shows and operating the business side can easily disrupt your creative workflow. I also realized that spending too much time working on music can cause me to overlook certain day to day strategies. So touching on all of these areas daily is key. I plan on outsourcing more of the business and marketing in the future, but I like to learn hands-on first.
I try to take advantage of any opportunity I can to produce new music because you never know where time and creativity can suddenly disappear. I think most artists have to spend time figuring out what side of the music business comes natural to them, and where they should hire help in order to free up time for creation. At the end of the day, the music has to come first!
Is there a fine line of revealing too much of yourself in your music?
Yes, I would say there is a fine line of revealing too much. I think it’s great to reveal yourself in a relatable way to others in a song, but maybe hold back on unnecessary, very specific messaging, or even potentially damaging content that could hurt others, or even be used against you. Instead, you could rely on metaphoric elements and catchy phrases to create a more mysterious and universal appeal.
It’s like writing an angry text to someone, but you don’t send it. Instead, you re-write it a few times until you’ve said just enough to make your point and leave a forum for discussion. Marketing has a lot to do with telling stories behind songs, so there’s plenty of opportunity to elaborate on undertones of your music and connect with your fans.
How do you make sure to always serve your fans the best of you?
Currently, I’m focused on making sure I’m taking big steps forward on content delivery. Also, I’m trying to perform live in the Austin Texas area as much as possible. A big part of my story is that I worked in public accounting for a decade, and for 5 of those years, I was still building up my DJ and production career part time. As of last year I’ve made a full time commitment to DCPA, and I want to be an example to other working professionals or students of music who want the same. I’m always open to conversations with fans or upcoming musicians, and enjoy helping others, just email me at info@dcpamusic.com
Where do we stream and support you?
The easiest way to support quickly is to follow DCPA on your favorite platform and be sure to save ‘Keep Your Eyes Closed’ to your most popular playlist!
Keep Your Eyes Closed- https://hypeddit.com/link/x8ugjo
Hyperlinks: