Dani Slovak “Drowning in Fire”
“When you see me, or rather hear me, I want you to remember that you got this and that great, beautiful, and extraordinary things can come out of anywhere.” —Dani Slovak
Inventive soundscapes and powerful sonics weave together with Slovak’s sensitive, evocative vocals. Unapologetically revealing lyrics bleed through captivating melodies, bursting into many powerful moments of catharsis and realization. “Drowning in Fire” is intense, imaginative, epic and haunting, but moreover, it’s a song that needed to be heard.
From being just a rough idea in Slovak’s head, the song poured into a demo one day and from there, it patiently waited for the right person and the right time. Many nights and days later, “Drowning in Fire” was born, along with its message. Slovak opens himself up to be vulnerable and real about the demons he faces.
“Drowning in Fire” is about self-destruction and the struggle of meeting others’ expectations, which again is wrapped up in a storm of short-lived situationships. “I wake up drenched in stranger’s odour as I’m slowly getting older,” is raw and honest. “I know I’m toxic to myself, I ain’t no angel, I’ll burn in hell,” captures the feeling of inadequacy and the frustration one has toward oneself when unable to make a change. By peeling his heart out in the open and showing all the broken and the rotten, Slovak speaks to these complicated, damaging yet humanly relatable feelings that many struggle with, silently and alone.
Sometimes, it may feel like the rest of the world doesn’t understand what you are going through, but he proves you wrong. Through vocalizing things that are unspeakable and often avoided, Slovak cracks the suffocating silence wide open. “Drowning in Fire” makes everyone who is going through the same thing feels less broken and alone, and that is the deeper message that Slovak aims to deliver through all his music. He speaks about queerness, inclusion, and transparency with unapologetic music that’s full of strength. His music is like therapy, putting feelings and experiences in perspective.
As humble as he is in his music, Slovak is as real as a person can be. “I am the same person in real life as you see on my social media or hear in my music,” he stated. “I am all about inclusivity; rather than trying to portray myself as this great artist.” Instead of putting up walls, he uses music as a medium to reach and help more people who just need to know that they’re not alone.
Punk Head: I love the imaginative soundscapes and how deeply evocative “Drowning in Fire” is. Can you tell us more about the song?
Dani Slovak: I wrote a part of this song in my head in summer 2021. I used to do this a lot (writing songs only in my head) because I did not have the skill, yet to produce or make the songs I would have in my head, but I would remember all the songs that really meant something special to me and I wanted to finish them one day. This was one of those songs. Literally a morning after a one night stand, I woke up with this melody and words “I wake up drenched in stranger's odour as I'm slowly getting older,” I looked into the mirror and thought that I could no longer recognise a person who I used to be (that's the hidden meaning behind the obvious one of me being a man-whore), immediately followed by the part “I know I’m toxic to myself, I Ain’t no angel, I’ll burn in hell.”
Then, summer 2022, I saw an advert on Soundcloud for a production contest for KIA - the task was to create a song around their synth—production-wise I went all out; I created all the sounds in the actual song, except for the snare and the guitar, with their synth, which quite frankly is not a good synth, but somehow I just followed my inspiration and I made it work. I only had 17 hours to make the whole song and I wasn’t even sure if I had the production skill to create it, but I knew it was time to finally make “Drowning in Fire”—took me about 15 minutes to finish the writing and then I spent the rest of the time on recording, producing and mixing.
I’m not even sure if those people from KIA listened to it, but I thought it would be a perfect song for one of their car commercials, so I submitted it—never heard from them. Then, in December 2022, I remember I had this track I really love, but is quite lacking that professional sparkle, so I messaged Mike Dwyer, with whom I worked before, because I knew this track would be a perfect fit for him - and it was! He just made it sound so much better and all his notes and changes made this track into a song it is today and I am very proud of both of us.
PH: Was there any challenge that you encountered while making the track?
Dani Slovak: I think, the lack of the production skill, as I said before. However, for the past year, I have made it my only priority to “feel good,” no matter what I’m doing. I I make songs that way; I just start making a song with the intention to have a good time whilst doing it, even though I have no idea what I am doing. A lot of times I am producing and I don’t even really know what I am doing, or what I’m pressing, but I just know that I am loving what I’m doing, so I just roll with it. I am so glad I started doing that and now I know there will be no challenge for me as long as I feel good.
PH: What is your creative vision as an artist?
Dani Slovak: I am the same person in real life as you see on my social media or hear in my music. I am all about inclusivity; rather than trying to portray myself as this great artist, someone unapproachable and who thinks he’s better than everybody, I irradiate a clear image of someone you would meet in a dive bar, to whom you could tell your whole life story and would feel safe around. And that’s my vision as an artist, when you see me, or rather hear me, I want you to remember that you got this and that great, beautiful and extraordinary things can come out of anywhere. There is so much beauty and potential in everyone, you just have to give people the benefit of the doubt - in people you’d never say it about, like your sibling, parent, or a best friend. So my creative vision is to connect and make music that one day could make that person on the other side of the world, who has no one, feel like someone out there, someone they’ll probably never meet, completely understand the essence of their being and will always have their back.
PH: Who are your biggest influences?
Dani Slovak: If we’re speaking music influences, it’s definitely Adele.
PH: What is the one thing that you’d like your fans to know about you?
Dani Slovak: I was raised with a mindset to put everyone else before me. It’s kind of self-destructive, when you truly think about it, albeit beautiful, but it also means, I will always have your back. We got this guys! Life is too beautiful not to fight for it. Oh, and also I’ve known I wanted to be a psychiatrist since I was 12, I think.
