Danil On the Making Of “These Thoughts”
What was the creative process like for this particular "These Thoughts?"
“These Thoughts” is about the voices in my head that always whispered to me "You're not good enough", "You can never make it" or "You're too weak" and the memories of my youth and school days in which I got bullied and excluded a lot because of my sexual orientation, my clothing style and my personality. The daily struggles with my own identity led to me eventually believing these negative thought patterns myself. Even though it all happened a long time ago, it wasn't until I was in my mid-30s that I really noticed the effects of this time. I was severely depressed when I started writing 'These Thoughts' and the song accompanied me on my way back to life and to myself. That's why it's a kind of liberation for me. Since things are unfortunately getting worse for queer people these days and there is so much hate out there, I would like to use 'These Thoughts' to remind everyone to at least keep your own thoughts positive towards yourself. Because our thoughts shape our reality, right?
Can you talk about the recording and production process for "These Thoughts?"
I've always been in love with 80s and 90s music elements. That's probably because I listened a lot to the radio when I was growing up. I really like the versatility of synthesizers and like to mix them with more organic sounds. I love changing guitar or piano sounds so that they are no longer recognizable as such and I'm really into sampling sounds myself and using them to conjure up ambient textures for my music. I was able to do all of that in the production of 'These Thoughts'. But since I do everything from songwriting, arranging, recording, producing, mixing, and mastering on my own, and had no prior knowledge of music production at all, I had to work pretty hard to realize the vision I had for “These Thoughts.” The nice thing is that you learn something new every day and your skills continue to improve. It is important not to give up and follow your vision.
Have you noticed any particular interpretations or connections that listeners have made with "These Thoughts?"
I've received a lot of feedback from people who really identify with the topic of intrusive thoughts, and who repeatedly use “These Thoughts” as a reminder to be mindful of their thoughts. I've also received a lot of stories about mental health, especially from queer people who have had similar experiences to mine. Many people also feel musically inspired by “These Thoughts” because it reminds them of the sound of the past. But the most exciting story that reached me is about a woman who separated from her fiancé on the day of their civil wedding because she realized through “These Thoughts” that she only had this relationship because she had thought patterns with which she didn't trust herself to get along without this man.
What role do you feel emotions play in your music, and how do you channel them into your performances?
I think emotions are one of the most important ingredients for my music. If I don't feel anything, I can't write or create anything. For me, emotions are a motor that sets energy in motion. Some may use this energy for sport, but many people today don't know what to do with this energy and unfortunately use it for hatred against others or against themselves and I use this energy to express myself creatively. Since my songs are mostly created through emotions, they are forever linked to the song, and every time I hear or sing them, these emotion resonates again. And of course, this is also transferred to other listeners. For me, that's one of the magical things about music and also a reason why I'm not afraid of AI replacing us artists, as some of my colleagues fear. As long as there are people out there who want to feel something when they listen to music and don't just consume music as background noise, there will be artists who will create fantastic music with passion and a lot of emotion.
Are there any specific artists or musicians you dream of collaborating with?
There's actually no particular artist that I would necessarily want to work with, I'm pretty open to all kinds of collaborations. The only thing that's important to me is that the vibe is right and everyone involved can develop authentically. Because then, in my opinion, you can get the best out of the collaboration and really create the coolest things. I'm currently working with many different people on completely different projects and this diversity is the most exciting thing about collaborations for me. If I had to choose someone who I would really like to work with, it would probably be John Lennon. Because we have in common that we both record our music with a 432hz tuning and I love his songwriting. But so far John hasn't responded to my emails. :)