A Quick Chat with Daniel Shaw

What/who are your greatest influences when it comes to music and why?

 

Growing up my first inspirations that got me into music were Billy Joel and Elton John. Seeing them both perform on the piano whilst singing and captivating large crowds with their music was really inspiring. As the years went by I started being influenced more by the likes of Coldplay & Ed Sheeran. Their musicianship and songwriting abilities pushed me to write my own music and find my own unique sound and brand.

 

In your latest track ‘drunk high low’, you say that you “go out all alone almost every night”
– where do you go and what do you get up to on your own?

 

 ‘drunk high low’ like the majority of my songs is inspired by a real-life situation, but that specific line in the bridge isn’t. I didn’t really go out alone every night! It was more written to help portray an emotion. That specific line acts as a metaphor for running away from your problems. 

 

What’s the hardest thing about being an artist?

 

The hardest thing about being an artist is the motivation and drive to continue through every season. When things are great, then that’s great but when things aren’t going so well that’s when I have to remind myself that being an artist is who I am; it’s my purpose.

 

Are there any lyrics on the album you released when you were 12 that make you cringe now?
If so, what are they? If not, which lyrics are you most proud of from that album?

 

To be fair, my mum technically wrote most of the songs when I was 12. I was just starting to get into songwriting. But the lyrics that make me cringe the most are found in my song Love - ‘we fill our lives with so many toys, hoping to bring us joy’. I re-released the song on my 10 years album and changed the lyrics to ‘we fill our lives with so many things’ and felt a lot better about that!

 

Another one I find cringe is found in my song No More - ‘you’re a woman any man would crave, but if you do it’s like digging your own grave’. I was only 12 and looking back it feels super weird that I sang that line haha! I re-released that song too on the 10 years album and changed it to “never knew I’d fall for you so hard”.

 

How did you figure out you could play Vance Joy’s ‘Riptide’ with a coat hanger and a ukulele?

 I always like finding random things on TikTok to try, and one day I was scrolling and I saw some guy using a coat hanger to play his ukulele and it did super well… So I decided to try! Was easier than I thought, didn’t think it was going to work initially!

 

What’s next for you?

 Over the past couple of years I’ve spent a lot of time and energy into completing my upcoming EP. I’m so excited that ‘drunk high low’ my first single off the EP is out now. Next up is another single off the EP which I can’t wait to share and I’m super proud of. The full EP will be released later this year along with more shows and a headline tour. 

 

What’s the creative process like for you?

 I generally find I write most of my songs while I’m going through something tough. That way I have a clear image in my head of what it is that I’m writing about and I like starting off with some lyrics. I’ll usually type out whatever is in my head, whether that’s describing a situation I went through, emotions I’m feeling or just a simple line or 2 that I can’t get out of my head. Then I’ll start playing around on the piano and play some chord progressions and mumble with random melodies whilst trying out the lyrics that I’ve written. There’s no real structure after that… Once I find something that I like, whether its a line or 2 or a chorus then I know I’ve got the song in the bag and I generally stop for the day because I don’t have much of an attention span haha! I’ll finish off by recording what I came up with on my phone with a voice memo recording so I don’t forget the idea and I come back to it later.

 

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