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Interview Daughter Darling Sweet Shadows
[Plain Jane Records]
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(
down-tempo):
Sweet shadows is to us a lot more self explained than the band’s
name. Regarding " Daughter Darling " how did you come to that
name ?
( Natalie)
Well, Travis actually came up with the name. He wanted to portray my innocence
almost in a sarcastic manner. Although there is some truth to me being
a sweet little angel…there is still that side of me with somewhat
of an edge. I think the name just really goes with my look. Or maybe it
just goes with my face rather. The name just really seemed to fit my image,
so we went with it, and I love it.
( Travis)
I had brainstormed a few dozen random names. Out of all the names my girlfriend
at the time picked Daughter Darling, and Natalie picked it as well. So,
we went with that one. Here are a few of the other possible names that
we could have picked for your amusement: Make Shift Forty Fathoms ParaSoul
BelowZero Hero a Billion Suns HoneyTone Jezebel’s Obsession Make
Believe Lady Fame Evil Genius Platform 3 Drowning Sketches Aether’s
Crush. Sweet Shadows was actually a name my brother had wrote down for
a group name, and since me and Natalie both picked Daughter Darling as
a majority, we used Sweet Shadows as the album name to preserve some diplomacy.
Me and my brother had almost gotten into fistfights over the name because
he hated it so much. After we had the tracks on MP3.com for a while under
the name Daughter Darling, he wanted to change the name when Natalie moved
here to record and I was not going to change it.
(
down-tempo)
By writing it’s said on your ( naked ! ) biography that you(Natalie)
were shy… What have you learnt on yourself ? What’s going
to be your next challenge ? Where would your vocal style go to for a second
album?
( Natalie)
I have to push myself more to be an entertainer. I am getting good at
putting my hesitation aside and just going with it. I know that there
are a lot of people out there who would love to see us on stage. My next
challenge will be opening up and really putting my heart and soul into
performing for these people. As far as my next album and the vocal style…I
would like to be a little more raunchy and gritty with more expression
and volume. A little but of a swaying from the “dreamy” sound.
It will still be fabulously gorgeous though, I'll make sure of that.
(
down-tempo)You
(Steven And Travis ) claimed in another interview that you couldn’t
play any " proper " instrument. This is for sure one thing in
common with members of Massive Attack… Are there others to be revealed
here ?
( Steve)
Well I absolutely think of the turntable as an instrument. I mean from
one sound wave of "Fresh" or "AHHH" you can get thousands
of different variables with different combinations.
We can play a few notes on the keys to make basslines or little accent
parts to the track, but as far as laying down a chord progression or a
foundation with detailed note variations we tend to relay to some of the
musicians who play on the album what the mood of the track is and they
play until something clicks and we're like "that's it right there!"
( Travis)
Although we can not play instruments in the traditional sense, it doesn’t
mean we can’t communicate musically. To me, anything that is used
to make sounds, is an instrument. Whether that’s a sampler, computer,
turntable, or sounds from nature, they all can make music. The important
part is that you have a vision for your music, a feel, and high standards.
You have to know when to throw something out. Nothing makes me more mad
when artists put a bunch of crappy songs on the album just to fill up
tracks, they know they are crap. That’s why there are only 11 songs
on Sweet Shadows. We feel every one is perfect in its own way. My brother
wanted to take guitar lessons cause he felt he could get his ideas out
more easily, and communicate to the other musicians what he wanted it
to sound like. I told him it was a waste of time because you can never
play as well as someone who has been playing for years, just let them
play. And I felt his time was better spent on focusing on what he does
best, mixing and finding the perfect sounds and scratching, rather than
be a jack of all trades, master of none. In the end, a lack of musical
abilities has forced us to reach out to unlikely sources of sounds from
an unlimited amount of sources. If we were a traditional band with a bass
player, drummer, guitar player, and singer, than all our songs would sound
the same. We would have never ended up with something like “Mermaid”
(
down-tempo)In
‘you won’t see me’ : how did you reach such an elaborate
balance of strings and (versus ?) vocals ?
( Travis)
This song was something Natalie had already written lyrics for. I wanted
to do a very simple acoustic song with Daniel, our cellist, with just
Natalie’s voice and the cello. I was thinking about Lamb’s
song about her miscarriage, not sure what the title is. Daniel wrote the
cello parts himself, he is pretty amazing. I would like to add a funny
fact about Daniel, when he was old enough to drive he could pick whether
he wanted his parents to buy him a car, or a cello…he picked Rosabella,
his cello. Lucky for us!! We didn’t add the Japanese elements till
the final mixdown because I felt the song needed some “sprinkles”,
or “icing” to make it polished. This song was written in the
time it took me to go get a pizza and come back to the studio, Daniel
and Natalie were already done.
( down-tempo)You
met on the web how has it influenced the way you’ve written this
album ?
( Natalie)
It is crazy that we met in this way. It was the most random thing that
I can say I have ever done. The first song, Sad & Lonely was written
just through online collaboration. I did not know Travis Or Steve and
really put my trust into the sample they sent to me. It was like falling
in love online. Only, it was with a song rather than a person. We are
all firm believers that the web has been sort of our reason for success
in some respects.
( Travis)
Well, without the web we wouldn’t have found Natalie, so this album
wouldn’t exist in the first place. The only song that was done without
everyone’s presence in one place was Sad and Lonely, but all the
others Natalie had already moved here to Philadelphia. Natalie would email
me possible lyrics for new songs, and when I liked something I would have
her come to the studio to flesh it out.
( down-tempo)What
did it change when you " actually " met and recorded?
( Natalie)
It was so wonderful to be in the studio with these guys. It felt so good
to have two perfect strangers who made music that fit my voice PERFECTLY.
We just work so well together. As many personal differences as we may
have, when we make music, it all just makes sense.
( Steve)
I think for me it was kinda surreal. I mean to actually have found this
amazing voice after all the auditions we had with all these other local
singers that never really measured up to our expectations of what this
voice should sound like.
( Travis)
To me, it was many emotions. Here we have Natalie, who had never met us
before quit school and move out here and rearrange her life completely,
and now we had to be as one. Sad and Lonely was such a great success,
and it was easy, effortless. However, Natalie was used to working with
a traditional band where things can be jammed out fast and fluid. Now
here she is waiting for us to program drum tracks and sounds which takes
an immense amount of time, and she is getting restless. There was a time
in the beginning where we were having trouble coming up with material
and Natalie wanted to leave, and I got very nervous and said to myself,
we have to do something amazing, and do it quick. And that’s when
we recorded shattered. This is me and my brothers first time doing any
serious project, everything else before this was for fun, at a leisurely
pace, nothing had to be perfect. A lot of pressure was put on me to make
everything come together. I am responsible for mixing, recording, getting
the musicians to do their thing, and making sure Natalie’s vocals
are perfect. I learned the recording software with the manuals in my lap
as I made this album.
( down-tempo)Who’s
got the " final cut " in a song ? Music versus lyrics : who
takes the power ? Who’s got it in the end ? Is Daughter Darling
a living democracy in these regards ?
( Natalie)
I would have to say that if Im not feeling a song, it is terminated. We
have come up with some amazing music that I just could not come up with
a vocal line to. I write all lyrics just because I don’t think I
could sing someone elses thoughts and really appreciate a song. But overall,
we all have a job to do and Sweet Shadows would not have been released
without the influence of each person in Daughter Darling.
( Steve)
I think it is a very well balanced system of musical innovation. There
is times when Travis and Natalie will be working on a part of the vocals
and I will be searching for just the right sound that will fit just right.
So after they finish recording a vocal part I will drop it and they can
be like that's phat or nahh that doesn't sound right and I will search
for the sounds that evoke a chill in everyones ears. For the most part
it's a system of clashing musical styles that somehow in the end winds
up to be the sound that is Daughter Darling.
( Travis)
This is a funny question to ask. I know Steve and Natalie have made it
seem like everything goes hunky dory in the studio and everyone smiles
and gets along, but the truth is its not like that. We have had our shining
moments where everyone bounces ideas around and things move well and others
where its just embarrassing. There are times when we haven’t had
anything for Natalie and its like going to class on the day your report
was due, walking in with nothing and you just wanted to crawl under your
desk. In the end, I have the final say on the songs, I am the one who
obsesses over details and has Natalie sing something over and over if
I don’t like the way it sounds. Since I am the one who does all
the mixing, I will delete parts I don’t like and try and find things
I do. The beginning of a song, its definitely Natalie who gives it the
thumbs up or down. If the music doesn’t move her to write, it gets
trashed. Most of the time, we can agree on what sounds good and what doesn’t.
The sound of Daughter Darling definitely contains small pieces of everyone’s
heart, from the cello which radiates from Daniel, the piano which explodes
from Jeff’s fingers, the words which bleed from Natalie’s
mouth, the dark menacing sounds which are unleashed from Steve to the
intricate drum layering which echoes from my fingers, everyone has their
chance to shine, and in that respect Daughter Darling is a living democracy.
(
down-tempo)About
'dust in the wind' Why did you decide to cover this song? What does it
evoke you? You took it to different grounds yet retained elements of the
original flavour. Is it the folk pop sound we may expect for a second
album?
( Travis)
Dust in the Wind was our last track we recorded. This track as you notice
doesn’t really sound like our other tracks. That is because we wanted
to do a song that would kind of get our foot in the door with many listeners.
We needed a radio playable song, and we felt the best way to do that was
to do a cover. Natalie had always said she would love to cover that song,
and I thought that song really needed to be updated and put to a beat.
The beat on this song is intentionally toned down, not as in your face
such as Let me Speak for example. In retrospect, I don’t think we
even needed to have a radio playable song because the reaction to our
music has been so positive. We are happy with how it turned out. The original
song has so much power to it we really took it as it was and just recreated
it and added percussion. Just having Natalies voice on the song makes
such a dramatic impact.
As far as what to expect for the next album, I don’t think it will
be this type of sound in Dust in the Wind. The sound will be more edgy,
more in your face. I have this huge dislike for groups who try and be
more pop, be something they aren’t. Kosheen sold 500,000 copies
of “Resist” which is a huge accomplishment. I haven’t
read one good review on their new album, they definitely lost what was
appealing in their first record. We do not want to fall victim to the
sophomore curse. I would definitely like to do some more concept songs
such as mermaid, where there is a theme. There was a track we were working
on that was supposed to be on Sweet Shadows called “Crash”
which is about a little girl dying in a car crash. All the sounds you
would expect when someone gets into an accident and ambulance and heart
monitors all mesh with the beat, and it goes from slow breakbeat to a
fast drum and bass beat. We have to rework the song so Natalie can write
something amazing lyrics to it, but its going to be an extremely emotional
song, something that will make everyone cry.
( down-tempo)Lyrics
aren’t to be found on the cd itself but you’ve put them online
on your website. You explain on your own forum the main source of inspiration
for one of your tracks and thus freely answer your fan base in an almost
one-to one relationship. You are totally out of the conventional promotion
system. How far do you want to push this ?
( Natalie)
I do want to have interaction with fans. As the fan base grows though,
this may become pretty demanding. It is important for fans to know that
I read every comment made and even if I do not respond, this doesn’t
mean I’m not appreciative. I have a really busy life outside of
my music career with a newborn and a family and such, so it may not be
feasible for me to have “relationships” with fans.
( Travis)
At first I wanted to have an extra track 12 which was not on the CD itself,
but was a free downloadable track with the purchase of the album. You
would have needed to put in a password contained inside the CD liner notes
to get your track 12 and fill out some simple questions like your name
and where you are from and how you heard about us. But, time restrictions
kept us from making the extra track, and since we have such a personal
connection with our fans they tell us in our forums all we need to know.
The whole point is to have as much of a connection with the listeners
as possible, we deliberately direct them to our website because that’s
a place where not only they can connect with us, they can connect with
other listeners, from all over the world, that you cant do with just a
CD. I would like to push this interaction as far as possible. Since we
are just starting out, our finances cant support a worldwide tour, so
I was trying to figure out a way to “perform live” for everyone,
everywhere. I came up with the idea to do a mini- Portishead NYC, but
to webcast it for like 5$ a ticket. It might be the only way some of our
fans will ever see us. If we get several cameras and tracks, and a nice
set we hope to make the money back by selling tickets through various
online music sites who can get a cut of those tickets sales.
( down-tempo)Lyrics
aren’t to be found on the cd itself but you’ve put them online
on your website. How about the pro bono mp3 tracks you put on daughterdarling.com
?
( Natalie)
We put out the songs in mp3.com to kind of test the waters I guess you
could say. We wanted for people to voice their opinions and we wanted
to get a reaction to this possibility of putting out a full LP. I would
defiantly suggest that musicians go this route when creating a new and
different sound. It makes a big difference.
( Travis)
It was my deliberate intention not to include the lyrics in the CD itself.
We wanted as many people as possible connecting with us through our website.
The two free tracks Sad and Lonely and Broken Bridge were out there for
almost a year. This created a buzz about us, people were saying we were
one of the best new trip hop artists out and we had not even released
an album yet. Its funny, people would get so mad, who the hell are Daughter
Darling? And why do people think they are so great, they don’t even
have an album out. But it helped build up anticipation for the album.
In these days of cd burners where people go online like going through
a field and picking flowers, make a bouquet of songs which sounds best
to them, and burns it onto CD. If you give them a full length song, people
will find a way to listen to it. This was our best marketing strategy
because it built a fan base for free through the internet. Releasing CD
singles is extinct, so this was our way of doing that.
( down-tempo)Are
you web addicts ?
( Natalie)
I am a web dummy. It’s a little overwhelming when I log on b/c the
web is so massive. So I normally just stick with e-mail and checking stats
and the weather [laughs].
( Travis)
I admit, I am the web addict of the bunch. I spend countless hours searching
for new music, reading articles about how ridiculous the music industry
is, emailing and instant messaging, and I am a “forum whore”
as my friend who runs a web hosting service calls them. The internet as
a tool for independent artists is like a small child at the controls of
a nuclear warhead. You can make an enormous explosion into the music scene
if you use it in the right way. Without the web, you are destined to be
the local band everyone knows playing at shitty bars for free liquor who
aren’t listening to you anyway. I want everyone to hear our music
all over the world, and this is the only way to do it without signing
your life away to a major label.
( down-tempo)Is
the world wide web the " only " place to be ?
( Natalie)
I think the web is an amazing network for people that aren't radio-fed
to find music that relates to their own perception as to was good music
is. On the other hand there is nothing better than seeing a live performance
in person than watching a clip on a website.
( Travis)
Of course not, people need experiences. People need to go places, and
smell and feel things. To be able to tour the world will be our ultimate
goal. Hopefully we can make it happen.
( down-tempo)How
about stage ?
( Natalie)
Being on stage is a wonderful place to be as well. It is a rebirth of
our music and its always a different experience. I've never had two stage
performances that were in any way similar.
( Travis)
We are in the process of forming a more dedicated “band” which
will make our live shows much more interesting. We aren’t performing
currently until we perfect our methods to ensure a really good show. Its
going to be quite a challenge.
( down-tempo)Plain
Jane records is looking for talented female artists in development. Any
signed contracts as of yet ?
No contracts yet, but there are a few girls I am interested in. You can
count on whoever ends up on Plain Jane is going to blow you away though.
It will be interesting working with someone else other than Natalie. A
whole new set of challenges.
interview finished in August 2004 and delayed until now. Many thanks to
Daughtersdarling
[retour
à l'actu]
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