Singer/Songwriter Denyah / @Denyuhhh
After months of searching for something new to listen to other than the usual, stale sounds from mainstream radio, I was lucky enough to come across Denyah. Her only song on Spotify was the beachy ‘Easy Baby’, so I was delighted to find loads more content over on her Soundcloud page. I decided to reach out to her and she kindly agreed to share some of her thoughts on music, making it in the industry and more. If you haven’t heard her stuff yet, start now!
How would you describe your sound?
I’ve always had a lot of trouble labeling music in genres specifically. Plus, I’ve only been making music for a year now so I’m still experimenting with my sound, but the goal is to blend R&B vocals and production with indie/alternative. My lyrics and visuals are largely indie influenced for example. I love blending the worlds and playing in the gray area.
Talk to us about the success of ‘Easy Baby’, which has reached over 10,000 views on YouTube alone.
I had NO IDEA ‘Easy Baby’ would blow up the way it did! When I decided to make my first EP I had only released 2 other songs and had under 40 followers on Soundcloud so there was no hint to the success it got. When I first heard the instrumental for it my friend Majona produced I knew it made me want to dance and the lyrics came to me instantly because I enjoyed it so much. I think that is why it blew up, because it’s such a fun song and it flows naturally. It came from such a confident side of me I think people ride with that.
What inspires your music? Is there a goal?
The lyrics/songwriting process. I’m a writer at heart and that allows me to take words into different mediums like music and visuals. I feel like that makes my ideas fuller and more easily accessible. People can now hear and see my words and the instrumentals can help them feel the atmosphere too. My goal is for people to understand me (at different angles) with each song and to make people dance even in my sometimes ’emotive’ lyrics.
Do you have any influences when it comes to your style & video aesthetics?
I love color now, (in middle school I was all obsessed with black and white) but I think color is intimate so my visuals are always more saturated. I’m influenced by the retro style and popular indie artists like Zack Villere and Gus Dapperton. Also, Brockhampton in that they’re self made.
Has being a woman of colour in this industry faced you with any obstacles so far?
Being so young in the industry I haven’t had any explicit obstacles, except that I’m more afraid to take risks. It’s gross how very little women and WOC are getting attention in entertainment even in the indie community. It’s easy to be dismissed so I try to be careful how I look and topics I discuss in my songs, it’s like self-censorship which can be annoying but I find a good balance.
What should we be doing to find & support more lesser-known artists?
Our generation is very privileged to have the ability to share so accessible to us. That plays a big role in what success I’ve had. Soundcloud is amazing for smaller artists because of its lack of bias between bigger and smaller accounts. Your songs will be recommended alongside the latest release from more popular artists which is beautiful so I think more love for Soundcloud (liking and reposting tracks) is super helpful.
3 artists we should be listening to right now?
Let me put you on to the spectacular heat that is…
3. Mileena. Love her, she’s got sweet vocals and groovy music overall. Her song ‘Seasonal Lovin’ is a bop.
Dead or alive, who would you choose to see perform?
I would see Prince because he’s so ethereal to me that it would shake my grasp of existence. He’s one of my emotional influences.
And finally, what can we expect from you in the future?
For the future I’m working on a music video for my song ‘Drive (Ring!Ring!Ring!)’ and also my third and final EP for the year. Which completes my ‘EP trilogy’ I like to call ‘The Snack Trilogy’ which is hilarious.
Follow Denyah on Soundcloud to keep up with her new releases!