DJ Interviews: Donnie Dynamite

 Hello one & all, DJ Dizzy here & here;s my interview with

How'd you get started in music?

It was about 8 or 9 years ago, I figured there had to be more than just the life and work cycle. The radio was on and was playing The Clash, you know "London Calling". That to me seemed like a sign. It took me a little while to pack up but I moved to London not long after that. You know that feeling when you've been strolling and you realise you've just been staring at the grey mass of concrete and asphalt? You forget to take in the surroundings, but when you finally do, you become inately aware of just how blue the sky is and how very green the grass is. It was the same for me when London materialised around me. Suddenly there was music everywhere, not just the bands in bars and clubs,  or the stadium gigs or street performers, but in everything, the din of the crowds, the noise of the tube, everywhere. I felt so incredibly inspired, I started writing songs and silly ditties. Almost daily there'd be another idea. At first terrible, but slowly getting better. Despite being so productive, it actually took a very long time before my music was anywhere near ready for a release. On some tracks I just kept going back and forth between ideas and being really stuck (there's songs that have been with me for these last 8 years and are still waiting to be released). My music took a real leap when I found Jakub [Malar] and later Roald [Schel] to record some parts, suddenly these tracks gained some depth and they became really interesting and unique feeling. When I realised how much I actually enjoyed having their style influencing my music I started reaching out to other musicians. When I reached out to Hans [Fledderus of Headvox] he came back to me with a beautiful rendition of Challenge. That was the time I decided I should really be releasing my music. I reached out to more singers and before long the beginnings of my first album were there.

 

Who are your inspirations or influences?

I could name so many, there's so much great music, so many fantastic musicians. I really like musical chameleons, artists like David Bowie, Primal Scream or Paul Weller who are constantly reinventing themselves. Each release something completely different, that’s the approach I’m trying to take with my music. What suprised me is how much inspiration I get from working with different musicians and how much they influence each track. Sometimes a songs style changes completely because of what someone brings.

 

What advice would you offer aspiring performers?

Hehe, I'm still an aspiring artist myself, so... if anyone's got some good tips, please bring them! I don't really have much advice to give. When I started I found it a bit disheartening trying to break into the music industry, it's so hard to get noticed. Especially these days when there's so many other fantastic indie acts trying to do the same thing, I felt like I was drowning in a sea of excellence. It took me a little while to realise that what I was doing was already 90% of what I wanted to do. I make music daily, I get to work with awesome musicians, I get to release my tracks to the world (and actually be really proud of them). I work really hard on each track, but I enjoy (almost) every minute of it. Yeah, of course it'd be great to get a bigger audience and make a living doing music. That is still the dream, but if I never get there I can count myself so lucky for already being there for the 90%. So... I suppose it boils down to a "Enjoy the journey, not just the destination" kind of thing?

 

How do you set yourselves apart from other bands or singers?

I suppose what makes my music different is the way I work. There's not one band or even a writing method. Every musician brings a little bit of themselves to my tracks, which makes every track so different from the next. And, oh man, my music gets so weird. On the surface it'll be a nice little pop tune, with a catchy melody, but underneath there's the daftest chords, a jumble of synths, bass melodies and maybe a kid's toy. I had this thing on Transtage, where I wasn't quite sure where to go with it, but I wanted it to have this big drum sound. I had just started working with this really hip drummer, Kev Zed. So of course, I asked Kev to go crazy, and when I got his tracks back I asked him to go even crazier. When he sent me those tracks, I had him program a crazy beat on top of that. I ended up with this big mess of drum parts which provided just the perfect base for Transtage. I just needed to add the other elements and create a poppy vocal line.

 

Any new gigs or albums in the future?

I don't think there's any gigs anytime soon. Working with so many different musicians from all over the world is a real blessing, but it'll be a logistical nightmare to get everyone together for a gig. However I've got some real exciting releases coming up, a really dark track with the amazing Daphne [Heijsman] singing and a very lovely pop track on which Tiana will be providing the vocals. In the meantime, my first release "Challenge" has just had its first anniversary, if you haven't already checked out my music, that'd be a great start.

Special thanks to him for this interview & lots of luck to him in his music. So until then I'll catch you on The Flipside! Stay awesome & rock n rolll!