Emerging US artist slimdan has released his new single, Be Somebody. We asked him the BIG questions . . .
Speaking about the new offering, he says, "Be Somebody is a song about me having a conversation with my teenage self. At the time it was written, I was 24 years old living in my parent's house and musical directing bar mitzvahs.
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"I’m pretty sure I texted my mom to get more cereal before walking into the session to write it, lol. I made this with Ryan Linvill and Noah Conrad and the intro to the song is a clip used from a snoring app that recorded me sleep-talking to my wife."
Growing up in a modern Orthodox family and attending Jewish school in Sherman Oaks throughout his formative years, slimdan (then just plain old Danny Silberstein) found his way to the guitar through his mom’s love of music.
"She has amazing taste," he says. "And was exposing me to artists from Paul Simon to Moby to 50 Cent when I was a kid. That’s how I found my way to playing and writing songs."
After four years at college in Boston, he returned to Los Angeles and "had every intention of working in a coffee shop and trying to tour in an indie band, but I started getting invited into pop sessions," he recalls.
"I was bored of guys with acoustic guitars and didn’t think the universe needed another one, so exploring the way other artists create was really interesting to me."
He adds, "I’m just trying to be myself," he explains. "I don’t take myself too seriously and want to focus on the artistry of making music. I’m not trying to dominate the charts. I just want to write songs and work with other artists I love."
Tell us three things about yourself?
I unironically love Gossip Girl. I have a bulldog named Mozart. I can’t fall asleep without a white noise machine.
How would you describe your music?
"I don’t hate it." - My grandma.
Who are your musical inspirations?
Paul Simon, Kid Cudi, Grizzly Bear, Max Martin.
What was the first gig you ever went to and the first record you ever bought/downloaded?
My first show ever was a Neil Diamond concert in Los Angeles. He came out and ripped Cracklin’ Rose harder than you’d ever even think was possible. The first record I ever purchased was Let Go by Avril Lavigne.
What’s your favourite song right now?
Pin it Down by Maddison Cunningham.
Favourite lyric of all time?
Really tough question to answer - y’all had my ass googling Eminem lyrics hahah. I’d probably go with "it leans on me just like a rootless tree" in Damien Rice’s masterpiece Rootless Tree.
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Let’s Go Away For a While by The Beach Boys.
Where can people find your music/more information?
You can check me out on this app called Spotify under the name "slimdan". My Instagram is slimdan9 :)
