In April 2017, just over one year ago, Danny Dwyer shared his debut single. After a series of features and remixes, "What You Want" formally introduced to the world a St. Louis-born, Los Angeles-based artist with something special.
That special something boils down to intuitive mastery. Danny simply makes it sound easy. The artist-producer's low-range falsetto is smooth as silk, and he incorporates guitar and trumpet on "What You Want" too. It's one of those rare songs where each piece belongs. Nothing sits out of place.
Perhaps that's why a 2017 release could receive a 2018 video—not exactly commonplace in the content rat race. Premiering today, the clip toys with tempo, pacing, and medium, translating life to a collection of film negatives. The visual locks moments in place, and cements LONEWOLF (Yung Bans, LUCKI, Wifisfuneral) as one of the most promising young directors out.
Read an interview with Danny Dwyer below.
Between the newspaper-lined walls and focus on film, much of the video seemed to be about works in progress. Was that an aesthetic decision or a reflection of the song and video itself?
The process of making the song was really natural. I made the whole thing in like an hour one day and decided to put it on SoundCloud on my birthday a few days later. It was the first song I had ever sang on and people responded really well. The song really just flowed out of me and I think this allowed for a rawness that is often missed in music that is more thoroughly written and constructed. Though LONEWOLF and I never discussed this video being "a work in progress," I think this rawness is something that he was able to do an amazing job of bringing to life with the decisions he made directing this video.
How did you and LONEWOLF connect? What did you learn from the experience of producing a video—your first I believe?
He hit me up on Instagram saying he was a fan of the song and would love to work on something. About a month before this someone had shown me one of the Lucki videos he did and I fell in love with his style so I was really excited to find out he liked what I was doing. We shot the video about a week later when he was in LA. Throughout the process of shooting my first video my eyes were really opened to how integral visuals have always been to the music creation process for me. Every song I make is very closely tied to distinct images and this video was the first chance I've had to really bring that to life.
The video comes out one year after the song. What’s your highest high and lowest low from the past year?
My highest high has been moving back to LA into a loft downtown with some other really talented artists/producers. I have been back and forth between LA and St. Louis for the past few years and I finally feel like I'm in a situation where I am excited to wake up every day and create. Honestly, this year has been pretty good to me I can't complain.
What challenges have you experienced trying to be both a producer and artist in the industry? How do you think about them differently?
I've never really seen a difference between the two. To me, I'm just creating and whatever comes out comes out.
When did you know music was your calling? Why is it so special to you?
My whole life. I've always written songs and in high school, I got a laptop and started learning Ableton. For as long as I can remember, music has been the lens through which I make sense of the world and hopefully help others do the same.
