DANiiVORY’s upcoming release Dreamland is the artist’s latest album, and it could make anyone get up and start dancing, or sit back and reflect on their past. The project has a diverse sound and subject nature, showing different aspects to DANii’s artistry as a whole. The upbeat pop and R&B tone can be mixed with grounded topics that perfectly balance one another as the album progresses.
You can listen to the album a day early, exclusively with Bridge Magazine. You can listen here.
Singer-songwriter DANiiVORY is an independent, R&B/soul pop artist who has had an absolutely stunning career in the music industry. Hailing from Wexford, Pennsylvania, Dani always had music in her life. Ivory’s mother was a music teacher and a liturgical minister and encouraged Dani to pursue her passion for music. Dani then went on to obtain a higher education at Berklee College of Music and graduated with a dual degree in Contemporary Writing and Production and Vocal Performance.
Dani is not only a talented performer and artist but has an impressive resume to back it all up. Her immense passion, and drive for her artistry and craft would lead Dani to gain colossal accolades such as touring with Beyonce (performances at the 2013 Super Bowl Halftime Show and on the Mrs. Carter Show World Tour), Cee-Lo Green (performances on The BBC, The Late Show with David Letterman, and Saturday Night Live), Rhye (performance on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series), Imagine Dragons, Bridgit Mendler, Gallant, and K-Pop group 2NEI.
Ivory currently lives in Nashville, TN with her husband and daughter where she continues to write and record music from the comfort of her own home studio. Dani has performed on stages of every shape and size – from club gigs to stadium shows, DANiiVORY is one of the few independent artists who can say she has done it all. With influences that range from Janet Jackson to The Beatles, Dani has crafted a dreamy electronic-pop sound that is all her own. In Nashville, DANiiVORY regularly performs at Sid Gold’s Request Room as a pianist and vocalist.
Most recently, DANii toured with major artist Vance Joy.
“Pink Lightning” is the opening piece, and it discusses enjoying life to the fullest extent. The motif of thunder and lighting perfectly match the energy the song has right from the start, and play into the themes of fun and excitement. The electronic beats played alongside these lyrics evoke feelings of freedom and thrill. The beat is calm, with peaks and lows, perfectly depicting the tender lyrics.
“Little White Lie” has an ethereal quality to it, but it lives up to the title. As the song progresses, white lies are exposed over and over again, showing how many little lies accumulated over time. These lies are only a problem because of the sheer quantity of them. Despite all of this, the message is hopeful for the future.
“Blackout” is true to its name, it discusses blacking out and losing track of time, as well as electrical blackouts. It serves as a warning to people for both instances, highlighting the risk involved in each scenario. ‘Blacking out’ in this song mostly revolves around drug and alcohol abuse due to depression. It focuses on showing the struggle behind it, and emphasizing sympathy for people regardless of their situation.
“Don’t Wake Me Up” sticks to the dream-like theme of the EP with its composition. It emulates a daydream, with the message that a dream can be so much better than reality. The acoustic opening is produced in a way that makes it feel like DANiiVORY is right in front of the listener. It relates back to the theme of a blurred line between dream and reality. It then transitions to a layered vocal composition with a pop-like backing track that further shifts the reality existing in this song.The difference in the intro and the rest of the song highlights how much better dream seems to be when compared to real life.
“City of Dreams” continues some of the story in “Don’t Wake Me Up,” but from the other point of view. “City of Dreams” reflects on the reasons why reality is better than a dream, and why escaping into a fantasy is not as good as it seems. The song warns about the dangers of falling further into a dream as it becomes a tool to escape real problems.It acknowledges craving dreams to come true, but warns against the dangers of only focusing on the hypothetical. It encourages the listener to try and achieve their dreams, but not get caught up in them.
“Pride & Joy ” focuses on opposing forces, and using them to work towards a dream. There are images of duality created as the song progresses and the passion picks up in the song. It mainly shows this through the lens of a relationship that is dying out. There is emotional tension, but it’s sung in a way that masks the anger behind it.
“Kings and Queens” is song many people can relate to as it explores the dating scene and looking for someone who can support their partner. The lyrics are encouraging but there is a sense of exhaustion from constantly searching for the right person. Despite the message, the song has a very upbeat tone that would hide the darker subtext of the singer convincing themselves to keep trying.
“What Goodbye Sounds Like”closes the album with a parallel to the introduction. It finishes the story of a failed relationship, while almost saying goodbye to the listener as well. It has a positive message of overcoming the heartbreak after a breakup, or any other situation that ended negatively. It works as the perfect conclusion to the story being told through the album a woman searching for the life of her dreams in a reality that isn’t always as wonderful as she hopes.
To keep up with DANiiVORY, follow her at her website, www.daniivory.com.
