SHN INTERVIEW: delanie
by Claire Silverman
Delanie is a 17 year old independent artist creating music alone in her bedroom. She just released her first EP titled “Comfort Zone” containing 5 songs about her life so far.
CS: Hi delanie, I hope you’re doing well! Congrats on the release of your EP, Comfort Zone!
D: Thank you so much!
CS: What was it like releasing your first EP?
D: It was both exciting and terrifying, it felt like a really big step in my career and I just wanted everything to go perfectly
CS: What was your process like putting the EP together?
D: I had been wanting to put out an ep for awhile, so I had a ton of material written already from the past few years, the most difficult part was deciding which songs would make it and how I wanted it to sound overall, because this project felt like it would define who I’m trying to be as a young artist
CS: Did you have an overarching message or theme for your EP? How did you choose the songs for it?
D: I didn’t write it with a theme in mind but I think there are definitely a few subjects that are prominent. I feel that most people's teenage years contain a lot of aimlessness and questions, and I touch on that a lot. There's also a lot of talk about mental health and childhood/life struggles that I’ve been through and am still dealing with. When I was choosing the songs I wanted to make sure there was a variety of sounds and subject matters while still having a natural flow. it’s kind of like each song is a character, and the ep is a movie.
CS: do you have a favorite song on the EP?
D: I don't think I do, they’re all so personal to me and I put so much work into them individually, so the one I like most changes day to day based on my mood. I can say though, Coming of Age Movies Lied to Me has my favorite percussion, Static was my favorite to record, and Ketamine is my favorite live. They all have little things that I’m partial to.
CS: I wanted to ask you, what’s it like juggling your music and high school?
D: It's difficult, but I’ve been trying to learn how to balance school, music, and my social life for apretty long time now so it’s not really something I think about when doing it. The hard part has been figuring out how to be self motivated and treat making music like a job without that resulting in it feeling like a chore.
CS: What got you started in music?
D: I’m not really sure. This is a dream I've been chasing since I can remember. As a kid everyone wanted to be a ‘rockstar’, and I guess I just never really grew out of that, it’s just evolved with me as I’ve grown up.
CS: Is there someone in the music industry that you look up to?
D: Absolutely, there’s so many. I listen to such a wide range of people it’s hard to put a short list together. I love artists that have a strong aesthetic and individuality, and that speak out about issues that matter to them. I always find myself really falling in love with performers that are open with their audience and do everything they can to connect as much as possible, so that’s what I try my best to do.
CS: Do you have any upcoming projects or news you can share with us?
D: I’ve been writing a ton recently and been working on putting together a second ep, or possibly even a full album, but there’snothing set in stone at the moment.
CS: And to finish, what’s your favorite song at the moment?
D: That’s such a hard question oh gosh, I’d probably have to say either Buttercup by Hippo Campus, California by Yungblud, Habit by Still Woozy, or Thunder by 99 Neighbors.
You can follow delaine on Instagram @delanie.underwood
and on Twitter @_delanie__
Originally published at @SHNradio on Instagram August 14, 2020