No covers on Shore, the new EP of original music from YouTube star Daniela Andrade
Canadian singer Daniela Andrade has made the leap from YouTube covers to releasing an EP of original music.
Canadian YouTuber and singer-songwriter Daniela Andrade is one of the Youtubers to make the leap from Youtube to live shows.Known for stripped-down acoustic covers, Daniela Andrade has recently joined other YouTubers in making the leap to original music with her debut EP, Shore. The singer-songwriter chatted to Young Post about her upcoming Hong Kong show.
Are you looking forward to visiting Hong Kong?
Oh man… so much. I visited in 2014 and fell in love. I loved the culture, everything about it was amazing. I went to Victoria Peak and walked down Sneaker Street. People’s fashions were really interesting – just so cool. And the dim sum was amazing. I’d love to check out more of the local music scene. Just go to a small show and check out what’s happening. I saw buskers on the street and they were amazing.
Any plans for your show here?
I’ve never done a headline tour of Asia before, so the fact that I’m just going to play a show to an audience I’ve never interacted with before is so exciting and special to me.
I’m going to be just an acoustic act by myself. It’s a challenge, but a really exciting one. It’s really intimate whenever I’m performing by myself. It feels really connected. I’m excited to meet the people of Hong Kong.
What was the inspiration behind making such a visual EP?
Initially, we had picked Sound as the single for the EP, and it was the only music video we were thinking would happen. When we met with the director Jeremy Compte, he sent us a pitch for Sound, and it was very beautiful and colour-driven, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
I thought it would be really cool to tell a story by piecing the tracks together. I was like, “Hey, this is kind of a story about the fallout of love.” It’s something I wanted to explore in maybe not so obviously romantic ways. The videos are more about symbolism and the director really understood that and ran with it. We gave him a lot of creative freedom and it was really worth it. I’m really happy with how they came out.
Has being a YouTuber made it easier for you to communicate your music through videos?
Oh yeah. It was such a great way to transition. I’d like to say I’ve been pretty transparent and pretty genuine on my channel, and people have really seen my progression and my growth musically.
It always surprises me how kind and accepting people are – more acceptance than I ever expected for the EP and the video. Everyone was really kind and it seemed like they understood this new direction. I was very grateful for that, because there was a little bit of fear over whether it was too crazy or too different from what I was doing before. I was staying really true to my vision and where I wanted to go, so I’m so glad it worked out.
Digital Age is about love in the 21st century. Does technology help or hinder communication?
It’s not the same communicating over the internet. It helps, but there are things that are missing. Human relationships are complicated, and there’s so much that’s lost in the translation of mind-to-internet.
When I wrote that song, I’d just read an article on being able to bury our loved ones on the moon in the future. I thought it was amazing, but there’s also something really great about being able to visit the grave of someone you cared about on Earth. Sometimes I feel like we’re very ambitious creatures that want so much more. But the simple things make us happy as well.
Which artists you listened to as a child or teen shaped your music?
I used to listen to Lisa Hannigan, Damien Rice, and Paolo Nutini. And I can always go back and listen to Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong – the jazz numbers always influenced me. I got into the cycle of listening to new music, and forgetting about the old artists. But whenever I revisit them, they affect me in a very similar way.
What’s the best compliment you’ve received about your music?
I got an email today from a girl in school who said she was feeling stagnant. She said that my music reminded her that everything is a process and everything grows. That touched me very much because I feel I’m in a very similar place as an artist. We’re all going through these phases and it’s really hard to be okay with not being our ideal self – if that even exists. She was expressing that and how my music made her feel at ease with herself. I think that’s one of the coolest compliments I’ve got to date.
Catch Daniela at Kitec on Saturday, October 15