I've known Day Day since he was probably 14 years old. Although he has grown much since then. One thing that has remained constant is his passion for his music. From recording in his bedroom with just a mic and some music software, to now a fully equipped mini home studio. Like any true artist, his equipment never stopped him. He was always still able to write and produce great tracks making do with what he had. Whether just for fun("Eat some chicken") or something more professional("Story so far").
While you all hear the final clean cut EP, I've seen the hours of repetition mixed with rugged rapture of the process that goes into it. The hunger, red eyes, frustration and pure ecstasy. The years of mix-tapes and talent shows, collaborations and open mics. Now comes the much anticipated real deal, polished and perfected EP, "A Day In The Life".
Let's get into it. What to expect from it? 6 hard hitting, original sounding tracks that will cater to your ears pallet. And I'm not being biased just because one of those tracks is a tantalising collaboration with me (Sarenity). **Blush**. It's real. I'm going to share with you a couple of my favourites. This first one is called "All I do is Complain" - law to procrastination it's pretty self explanatory. It talks about something we all can relate to in some way or another. Having a talent but not doing anything with it and then complaining about it. If you want your circumstances to change you have to stop talking and start doing.
Opening with a church organ playing you get a sense of a raw old school hip hop track, expecting a gully dark atmospheric track but then you're pleasantly surprised once that subtle melodic guitar teases you then the hard hitting beat jumps in. No long intro Day Day gets straight to it. In this first verse, for me, it's easy listening- the sound of how he spits his lines is fully formed and enunciated and the timing is on point. Like all his tracks on this EP he experiments with different rhymes and flows, keeping you engaged and interested. His flow is far from boring, his word play is fun and fresh and beneath all that he still gives you the lyrical content too.
At 1.41 he builds to a crescendo and its so fitting following with a few of my favourite hard hitting lyrics to make you think. You can't ask for more. Unlike some other new independent artists EP's the quality and sound of the final cuts are the best I have heard his work to date. Showing how much he has grown as an artist and producer. He takes risks not conforming to any trends or what's popular now. When listening to his EP you can tell he has gone off passion and what kind of sound he is feeling.
My next favourite has to be..... "Chaos Reigns". 'Welcome to the circus, the concrete jungle, the deathly hallows- we are the worlds example'. How could I not talk about this track? It oozes originality and it does exactly what it says on the tin. Although at times explicit - it's definitely chaotic. It's like going to a tapas restaurant and getting to try everything in one sitting. With this track you get a bit of everything and Day Day showcases his double threat at its finest. Rapping hard and giving you a solid production. After the first verse you slyly want to pull up that track and hear the first minute again!
Where to start? It's like going on a hip hop roller-coaster. Ebbing, peaking and roaring- literally! You have to listen to this more than once to feel what Day Day is really talking about. I love that with every listen of it you dig down to another layer. If you want that hype tune you got that on the first play, on the second and third its more than that. Although you wouldn't expect it it's perfect having Dreyce insert his melodic verse at 1.40 its like the calm corner where heartache speaks and although the track doesn't slow in comparison to the pace it started with its much mellow....but not for long! Because chaos isn't like that- you get your breather but it's back again. With Day Day finishing on some truth speech for you:
"...lady gaga gets more plays than Jill Scott and every world leader that was bad is getting killed off....we thrive off the madness in the paper, we're half man half beast its in our nature."
And finally...I have to talk about it. The bonus track "The promise" which almost didn't make it. After us working on it over the course of two years and never making time to finish it - we did this summer, perfect for his release. This track is different to the overall sound of the EP it's stripped down to the rawness of the issue and the music is the bubble in which it is wrapped in. It features me playing live guitar. The whole song was based on a guitar chord structure that we were both feeling and we built up from.
The little ornamentations that decorate the underlying sound is just right. Although the track follows a somewhat typical structure it digs deeper as you go through it building to a crescendo- a release in the middle eight. The idea was to keep the atmosphere of the song in everything we added. The main drive and passion for this song came from the issues we talk about in this track. 'The Promise' touches on many issues but essentially is about making a promise to yourself to change your circumstances and break free from what is holding you down- whether yourself, society or those around you. It's not a promise you will break or can afford to either if you want to get to where you're going. I can't stress enough how natural it was creating this sound it's almost like it wasn't hard work although a lot of consecutive hours were spent on it....the final result. Beautiful! Listen for yourself.
The first session we did on this track was the first time me and Day Day created something. We'd talked about it for years but never got round to it. The experience that day was mind blowing. Instantly there was a perfect musical harmony between us. Each bringing something different to the table. I'm elated every time Day Day and me get together. It's truly musical madness. We both can communicate our thoughts and criticisms through a look or sigh and it saves so much time knowing what we are both thinking. He's an encouraging producer and gives you a space to be creative just as you are and does it purely for his love for music which feeds into the tracks that come out of that studio. He's open to anything and everything and although we get carried away sometimes. There's never a dull musical moment. There's more to come from us so stay tuned.
So there you have it. "A day in the life".
If you are feeling this fresh UK Talent support him by downloading Day Day's EP for free at www.mrtomorrow.co.uk . All of this and he's still only 20 years young! Who knows what the future holds.
If you are feeling this fresh UK Talent support him by downloading Day Day's EP for free at www.mrtomorrow.co.uk . All of this and he's still only 20 years young! Who knows what the future holds.
Alternatively all videos are on youtube http://www.youtube.com/user/daydayofficial.
-Congratulations on your hard work Dayle. It's paying off.
http://www.soundcloud.com/daydaybiggerdr...
http://www.myspace.com/daydaykingofkings
http://www.facebook.com/daydaybiggerdreams
http://www.twitter.com/daydayofficial
Photos of Day Day taken by the talented photographer Joey Camson:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hdcamson
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