New Release – Daisy by Dany Horovitz
Dany Horovitz is a Canadian singer-songwriter, known for delighting audiences with his memorable melodies and beautiful storytelling through vivid lyrics. Each of the singles off of Dany’s debut album ‘Free Times’, received radio play across Canada, the United States, Europe, and Australia. Dany’s music is infused with modern takes on familiar sounds: melodic guitar and piano chords, popping bass licks, and toe-tapping percussion. His lyrics are stories of love, loss, and life, drawing inspiration from ancient poets, modern philosophers, and personal experiences.
His new single ‘Daisy’ will be out 25th August. A pre-save is available.
Is the song autobiographical?
“I don’t normally write personal songs, and this song is not exactly autobiographical, but it isn’t totally not-autobiographical either. A few years ago, a girl I was dating broke up with me. It wasn’t the worst thing in the world, because we both knew it wasn’t a good fit. But the memory I have is, when she came over to collect her things we had a good hour-long conversation where she broke down into tears about how sad she was that it was not going to work out. I found myself consoling her, letting her know it would all be all right. But the thing of it is, a few weeks later I heard through the grapevine that she was badmouthing of me to my friends, spreading lies. It was the first time someone had done that to me after a breakup and I was really angry, thinking that the tears she cried earlier were nothing but crocodile tears. And for anyone who doesn’t know, crocodiles have these tear ducts that help keep their eyes wet when they’re out of the water, which has given rise to the myth that they weep for the victim they eat. So, to say that someone has crocodile tears is to say someone has been insincerely sad about something, which was certainly the case here.”
“So, I wrote ‘Daisy’ partially inspired by that incident, although I changed many of the details to make for a better song – which is why I can’t really say that it’s an autobiographical song. More like, when I wrote the song I started from a place of emotional truth, which is probably also true to a certain degree of all my songs.”
Do the lyrics have a special meaning to you?
“It is no secret that I am a huge fan of Leonard Cohen’s writing and a lot of the lyrics in my music give a special nod to his songs. In this case, the narrator mentions conversations that he had with a beggar and a rich man, who give different advice for moving forward, and they remind me a bit of the beggar and the old lady in ‘Bird On A Wire’. And the reference to “the night you went clear” is a reference to ‘Famous Blue Rain Coat’ and I always thought was a beautiful way to describe someone disappearing into the blue: where they once stood now the space is empty, that sort of thing.”
Where was it recorded and mixed?
“It was recorded at Dreamhouse Studios in Toronto, Canada. It was mixed there too. Calvin Hartwick engineered, produced, and mixed the song. I also need to pay tribute to Colanthony Humphrey, who plays drums on the track and Sean Royle who plays pretty much all of the other instruments, including the beautiful acoustic guitar solo that really helps the song soar. Vocal arrangement by Kara McKinlay, and mastering by Phil Demetro at Lacquer Channel Mastering in Toronto too.”
When releasing a new single is there a sense of excitement or panic?
“Definitely excitement! Being an independent artist, I can’t really afford to put out any music except for music that I absolutely love listening to myself. I record songs in batches of ten and it’s a process to get them all done and mastered. Then when they are finally ready, I release each song one at a time spread out by six-eight weeks: meaning, by the time a new release comes out, I have had months and months of being the only person I know who has heard the completed song. When it is finally out and the public gets to hear it, it is immensely gratifying. I love getting messages and seeing my songs on playlists.”
