Name: Grace Martine Tandon aka Daya
Nationality: American
Occupations: Singer, songwriter
Current release: Daya's new single “Julienne,” also featuring a remix by Devault, is out now.
Recomendations: I would say the book Braiding Sweetgrass— it’s really informative about the natural world and our relationship to it as humans.
I’d also recommend the most recent Caroline Polachek album because I think it’s such a beautiful melting pot of genre and sound.

If you enjoyed this Daya interview and would like to stay up to date with her music, visit her on Instagram, and Facebook.



When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

I don’t always but sometimes I see pictures, like little vignettes, especially if the lyrics paint really vivid imagery.

Even while writing, I often call up visual moments from whatever story I’m trying to tell in my songs through details like what color was the sky, what was happening in the room at the time, etc in order to paint the full picture. But sometimes it can be more abstract like shapes or colors and also sometimes it’s nothing at all.

What were your very first steps in music like and how would you rate the gains made through experience - can one train/learn being an artist?

My first steps in music happened at a very young age; I learned to play the piano starting at age three and a bunch of other instruments followed after that. I was very musically inclined but very shy and don’t think I started trusting in my own creative ideas until much later.

I think that anyone can train to be anything if they work at it long and hard enough. It also helps to fully immerse yourself in whatever it is, ask questions, and dig into yourself to see what you genuinely align with— because if you don’t, it can take you a lot longer to get to where you want to be.

And also, failure is inevitable — and the more you’re aware of that fact the easier it is to adapt when it does happen.

According to scientific studies, we make our deepest and most incisive musical experiences between the ages of 13-16. What did music mean to you at that age and what’s changed since then?

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what was going on in those years, but I was in high school and discovering new music almost daily. I was listening to all types of music— indie, pop, rock, R&B, etc. I really looked up to female vocalists / songwriters like Amy Winehouse and Alanis Morissette.



I also remember hearing artists like Lorde and Frank Ocean around that time for the first time and falling in love with their vulnerability and their ability to paint these landscapes with their lyrics that somehow just felt like a punch to the gut every time.

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music and what motivates you to create?

I try to approach every session as something to grow and learn from even if we don’t finish the song or I don’t end up using it for my own project. I try to keep an open mind and also stay open to others’ ideas because often it leads to things I would never have come up with on my own.

Honestly there’s a lot going on in my mind at all times so most of my creating feels motivated by a necessary energetic release of some sort.

To quote a question by the great Bruce Duffie: When you come up with a musical idea, have you created the idea or have you discovered the idea?

I think we’ve discovered it; I like to think that there’s some sort of a universal pool for creators to tap into and generate new ideas. I think we’re kidding ourselves to say any of us have completely and 100% original ideas.

I remember hearing a story about Michael Jackson being worried that his best ideas for songs would leave him and go to Prince next so that’s why he needed to get them out right away and I’ve always thought that was funny.

Paul Simon said “the way that I listen to my own records is not for the chords or the lyrics - my first impression is of the overall sound.” What's your own take on that and how would you define your personal sound?

When I first started writing, I was very focused on what the lyrics were and how something was said to a point where it was hard to get perspective on the overall sound of the song while listening back.

Now I try to listen as if I’m hearing it for the first time, but unless I give it a few months, that’s usually hard to do. So I generally just search for whatever the feeling is and if that’s there then I feel good about it.

I think my personal sound is constantly evolving and hard to clearly define but I feel like now it’s one of those things where I can recognize it when I hear it.

Sound, song, and rhythm are all around us, from animal noises to the waves of the ocean. What, if any, are some of the most moving experiences you've had with these non-human-made sounds? In how far would you describe them as “musical”?

I saw a lion at the San Diego Zoo recently and it had the most amazing roar I’ve ever heard. It was so majestic, it was hard to believe it was coming from its small body. It was just absolutely incredible to hear it in real life.

I think anything is musical when it evokes some sort of visceral body reaction like that did for me.

From very deep/high/loud/quiet sounds to very long/short/simple/complex compositions - are there extremes in music you feel drawn to and what response do they elicit?

It kind of depends on my mood— I can sort of be pulled into anything. But I do like hearing contrast within a song; having the really loud elements be complimented by soft ones; same with really complex and really sparse.

I think that contrast is what makes all of it interesting to me.

Could you describe your creative process on the basis of one of your pieces, live performances or albums that's particularly dear to you, please?

My song “Her,” which was on my last EP, was one of my favorite writing processes.



The producer Oscar Scheller unintentionally had this slowed down version of another track in the same file as the track we were working on together, the file kept going and it ended up playing it out of nowhere. I loved it immediately and wanted to add it in as a sort of B section and we decided to put this transitional tape sound effect in as if we were slowing down the tape or something.

I love stumbling into things like that by accident, it can give a whole new unintentional life to the track.

Do you conduct “experiments” or make use of scientific insights when you're making music?

I think by nature of what songwriting is, every session is a sort of experiment on what works and what doesn’t.

It’s hard to make clearly defined “rules” in the same way science does because exceptions can be made to so many rules in music and nothing is ever done in the same way twice. But I feel like it’s helpful to find what works along the way for my own personal taste.

How does the way you make music reflect the way you live your life? Can we learn lessons about life by understanding music on a deeper level?

I think with music I try to take risks and be spontaneous, capturing whatever the feeling of the room in the moment is. I’d like to think that approach is similar to how I live my life. Also, I grew up a fairly private person and found it hard to be vulnerable and would rarely cry in front of other people.

Now I feel much more in touch with my emotions and I think music has had everything to do with that too.

Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

I think anything, including making a cup of coffee, can be art if you put the intention in. I think if anything music could be inherently more complex in the sense that you have more of a “palette” to play with, and there’s naturally more freedom and opportunity in that.

But I wouldn’t discount anything as not being advanced or interesting enough to be art. I think art is everywhere around us all of the time!

Every time I listen to "Albedo 0.39" by Vangelis, I choke up. But the lyrics are made up of nothing but numbers and values. Do you, too, have a song or piece of music that affects you in a way that you can't explain?

I sometimes feel that way when I listen to the Cocteau Twins because I never know what they’re singing. And the first time I heard those guitar chords paired with the melody in the chorus of “Cherry-coloured Funk,” I felt such a visceral reaction in my body.



I think it goes to show lyrics can be a really great addition but they aren’t always necessary to make the music effective.

If you could make a wish for the future – what are developments in music you would like to see and hear?

I think I’d like to see the power move more into the creatives’ hands. I don’t think it’s close to being there at this moment and with the way the whole system is structured it may be a while before that happens.

But it is really heartening to see more independent artists than ever thriving right now, so I think right now it’s just about continuing to grow that and educate people about it.