Danny Aro – Temptations

By starrymag | November 2, 2021

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

 

A) On my two recent tracks–“Saint Laurent Bad” and “Temptations” with PUCKER and Distant Matter–I went for a dancey, club sound. I wanted to create songs that made people let loose without any worries. I think the energy in my voice on those songs gives off that vibe. However, I’d describe my main sound as punk-rap. I try to combine the elements of artists like Linkin Park, Finger Eleven, or Puddle of Mudd with artists like Kanye West, Juice Wrld and Post Malone because that was the combination I listened to growing up. On my tracks coming up in 2022, you’ll definitely be hearing those punk-rap vibes come out since it’s something I’ve seriously delved deep into as I further myself as an artist.

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

 

A) My early musical influences were Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Linkin Park and Genesis/Phil Collins. The first album that made me want to write music was Watch the Throne by Kanye West and Jay-Z. They sounded so confident, real and provided an energy on the album like nothing I had heard before. They enunciated confidence. This led to constant freestyling, then later writing. As I developed my writing I realized rap wasn’t the genre that I connected with as an artist. Although I love the genre so much, even to this day, I realized rap wasn’t the sound I personally emulated with when I heard myself rap through the speakers. I felt like a poser. This led me to find a serious interest in artists such as Post Malone, Juice Wrld, Led Zeppelin, Bob Marley, Saint Jhn, etc. and a continued interest in Kanye West and Genesis/Phil Collins. I feel these artists break the barriers of music and make hits out of their raw emotion. Songs like “Come and Go” by Juice Wrld, “Three Little Birds” and “Exodus” by Bob Marley and “94 Bentley” by Saint Jhn make me realize artists can make hits that connect with people on such a raw level and hits them in their hearts. That’s what I hope to do with my music for my fans because the artists I listened to my whole life always did that for me.

 

Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “Temptations.”

 

A) I honestly forget how Distant Matter and I first connected, but I do remember we were trying to meet in New York City in the middle of last Summer to make a bunch of songs together. Due to time conflicts, we never were able to meet in the city which we were both upset about. I remember sitting with my girlfriend in the Stamford apartment living room when Distant Matter sent over the “Temptations” Demo that he and another artist wrote for me! I never had a song written for me! After listening to ten seconds of the demo I knew I had to make the song. I hit him back and said I wanted to think it over; however, I knew I was going to wake up and accept the project. I asked him if I could change some of the lyrics to fit my vocals better and he said that was totally fine. The next day I woke up, accepted the project, booked studio time, rewrote what I wanted changing, did my thing on the vocals with my engineer Dan Eisenbach and then sent everything to Distant Matter. He did the rest of the editing on the production and mastering side and continued to send different edited versions. We found the path we wanted to go for on the track, he finished it up and uploaded it and that was it!

 

Q) What do you think it is about the song that fans connect to?

 

A) I think the initial “I got” line and continued energy on the track catch people. I think people want to dance and have fun with their friends right now, especially coming right out of a pandemic. The track exemplifies club energy perfectly and makes people want to dance and say hi to the girl they’ve been thinking about saying hi to all night in the bar. I think that’s why it’s had so much success so far, and I’m so happy to see it does that for people.

 

Q) For songs you create with lyrics, what is your songwriting process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics?

 

A) I usually need a beat first. It doesn’t have to be the final beat used for the song, but I need some beat to freestyle to. That’s how I start. I load up a voice memo, play the beat, and freestyle my initial vocals on it. Most of the time that first take is the one I want to work with, but sometimes I freestyle a few times more on the same beat if I’m not satisfied with the first take and then combine everything into one. It all depends on the song. After that I listen to the voice memo, write down the lyrics and change what I want changed, and then either finish it in the moment or leave it for some time. I usually don’t touch it for a bit unless I have to record the song soon. I’ll sometimes even edit lines on the fly in the studio to make the song fit better since I’m hearing it in its studio form. Then, I’ll either have someone produce a beat from scratch around the vocals or I’ll speed up or slow down my melody if I find the final beat I want the track on. Again, all depends on the song, but every song starts with the initial freestyle and initial beat.

 

Q) How much of hand do you have in the production of your music?

 

A) I have a few producers and I’m in heavy contact with them constantly. I usually let them do their thing production wise because I like everyone on the team to have an equal creative process, but files are sent along the way to make sure the direction is aligned for everyone involved. Everything is confirmed with each other before release and the nuts and bolts of the production are figured out over weeks of time. I’d argue production is the most important part of music. An amazing beat can make any words feel special. That’s why the production usually takes some time because we want to make sure it’s perfectly and coincides with the vocals.

 

Q) Will there be a full album or EP coming in the near future?

 

A) I’m currently working on a project called Aro2theheart. It will be my first studio project, and it’ll probably be released in a year or two down the line after an accumulation of singles. There may be an EP drop in between that time, I don’t know… I guess we’ll have to see!

 

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?

 

A) I would love to make a song with Post Malone and Phil Collins together. I feel like that would go hard.

 

Q) What album/band are you currently listening to and why do you dig them? 

A) I can’t stop listening to Donda, Melodic Blue by Baby Keem, Montero by Lil Nas X, and Glaive. Glaive’s new EP, then I’ll be happy, dropped on October 6th and I haven’t stopped playing it. That guy is going to be huge one day I can feel it.

 

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with your fans?

 

A) I talk to my fans on Instagram almost every single day. Although my social media presence isn’t large yet, I’ve been so happy to have the conversations I’ve had with my fans. I’ve met so many wonderful people from the U.S. and places like Brazil, Germany, etc. I ask fans when they want songs to come out, their takes on songs, etc. because I want to make sure they’re vibing with the path as much as I am. I will be creating my own Discord Server, a Snapchat Spotlight and a Tik Tok soon to be able to engage with fans more. I’m looking forward to when I’ll be able to communicate with fans through those services as well.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

 

A) I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. When I released my first song, “For A While,” I was so nervous that everyone was going to hate it. People were so nice to me about the song, and it accumulated over ten thousand streams in a month. I’ve never felt so happy. I was so shocked everyone liked my music and they said they wanted more. I’m just so lucky. That’s just what music is about in my opinion. It’s about stepping out of your comfort zone and making something because you feel it’s right. Seeing everyone’s support showed me what the music world is: a place for acceptance and family. I know everyone has their haters, and I’ve definitely had my own. However, I have some people who really vibe with my music and I’m so lucky to have that. I really just can’t say thank you enough. Also, I want to say that I won’t give up. We’ve made it this far together and I’m going to make sure I spread this family I’ve created far and wide. I don’t only want to do it for me now but for all the people that have believed in me because I’m so lucky to have them.

 

Listen to “Temptations”