Deniz Reno
I love Deniz Reno. She is one of the best people I’ve ever featured on my blog. She is not just a great artist, she is also a beautiful human being with a beautiful soul. She is seriously a great inspiration and I’m glad we kept in touch.
On this interview, we talked about her latest EP titled Acoustic Memoir, a very honest and raw project that talks about relationships and healing.
I hope you will enjoy reading this interview and please, make sure to support her new EP :)
Acoustic Memoir is out now :)
Photo credit: Daniel Danese
Hi Deniz, how are you? What have you been up to?
Hi Virginie! It’s good to catch up with you again. What have I been up to? Lots of things, haha. Running around like crazy as usual balancing various projects. I’ve been working on releasing the Acoustic Memoir album EP and I’m currently in Toronto making some art for the sets of Guillermo Del Toro’s new Netflix series Cabinet of Curiosities. Between these two projects I’ve been pretty busy.
You’ve just released your new EP Acoustic Memoir - what's the story/inspiration behind this project
Acoustic Memoir started as a co-writing project between myself and my friend and colleague Riansyah Razali. I originally saw him play with his band the Coconightman in Bali and I just felt a vibe in his sound that I thought would flow well with my songwriting style. I asked him if he wanted to try and write some songs together and the rest is history. We co-wrote about ten songs together, five of them made it to the EP. Only five because we didn’t have time to record the rest before I left the island, but they’re coming! We’d get together at my hotel some evenings and just jam. I had a lot of lyrics already written and Rian built some beautiful chords to them on guitar and that’s how the record was born.
Could you describe the songwriting/production process for this project? Who helped you create it?
Rian and I co-wrote five of the songs on this record. I wrote all the lyrics and vocal melodies and Rian wrote the chord progressions. Whenever he wasn’t with his band he’d come over to my place or we’d sit on the beach and jam. It was all super easy, groovy and casual. Virtually every session we had we popped out a song. We coproduced the record. Rian suggested Antida Music, a local recording studio out of Denpasar. We’d ride our scooters there in the mornings through crazy traffic (it’s an hour ride each way), I’d show up full of adrenalin covered in smog haha and we’d track guitar or vocals. It was a pretty relaxed atmosphere. After a bit of shuffle we ended up getting a really good engineer Chaerul Adjam, who made the process seamless. This is the most stripped down record I’ve ever made, it’s vocals and guitar, that’s it. But because you cannot hide flaws behind production and beats and effects, it had to be flawlessly executed. It’s very raw. After the songs were tracked I took the record to Los Angeles with me and my colleague Matt Lange mixed and mastered it in his studio. It really made the sound pop and come alive.
What different topics are you talking about on this EP?
The songs ‘Lost in Translation’, ‘Stars’, ‘Lovers’ and ‘Tattoo’ were inspired by relationships. They deal with the universal themes of love, hope, heartbreak and healing. ‘Faithless’ was a song I wrote about someone I had worked with in the music industry who tried to unsuccessfully derail my career a few years ago … I particularly love that a crazy situation like that turned into such a great tune. ‘Father’ was inspired by my relationship with my dad. It’s a very personal song and one of my favourites on the record. The album is really about seeing the silver lining in every challenge that life throws your way. Difficult situations can and do produce really beautiful art. They always have.
What's your favourite thing about this EP?
My favourite thing about this EP is how unfussy it is. In previous recordings, a big focus was always put on production, the bells and whistles. On the Lovers EP for example, the emphasis was really on achieving that fresh big indie pop sound. And I absolutely loved it. With this record though it’s all about the story, no fancy packaging. A great songwriter once told me, if a song can’t feel complete and stand on its own and tell a story with just a set of vocals and a piano or guitar, it’s not a good song. That’s always been the test for me. Could everything I write be reduced to just an instrument and a vocal line and still sound great, and still touch people? I believe this record does that. In fact we recorded an acoustic version of Lovers (Crash & Burn), a song that became a fan favourite on the LOVERS EP, my last record. And you know what, it’s gained a whole new magic that wasn’t there in the fully produced version. That’s the charm with this record, it’s unapologetic simplicity. This is literally just me writing songs with guitar and recording them like diary entries into the microphone. It’s a songwriter record.
What made you want to name your EP Acoustic Memoir?
To me the record is a diary. Snippets from various periods of my life. So I thought it was appropriate to name it Acoustic Memoir because that’s really what it represents.
What message do you want to deliver through this EP?
This EP as usual is a collection of personal stories. It’s full of memories from various parts of my life. I think the message I wish to deliver is bigger than the record itself. It’s: no matter what has happened to me in life the one thing that’s never changed is my ability to translate all these experiences into songs. Music is the one constant strand that ties my entire life together and so it should be for any artist. No matter what happens, no matter how your music finds its audience, to always keep going. My message is to always keep creating art for art’s sake. I think that’s really important in today’s world.
How's it like to release new music in 2021? Any challenges?
For me releasing music in 2021 or in 2020 for that matter has been no different than any other year and that’s because I’m putting it out through my own label Taksu Records and doing my own PR outreach. I know that every artist signed to a major or in any way reliant on the system: labels, pr agencies, bookers etc have had major setbacks and issues. I’ve actually experienced this with collaborations I’ve done with major label artists in the past two years which still haven’t been released because of what’s happening in the world. Luckily, in that respect I hold all the keys to my solo releases in my own hands. That also means I have to do everything myself: record, deliver album art, schedule distribution, reach out for PR, but at least I have full control of my music and when and how it comes out. To me that’s a blessing. I was able to put out an album EP in 2020 ‘Lovers’ in the middle of the pandemic and not slow down. I mean, people are not going to stop listening to records because they’re in quarantine … if anything we have all been listening to more music than ever. Tough times really determine who’s in it for business and who’s in it for the art. I don’t believe in slowing down or getting held back by anything. If every recording studio in the world burns down, I’ll still be sitting in front of my house writing lyrics and humming songs out onto the street to anyone who’ll listen.
What are your thoughts on today's music industry? If you could change one thing, what would it be?
I mean … the industry is what it’s always been, run by commercial trends, connections and big money. I tend not to pay attention to it because most artists who attach align themselves with the ideals of the music business just become bitter and stressed out, either from not being able to jump on the train or from being on the train and having absolutely no say in where it’s going. I’m happy being an artist and being self sufficient and having a say in who I work with and not having to depend on anyone or anything. I still weave in and out of the industry part of it, but I have fun with it. I know what it is, I know what I’m after and I enjoy working with new artists and making new music.
What would I change? I would encourage more transparency around the way that music is being presented to the masses. But that’s unrealistic. Most people don’t realize that streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music etc are close allies with the major labels and PR agencies, that no song accidentally slips onto the radar or playlist without a well paid and well organized team effort behind it. That requires a lot of money, luck, people on your side. So virtually everything being advertised to the masses is handpicked and placed there. Talent and quality have very little to do with it. I feel if artists on the street were more aware of this, they would focus more on their art and themselves, create their own distribution etc, instead of wasting years trying to win a game that’s rigged to begin with. But the lack of transparency is what keeps the machine going. It creates buzz and smoke in mirrors and hype. Imagine if you were aware that all the hype and magic around an artist was bought for $ …. It kills the fantasy doesn’t it. It kills the American Dream, the Cinderella dream, the rags to riches illusion. But you have to forgive the industry, they’re just running a business.
Streaming services are what really killed any remaining chances for indie artists to make any money off their releases. No one buys records anymore, records that cost thousands of dollars to record. People just stream them, and the streaming services rake up subscription fees on the backs of free content from artists like myself and pay us virtually nothing for the streams. What is it these days, $0.003 per stream from Spotify lol? Most people are not aware of this at all. People ask me, doesn’t Spotify or Apple Music pay you? NO! Haha. Most artists are just providing free content for huge corporations that make money off subscriptions. That’s what the music industry has become. So please PLEASE support your favourite artists by actually purchasing their music, using iTunes or Amazon , that’s the only way they actually receive payment for their music. Streaming helps take up numbers to show how popular you are but it doesn’t pay. If you enjoy my music, go out and buy the record. I run my own distribution so you will be paying me directly. I will get 100% of every dollar you spend on any album that comes out through Taksu Records. And I really appreciate all the support.
What advices would you give to artists?
It sounds cliche to say ‘never give up’. My advice is, if your art is something that gives you life, if it’s your true passion, keep making it. Forget about labels and popularity and whether anyone will hear it or not or how , or the money you’re making or not making. The reason I’ve had my film art career for all these years is because I’ve found a way to fund my lifestyle and make the music I want to make. That’s why as an artist I’m an independent train that just keeps turning its wheels no matter the weather and conditions. My advice is create an ecosystem around yourself where you can thrive as an artist. Be responsible for it, nurture it and protect it. If you’ve got spirit within you urging you to create, it means the world needs what you’ve got. Let your voice be stronger and louder than the noise around you.
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