In this interview spolight, I chat with Damyn about his latest releases, motivations, challenges, influences and more.

Full Q&A along with links, music and event dates below.

What led you into this journey with music? And further, what drives you to push it out to the public?

As soon as I could hold a pencil I was drawing. I’ve always known I was an artist and that that’s what I would be doing with my life. There was a particular experience, however, that made it clear to me exactly how I needed to approach music. It also taught me how to approach my emotions and my life in general. That was my vision quest to, and within, Madagascar.

I am a very cerebral person. But meditation, and having a clear mind, are very important to me. I have a lot to express and I find music to be the medium that expresses it in the most basic, energetic form. It’s the most embodied and the most free of the intellectual level.

In the album I’m making now, most tracks do have lyrics. That part is intellectual content. But song lyrics are a very minimal and compressed form of intellectual message. It’s not like an essay, book, or movie. Also, the upcoming album does have a couple instrumental tracks. Those are essential to the journey.

So music feels like the healthiest medium for me to work in, as a balance against my overactive mind. I also believe it is the best medium through which to receive an artistic message, though it requires the most patience and sensitivity to get all that is available.

Who would you say are your main musical influences?

In pop and indie pop music:

David Bowie, Björk, Radiohead, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Prince, Queen, James Blake, Soundgarden, and an artist called SORNE.

I also admire Stevie Wonder very much – at least as much as any artist listed above. I just wouldn’t say he’s influenced my sound as much. This is only because I am least capable of emulating him, and because I am not made so purely out of sunshine.

Besides those pop and indie pop artists:

Indian Classical Music, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Bartok, Stravinsky, Arvo Pärt, and my former teacher Bonnie Miksch.

What is the specific message you wish to put across with the album you are working on?

It’s definitely easier to not explain that. Art is layered and I don’t want to reduce it to just whatever I end up saying here. But I will attempt to honor the question. This will require a lengthy response.

These are some of the layers of the message, which unfold chronologically as the album progresses.

First, I see a great sense of isolation in our time. Isolation, aimlessness, existential confusion. I have felt it a lot myself and I think that I see it in others. I see a lot of our popular commodities as inadequate medications for this. Many of them exacerbate the problem.

The next part is that these maladies are tied to unsustainable trajectories that we’re on – not just as individuals but as a whole global culture. So that development of the message is a movement from being wrapped up in the personal despair of isolation to getting serious about facing the bigger issues. It acknowledges the challenges we face, and the ones that will likely be coming up because of our unsustainable trajectories. But the main focus there is not on the question of “What will be the solution to our problems?”

Rather, it focuses on “In what manner will we strive toward those solutions? How will we treat each other in the process?”

Finally it arrives at a point where a different dimension is considered. We are here and we have to deal with all of these problems, and these problems are serious. But I believe that it’s up to each person to find a state of mind that sees this present reality as being completely perfect – as it is right now. Major dilemma is inherent to physical existence but, if you can accept that as part of the equation, then this reality really is perfect.

I’ve found that it is possible to simultaneously care a great deal and, in another sense, be completely unattached. And it’s possible to live in the world, and do what you need to do, while maintaining that. That experience is what I call Spiritual.

Is there a special significance to the face art?

The face paint design references the third eye chakra (or dan tien in the Chinese tradition), which is associated with vision. It depicts rays of light, which can be seen as coming out of the third eye or going into it. Both are intended, as both are part of the process being referenced.

I see things that I wish to convey to others with my music, and the face paint is a ritualized part of that process for me.

Normally I use white with a blue border. In the music video for “Other Side of the Glass”, the color scheme is different. There is meaning behind those choices, but I think that’s probably enough about the face paint for now.

What was the last song you listened to?

“When You’re Ugly” by Louis Cole. He’s also the drummer for the group Knower. I’ve listened to that song, and watched the music video, a ton in the last couple days. It’s brilliant. Super listenable and virtuosic funk-pop with a killer message. I see it as Spirituality 101 in street language. And there aren’t many lyrics so I’ll just put them all down here. You may need to edit one word.

“We all live on planet earth and this is how it works.
When you’re sexy, people wanna to talk to you.
When you’re ugly, no one wants to talk to you.
If you’re ugly, there is something you can do
called fuck the world and be real cool.”

Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s? Streaming?

Streaming is lovely because music is easier than ever for people to access. MP3s are a compromise that is worth it in most situations because of the convenience of the file size.

Vinyl is beautiful and ideal. It’s for when you have the time and patience to just focus on one album and really get the most out of it.

It’s great to live in a time when the convenience of streaming and MP3s is available, and vinyl also enjoys great popularity. Best of all worlds.

How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?

As a listener, I mostly use Spotify. I haven’t used Apple Music just cuz I started using Spotify first and am too much of a grandpa to be bothered beyond that step. As an artist, I like Bandcamp. It gives me the most control over my content and how it is presented.

Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what is the biggest challenge you face when trying to connect with or find new fans?

I’m not making music from a place of analyzing the market demand, and the trends, and then making something that I predict will render the greatest profit.

I believe that what’s coming out of me is valuable and that it will be good for this world at this time. I believe that that’s what it is to be an artist. And that’s why I’m doing this.

I do try to package my essential content in a form that I think will catch people’s attention, and their immediate interest. But I only do that where it is in alignment with my music’s purpose, and compromises nothing from that purpose.

So coming from where I am, I’m kind of participating in the cultural conversation in an awkward way. You could say it’s sort of rude. I’m being like, “I know we were all talking about this other thing, but bear with me as I change the subject. Just stay with me a sec.”

And to boot, I’m probably not doing it in the smoothest way. I’m a weird person and prone to awkwardness. But I believe that my art will be a good thing for people to encounter, so I try to market it as best I can.

That’s the challenge.

Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more music?

The best social media is Instagram. If you follow me on there you’ll probably be up to date with my shows, releases, and other news.

But even better: Join my mailing list and/or check out my website. You can join the mailing list at the website.

Anything else you’d like to add before signing off?

I apologize for the fact that brevity is not my strong suit. See, right there I could’ve just said “Sorry I talked so much”.

Anyway, I have a lot to say because I really care. To whomever is reading this, I’ve worked hard to make my music something that will be of service to you. The singles I have out now are all from the first part of the album. So they only represent the first things I was talking about, in the question about the album’s message. Later in the album, some rather different territory will be explored. You can hear some of that live, if you come out to any of my upcoming shows in LA:

• Monday 9/10 at the Viper Room
• Wednesday 9/26 at Harvard & Stone

You can go to my website and join the mailing list to hear about other shows and releases.

Thanks!