In this interview spotlight, I chat with Knoxville based Desmond Darko about the latest project, motivations, challenges and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
My parents hail from the West African nation of Ghana, but I was born in the states and have lived in Oak Ridge, Tennessee for the last 14 years or so. Oak Ridge is less of an influence on my music than my genetic roots though. I’d best describe my music as visual hip hop. Synesthesia? I think that’s the correct term for what I have. I often imagine colors and events with music I listen to, so since I can draw I sketch out my beats real time. As an illustrator, programmer and musician, I use a projector and controller to play images with my drum and bass heavy beats. House and jazz are both delicious so I ape their traits pretty often…
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
A very unfulfilled childhood. Never liked school and always struggled to understand how all those famous artists made their bones. Since no one could give me answers, I thought I’d figure out myself. Most of my music is a manifestation of a repressed psyche expressed to exuberant synths.
Q. How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
Mr. Onionhead is really only my second released project ever, so there’s not much to compare it to. Lots of samples from jazz, rock and pop but put together in a really fucked up way. The album does have a story; it follows a man who’s peeling layer by layer and revealing his true self. Each of the nine tracks progressively represent this growing introspection. At one point I started doing a bonus comic on the side to correlate to the album, but I stopped midway because no one was reading and I got bored. I really like comics and graphic novels so I suppose that all of this is a way for me to reconcile my admiration of the visual and audial.
“Limbo Gear Shift” is the fifth track of the nine and as such represents the turning point of the whole album. It’s a very glitchy sounding song with a clock sounding drum beat and a pulsing bass. I wanted it to kind of sound like what I imagine changing in a cocoon would be like; a sort of death and rebirth process. Chose the colors green and purple for this one since they are so juxtaposed as complementaries. You can see my art work in the music video for it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBTH-j7OOeg
Q. Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
I think the biggest challenge is not comparing your journey to others. Can’t tell you how many times in high school I looked at the careers of an Earl Sweatshirt or Chance the Rapper and got jealous because I was around their age achieving nowhere near what they had. It’s humiliating, but realizing that we’re all weaklings in one way or another helps the male ego cope.
The second major challenge is actually an advantage once you flip it: homogenization. A lot of producers and musicians in general sound similar now because we have such a large volume of people on the Internet trying to break into the mainstream by doing the same thing as their idols. This is foolish. Once you realize that the only way to make genuinely good music is to make it primal (off of instincts, loud, uneven, ugly), you will QUICKLY make music that stands out (even if it isn’t “good”). Mr. Onionhead is a testament to that I think.
Q. Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
Q. Anything else before we sign off?
Brush your teeth every night before bed and in the morning. Wake up with some push ups. Talk as loud as you would in a concrete room alone.
Also, Desmond Darko is my actual birth name. People always ask if that’s true.
