Dana Divine

Interview 3 February 2005

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Tell me about A Nu Language, the concept, what you hoped to achieve and what you feel about the end product.

Completing the "A Nu Language" project was completely Divine. From the first song, to the last, from the CD cover to choosing the mastering facility, God was absuloutely present all the way.  My testimony is obedience.  Hear what he tells you to do and just do it. Most of the tasks will be extraordinarily stress-less because the task is in the Master plan and therefore was designed for our individual lives to increase our individual growth.

I wanted to write a collection of songs with a contemporary musical feel. I believe that God inhabits all forms of Gospel/Christian music. I wanted to write songs that we could listen too while washing the car, or braiding your hair. Songs that follow you home from Church and keep you inspired during the week. I think the CD is great morning music.  It progresses very well with my morning tasks. I Start out with "Use Me Lord". Pick out my clothes, shower "Bounce" a little to get myself moving. I'm all dressed by the "Gospel Slide". Dancing and getting pumped up for the day. I make sure I stomp all the Devil out early in the morning. I know that He is "Sweet to My Soul", and wants only good stuff for my day, but I have to "Testify" in order for God to get the glory. And by the time I get to the last track, I "Believe" that the day is pre-ordained and perfect. Then I catch a quick anointed prayer at the end of the CD and I'm out the door. Perfect for the morning routine.

You wrote the songs.

Yes. Me and God.

What do you draw from and who are you’re influences.

All of my songs are a reflection of my experience. The World according to Dana Divine. Last nite,  I saw the movie "Hotel Rwanda", and I feel a song brewing inside.  No doubt the issues and concerns of the day are the stories that I write. Songwriting is my release. The way I tell MY story. Often it is easier for me to sing to someone how I feel than it is to just speak it.

Who out there do you like right now, and from the old skool.

I know this sounds corny, but I respect and enjoys lots and lots of artists for all kinds of reasons. From the old skool you got to give it up to Prince, James Brown, Bootsy Collins, Aretha, Gladys, Whitney, Joni Mitchell, Phil Collins, Nina Simone, Sweet Honey and the Rock, Pat Benatar, Sylvester, Barbra Streisand, The Waitresses, Basia, Bonnie Raitt.  Right now I'm listening to Jill Scott, Tonexx, Breev EZ, Damon Lamar, Angie Stone, Duane Starling, Angie Spivey, Sally Nyolo, Donald Lawrence. On and on  I could go. We stream music wirelessly at home so I am always listening to an eclectic mix of sounds.

There’s a good mix of Gospel, Soul, R’n’B, Gospel House and some Chicago Steppers. 

After recording about 20 songs, we sat down and picked out the ones that would be placed in the A Nu Language collection.  It seemed so appropriate to have songs that represented the varied musical styles out of Chicago. Gospel music, House music, Stepping music and the Blues, have deep deep roots here in Chicago. It just made sense that these would be styles represented in my music.  A fusion of sorts. 

 The mellower tracks are gospel but kinda relaxed and soulful. Is that the idea............ and then there's pure upbeat gospel house

Yes, you got it. I wanted to pull the listener in...gently lead...but then after track seven, after you Gospel Slide, there's nothing left to do but get your party on! Dance like David...till you fall out.

But Gospel is very important to you

The Gospel is the Good News! So I just want to spread some good news everywhere! I am excited about the new sounds of Gospel Music. In order to reach the youth the music must reflect the times. The message, of course, remains the same.

Urban Psalmist? I can see that, what’s your definition of that.

I think of myself as the voice of todays modern, african-american lifestyle, concerned about the future for my young children and myself. Making sense of the World according the Word of God.I think God is talking to His children everywhere is all forms of music. He is using Gospel House, Holy Hip-Hop, Gospel Stepping music, Christian Rock, Gospel Jazz music. He is using "Nu Languages" to reach His people, hence the title of the CD.

What reactions are you getting/ did you get.

Sometimes I want to forward my e-mail messages to somebody. The response the my first self-produced and released CD is tremendous. I recently heard from a young woman who had recently had a double masectomy. Someone had given her my music while she was in the hospital. She went on to say how much the music helped her through a tough period. A young lady at my church says the song "No One like You" has been the song getting her through these days. The stories that I have heard let me know that I am moving in the right direction. The music HAS to go forward and bless someone. It must. Or my labor has been in vain.

It’s been out a while – is it still selling.

Fortunately gospel music has a longer shelf life than mainstream music. I am an independent label with limited resources.  I depend on word of mouth and people like you who believe in independent artists.  Thanks again, my Friend. However, my challenge is reaching the people who are reaching for the music.  I definitly need a better distribution arrangement. In the mean time, the CD has a tremendous underground momentum. You can get the CD on Napster, CD Baby, and on i-Tunes. This should help someone.

What tracks are getting attention.

Bounce, PeacePowerLoveGrace. So EZ. Use Me Lord. I Testify, Sweet 2 My Soul, and of course the G-Slide.  Actually the varied response is a marketing disaster, but I love it! I am so glad that people are finding their way to quite of few tracks.

What did Maurice Joshua add and what was it like having him produce Sweet 2 My Soul, great track by the way.

I have been friends with Maurice for over 15 years!  I had done a couple of songs with him in the past, and when I needed him, he was there for me. He is very easy to work with. We only ran one pass of the lead vocal, and a couple of ad lib tracks and we were done!  I love recordings like that.

Tell me about the Gospel Slide – do you all get doing that.

In 2000 myself and business partner, Ella Bramwell, used to produce a monthly event called "T.G.I.G.F Thank God It's Good Fridays". We featured artists like Tonex, Tarralyn Ramsey, Sons of Jacob, Howard Hewitt, and we played gospel house music all nite.  The only song that we played that was not gospel house was the Cha-Cha Slide (you can't have an event in Chicago with doing a Slide!). So we said, "why not put together a gospel slide"....and the rest in history.

Tell me about the crew you used on the album, do you have a regular team.

Well I must say, I have used a small den of producers in my career Hula, Mark Pichiotti, Terry Hunter, Big Ed, AZZA, Cajmere. While I have recorded on many projects for many people.  I still only call on a few names for my own music. But these days I have been collaborating with a lot a different producers from around the World. I recently returned from Montreal, where I wrote five songs with two producers: Angel Moraes, and Ronnie Ventura.Whew! Collaboration can be great, but sometimes it can be uncomfortable! So far my collaboration experiences have been positive.

Do you use the same people live, whats your show like.

I have a 5 piece band for live performances.  And no these are not the same guys. My producer/studio friends are quite comfortable staying up all day and nite in one room! Grinding. I couldn't pay them to leave the house and stop working!

Do you do much live work – I see you do a lot of church and community stuff.

Yes, I do get many opportunities to minister through song, thank you Jesus! I genuinely like singing, performing and expressing myself through my songs and I think people can feel that. I heard Darius Brooks recently say "Music is heard with the ear, but felt with the heart", or something like that. These words are very true. I try to connect with the listeners and I am especially partial to the young adults. These girls and guys are faced with tough decisions everyday. Am I going to do the right thing, follow my first mind and do this, or, am I going to give in to the carnal, pleasure seeking , quick fixing, feel good, popular choice, and do that. I think there are a few principles in life that should guide us through each day...through life. The mainstream music choices that we see on television or hear on the radio are rather linear these days not much of a range. I think this new contemporary sound of Gospel music has definitely found its niche.

Do you have a good fan base locally?

I am always working on building and outreach.

What are you doing now, still promoing this one or working on the next phase?

The truth is, no matter what I want to do creatively, I still have too many CD's of "A Nu Language" to sell. Thus as an independent artist/label I am urging all readers to please go out and buy your own copy of "A NU Language" today. But yes, I am thinking about songs for a sophmore project. For the last few days I have been in the studio with DJ Terry Hunter. We are working on some gospel house tracks

Do you know anything about the Uk, you getting any feedback from the UK or elsewhere – I think Richard Searling had So EZ in his top tracks of 2004, one of my favourites too.

Yes I heard about that!  Way cool! Actually my British roots are not withstanding, I attended Sussex University as an exchange student when I was in college. I was in a hot campus band there called "Majority". I worked out of a small studio there in Brighton called "Blue Cove".  I am waiting for an invitation to come and perform in England. My bags are packed.

Tell me about yourself, what do you like to do, your family. Your parents are musical? What did they do?

Both of my parents are retired now. My mother a school teacher for 38 years, and my father worked almost 43 years with the postal system. My father had a beautiful baritone voice, and my mother played the piano and sang. Music was everywhere. My parents friends were mostly musical, in schools I took music and band, after school I joined music groups and choirs. Somehow, I always found the music.

You’re from Chicago but have lived in LA – is that right. What took you to the west coast  and back again. 

My mothers family lived in Los Angeles so we spent most summers there as young children. We eventually moved there after my parents divorced. I spent my high school years in Los Angeles, which was a great time! Last year was my reunion.  It was great to see people and find out who was doing what.  A lot of my old friends were working in reality television!

You’ve studied music, what do you play.

The first instrument is my voice, but I studied music playing the clarinet. I play the piano by ear, enough to get my song ideas across.

Do you consider yourslf a songwriter first artist second or the other way round.

Hmmm. Well I am equally both. As an artist I've always written my own songs!  I want to be remembered as an awesome songwriter!

Is see you came to London. What do you think of and what do you know about the uk

Loooove it! I still have good friends in the U.K. I like how subcultures rule in Britain. Young people identify with each other based on food, style, and music, its great! I also appreciate the ways friends hang out, or "come around for a meal". Of course I was a teenager when I spent the majority of my time there, so I definitely experienced the country from limited capabilities (little money, no car, no family).

A pivotal point was meeting James Ingram – what happened and what effect did he have on what you were doing/going to do. I met James Ingram shortly after returning from the U.K. He was in Chicago on a promotional tour and had stopped by the local radio station. I called the station, left a message and he called me back.  We met in person while he was here, and he gave me a succint lesson on spirituality, and the importance of balance.   At the end of our meeting he said "Now I've planted a seed in you Dana, watch it grow". And it has. He did not say "I can get you a record deal, or let me have your press kit, so that I can pass it on to blah blah blah.  He basically told me that if music was what I wanted, then hard work and perseverance would be key to my success. I will  always remember that encounter.

What have you done prior to this?

I've recorded a lot of house/dance music. During the 1990's when I was recording these songs, very often the deals were for single releases.  Which is why I have so many singles out. Not by choice, really, but by design.

Quite a few singles? Tell me about some of the key ones. Not familiar with many of them. But Brighter Days by Dajae – I didn’t realise you wrote that – that’s a choon! You like you’re gospel house don’t you.

Yes soon to be almost 18 ( I have a few tracks coming out on different labels later this year). Brighter Days with Dajae is still one of my classics, I have an original version around my house with me singing the vocal. Another dance song that did well in the U.K. is "Runnin". The artist was Basstoy featuring Dana, and the song was produced by Mark Pichiotti. "Runnin" was used by a cable television show in the U.K. called "That Gay Show", and also a featured ring tone for Nokia back in the early days of ring tones. I also wrote a song for Ruby Turner called "Thinkin About Your Love". I loooved that track.

And you’ve workedwith some big names? Doing what?

I earned a platinum record singing back-up for R.Kelly on his Born in the 90's album.  I also earned a gold record singing the background vocals on "Ring My Bell", by the Fresh Prince.  I've been very very blessed. I've worked with the best, and have many accomplished mentors in my corner.

Tell me about S.T.A.G.E! (Stand Tall And Get Excited!).

S.T.A.G.E. was a cable television show that featured talented kids from the Chicago-land area. We were the first "Chicago Idol". Actually we showcased talent, it was not a contest. I was the host and one of the producers of the show. We aired for five years, and was one of the most popular cable shows in the market. People like to watch other people perform. Our talent was students, so I got to encourage and mentor a lot of young minds. I really really enjoyed those five years. Television was a natural extension for me. Producing the show was a lot like producing music, at least in the editing phase. I was very comfortable in front of the camera, and would like to do more work in the medium. I have some ideas brewing!

That was successful and paved the way for some media work, is that where you see yourself. Are you full time in music.

Yes, I am now, but not always.  One year I had 7 W-2 statements!  For many years I lectured for Chicago City Colleges in their business department.  I also worked as a substitute teacher, a fragrance model, singing and writing singing telegrams, and a telemarketer

Tri-M Entertainment – Is that you?

Yes Tri-M is my own label.  Right about now I feel like there are more difficulties that benefits, but I am looking for the light at the end of the tunnel.  Being and remaining independent just requires soooo much work. It seems like my days never end. However, there are many benefits in being independent....like control. I want to stay independent for three small reasons...my kids. I have three small children and I have a good balance of work and family right now.  I need to be able to call the shots for another 3 years or so, until they are all in school. But since you asked, I must tell the truth... I am considering shopping my project. I'm just thinking about it.  I don't want to cut off my nose to spite my face, perhaps there is a golden opportunity out there. I would not want to miss that!  So anything is possible.

You want to stay independent, what are the difficulties and benefits of being independent. What are your ambitions, whats the master plan.

I really don't know what the Master has planned for me. My plan is to keep on writing music that people hear with their ears but understand with their hearts. Its music for me. I've made the choice!  And no matter what my mom says,  I'm sticking to it!

Anything you’d like to add.

Yes, thanks for taking the time to listen and God bless you and your ministry! Call me when you get to Chicago. Lets hang out!

Thanks for your time.

Mike

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