Flaunt Premiere | "Deepest of Wells" by Daniella Mason
by Morgan Vickery
Though the Nashville-based soundmaker and storyteller Daniella Mason is no stranger to pop commerciality — earning millions of streams on Spotify — she is a completely independent artist, constantly pushing against the boundaries of genre. The alternative pop singer/songwriter revels in taking full charge of her creative process: from writing and playing music to styling her own photo shoots and doing graphic design.
Mason broke into the music industry as a songwriter, penning songs for Nick Jonas and performing with Demi Lovato and DNCE. First gaining attention for her work with a 2014 single “Shade of You”, she has come to release a full self-titled album in 2017. This year on June 14, she rolled out a new EP dubbed Mental State: the new record is the second of four EPs that she'll be releasing over the course of next year as part of her State of Mine sound series. Each album (Emotional State, Mental State, Physical State, and Spiritual State) explores the different parts of our humanity that we tend to suppress and have difficulty embracing.
“Previously, my mind had been a place I had only gotten lost in, essentially making me afraid to go there,” the artist shared. “It's been a new experience for me, and I hope these EPs continue to reveal more and more of what's been hidden."
While the songstress is busy living life and reminiscing over the tacos she had at Tennesee’s Bonnaroo Music Festival, the premiere of her latest video is a continuation of the State of Mine project. Shot and edited by Dylan Reyes, the video juxtaposes the dark, small corners against vast, bright spaces, deep well and ocean against dry land, gradually bringing chaos into order.
"The aim was to create a dream sequence. It felt like the only way to make this beautifully existential feeling of wandering throughout your mind… how aimless and untethered it can feel,” the artist explained. “But this video also tells the story of inviting someone into the farthest reaches of your psyche, both dark and light, and the vulnerability of it all.“
Check out Daniella’s next show at Coney Island Baby on July 31st here.
Written by: Valerie Stepanova
Photography by: Bree Marie Fish