Dahlia is one of those fiercely determined and talented musicians whose genuine love of music really is at the core of her being. Honest. Getting to know Dahlia you get a little look at just how hands on she is about everything she does, and how much work she puts in to each project that she's involved in. Though still young, Dahlia can easily be considered a veteran performer, she's been on stage since she was 5! She released her first solo CD, Close to Home on her own indie label, Squirrlley Girl Music, in 2003, hooked up with Cyclone Records and she's now wrapping up her newest offering, 2006's Down This Road. Dahlia did an email interview with me in late April about all this and a little more.
We'll start with the first release, shall we? 2003's Close to Home is an accumulation of songs written many years before Dahlia set foot in a studio. Producer Greg Johnston was part of the finial stages, the fine-tuning, as she puts it, during the pre-production session. 'There were only one or two songs that we strictly co-wrote together in the same room,' she says on wether she wrote specifically for the record or not. 'So no, I didn't exactly write for that particular record with the intention of writing for it. I just simply love writing songs. Most of the songs were already written, and in some cases, re-written at our pre-production sessions. There were a couple lyrical co-writes with other people, and I wrote most of the music.'
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'I was fortunate that a few songs came to me with both music and lyrics together at the same time; that doesn't happen very often. We chose from about 25 of my songs, demoed 13, and narrowed it down to 10, which now appear on Close To Home. If you visit my website www.dahliawakefield.com you can hear nine of them, the tenth is a surprise,' explains Dahlia. 'The bed tracks for Close to Home were recorded at Beta Sound Recorders in Edmonton with Greg on bass and co-producer, Lyle Molzan on bass. We recorded the overdubs (guitar and lead & backup vocals) at Greg Johnston's studio, Blackfoot Music. The recording and mixing went very quickly, and we had a great time!'
This time around, when Dahlia began working on Down This Road, the biggest contrast between this and her last CD, she was writing for the album. Explains Dahlia, 'Winnipeg producer Jim Stoeber and I met over the internet in May 2004. He proposed an album deal, and I agreed to take part. Very early in the process, we decided to write and/or pick songs to be exclusively included on the new CD. Between us, it was very collaborative effort, and most of the songs were written purely over the internet!'
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Dahlia on Cyclone Records
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'Brad has done an amazing job at promoting Heart of Alberta as well as some of the other compilation records that he is spearheading at this current time. He seems to be very 'in tune' with the music industry, you can tell he puts his heart into helping the artists on his roster!'
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'Jim started off the writing process by sending me an mp3 of the music for each song via email, so I could write the lyrics. Once I wrote the lyrics for each song, I would record a demo vocal and email him the song as an mp3. Then, then he would record a few backups, add a few more instruments, and email me the song to record my additional harmonies. Jim recorded all the instruments and wrote the music for 6 of the songs on this new album; I wrote the music for three songs. However, while I wrote most of the lyrics, there were also a couple collaborations on a few songs, with writers Stacie Jay Shinewald and Maryanne Schwartz. The tenth song that Jim and I decided to record is a cover song by Nik Kershaw (it's been one of my favourites for years); you’ll have to guess which one it is, until it's released, that is.' How's that for using technology to your advantage?
We'll get a little more into the way they went about recording this disc, because I think it's really interesting. We've got the signer/songwriter in Edmonton and the producer in Winnipeg, Dahlia notes that 'logistics was a bit of a problem', but I think it's fair to say it was more than a slight issue, and yet they worked around it. Dahlia on the process, 'I had a very crappy computer in the beginning, but was fortunate to hook up with Adtel Inc.'s studio to record the first three demos. After Adtel generously donated a better computer to me, the rest of my lead demo vocals, as well as the backup vocals, were recorded in my own basement studio. Most of the backup vocals that I recorded myself now appear on my album. This was the first time I'd ever recorded anything on a computer, so it was a huge learning process, but a very satisfying one.'
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'Eventually, Jim and I finally met, twice, to record the final lead vocals. We met for the first time in Saskatoon, after my Folk Festival gig in the summer of 2004, to record three songs at his sister's home. Then, in the summer of 2005, I traveled to Winnipeg to record the lead vocals on the final seven tracks at Jim's studio. While I found that whole particular recording process to be very challenging and slow, it gave us freedom and time to explore different ways of presenting the songs. Although I didn't always feel like I had creative control, I truly feel we did a great job, even with distance between us. Down This Road is scheduled to be released on my independent label, Squirrelly Girl Music in late June 2006/early July 2006, and I'm looking forward to it!'
Once it's released, Dahlia is taking the next logical step for an album created online, she's promoting it online, 'through my website; to sell it on CD Baby as well as off the stage; and to basically try to reach anyone who would like to write a review on my music and/or play my music on their internet radio stations. I'll also give it a go with a select few commercial stations with a DMDS prize that I won to solicit to radio stations within my genre. Although commercial radio is extremely difficult for independent artists to land spots; it can be done. There's no harm in trying. It might just take some time. I'm just going to try to get it out there in as many ways as I possibly can. I guess it's all you can do.' It's this part of her personality, this drive and desire to try in the face of naysayers that really made me want to write about Dahlia and her projects.
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With the online promotion it's fairly natural for Dahlia to be working with a label that's attacking the online market, none other than Cyclone Records. The hookup was rather simple, starting with an email from Brad to Dahlia about the then upcoming comp CD, Heart of Alberta. Dahlia on her involvement in the project, 'He was very persistent, and I liked that. I'm happy that I agreed to take part in that project, and I'm also very glad to be associated with Cyclone Records! Brad has done an amazing job at promoting Heart of Alberta as well as some of the other compilation records that he is spearheading at this current time. He seems to be very 'in tune' with the music industry, you can tell he puts his heart into helping the artists on his roster!'
As far as the recording process for the Cyclone comp, the two songs that appear on Heart of Alberta were already recorded for 2003's Close to Home. 'I just decided to further my promotional efforts by participating in the compilation, and I'm really glad I did it! More exposure is never a bad thing,' explains Dahlia.
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And she knows a thing or two about gaining exposure through compilation discs. Dahlia elaborates for us, 'the very first compilation album I appeared on is called Music From Within and was produced by the music program where I attended, Grant MacEwan College in Edmonton. I covered the blues/rock song Shallow Water by Rita Chiarelli [Ed Note: This is a really great song!]. The second compilation album I appeared on, Faces in the Crowd, was the result of a prize for placing second in the 2001 Windrift Music Songwriting Contest for the song I Believe (co-written by my good friend Maryanne Schwartz). The third compilation album I appeared on included my song I, and it was the result of participating in the 2004 Edmonton Independent Music Expo.' Phew, that's more comp appearances than any musician I've interviewed to date (as far as I know anyway), and of course, two more of her songs, You're Coming Home and Let's Talk About Love (co-written by Dahlia's good friend Tina May Koski), are on Cyclone Record's Heart of Alberta comp. These songs will also be featured on the upcoming 2006 Film/TC Sampler CD from Band Promote. Dahlia on the concept of the comps, 'I firmly believe that compilation CDs are an effective tool in reaching a broader spectrum of people, resulting in a wider listening audience, and possibly increased sales. It's all about exposure, something that all indie artists need in this crazy music business.'
Being hands on about promotion, CD artwork, fliers and all that comes with being an independent recording artist is something Dahlia feels is important, 'it is very important for me to be hands on about all that stuff. I want to present the best that I possibly can, and that means taking control of those things, because I am the only one who knows myself fully and completely,' she explains. 'Sure, it's time consuming, but it has to be done. Besides, that's the true meaning of being an indie artist - for one to be self-sufficient and independent.' So much so that she launched her own label to get her music out there. 'Squirrelly Girl Music is my company, my umbrella label under which I release solely my own music. It contains my record label, publishing company, distribution arm, and promotions department (and God knows what else), and I do it all myself,' she says. 'Eventually, I'd like to eventually hire a manager; it's getting to be a little too busy these days. I'd also like to expand sometime in the future to perhaps release other artists' albums on my label as well. So, it is still very much a project in the works in itself at this point in time.'
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INDEPENDENT
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I - I have final say in all my creative projects. If you like control, indie is the way to go!
N - Network, network, network! What else can I say? Network!
D - Depend on no one but yourself. It's really the only way to get things done the way you want; just keep in mind it'll take some time.
E - Everyone has an opinion; yours is what truly counts when presenting your songs the way you want.
P - Pretend that you have success; eventually it'll lead you in that direction.
E - Entertain an audience (consisting of other than your family & friends) by playing your originals live every now and then…they'll be judge & jury.
N - Never give up. It's all about your determination & drive to succeed in this crazy music business.
D - Don't is a 4-letter word. But DON'T be discouraged.
E - Elevate your consciousness to continually write & create songs that inspire you.
N - Never sell your songs outright; there are future royalties to be made, eventually!
T - Tell EVERYONE about your music! Even if only one person loves it, at least you'll have made a difference to that one person in this ruthless, competitive music industry! And who knows, you might end up with some sales?!
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Right now, in addition to promoting this release, Down This Road, Dahlia is already working on her third offering, and going about it a little differently. 'Currently, I'm also writing material for my third CD; however, this time, my experiment is to write the lyrics first on all songs, and then arrange the music around those lyrics. I have at least ten songs all ready to go that I would like to include that were specifically written for this new CD.' Check out her website for more info on upcoming shows and a final release date for the new album.
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The Playlist
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Dahlia's Playlist
1. Nickelback - Photograph
2. Theory of a Deadman - Santa Monica
3. Little Bigtown - Boondocks
4. Sheryl Crow - Lifetimes
5. Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten
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