Måneskin’s Damiano David on ‘Silverlines’ and going solo: “I was basically making myself unhappy, and I was doing pretty good at it”
Måneskin‘s Damiano David has launched his solo career with debut single ‘Silverlines’, produced by Labrinth. Check it out below along with our interview with the frontman.
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The frontman of the Italian Eurovision winners turned global rock sensations has been teasing his solo venture for some weeks. After bassist recently Victoria De Angelis went it alone with her techno banger ‘GET UP BITCH! (Shake Ya Ass)’ featuring Anitta, David has now shared the bold and theatrical piano-led ballad ‘Silverlines’ – a song of finding peace and the calm after the storm.
Asked why he chose this song to kick off his solo era, David told NME: “Because it’s pretty unique compared to other songs on the record. Weirdly, it’s the first song but for me, it’s the closing of the circle and the end of my journey.
“Also, it’s with Labrinth – to make my debut with one of the biggest producers in the world is amazing.”
Check out our full interview with David below, where he also tells us about overcoming hard times, what to expect from the rest of the album, and the future of Måneskin.
NME. Hello Damiano David. There was a line in your teaser video: “I travelled all around the world to find my voice, just to end up where everything started”. Is that referring to the DNA of this song?
Damiano David: “No, it’s more personal on a human level. In the last few years, we worked a lot and I was starting to lose the focus. I was starting to value things that are not actually very valuable for me. I was basically making myself unhappy, and I was doing pretty good at it.
“This journey was a lot about cutting out all the excess and everything that wasn’t 100 per cent necessary for my happiness and satisfaction. It was more external, ejected ideas that were not organic to me. I got caught in it. I had to do a lot of work on myself to find who I am.”
In becoming such a phenomenon outside of the shadow of Eurovision, you guys must have been living the rock’n’roll dream? That must have come with its own pitfalls?
“I wouldn’t call it ‘the rock’n’roll dream. There were some parties, but it wasn’t the rock life from the ‘70s or ‘80s that a lot of people imagine. It was many interviews and many gigs and many work days.”
This song seems to be about finding a place of refuge…
“Yes, this is the first song, but emotionally, it’s the last one, it’s the end of the journey. After all this work, I found my silver lining and peace belongs to me.”
The music video is essentially a beautiful short movie. What were you going for with this?
“It’s basically a very metaphorical representation of the meaning of the songs, so there’s the turning off to get back to life, finding the key to access the street that gets to happiness, and the stages of my life.”
What did Labrinth bring to the table?
“He was very accommodating. He asked me what I wanted to vocally contribute. It was great to blend our voices and experiment with that. That was the most meticulous part.”
Is he across the album or just on this song?
“It’s just on this song, unfortunately.”
At the end of the video, your chauffeur asks you where you want to go and you say, ‘Everywhere’. Is that true of the album on the way? Is it a pretty diverse and personal affair?
“I think it’s safe to say yes. It’s going to be very excessive, very dramatic, very theatrical, I would say. It’s definitely more personal. It’s about the drama of being alive; especially under the circumstances.”
Can we expect a full tour?
“Yes, it’s going to be a full musical project. I have an idea of who the drummer is going to be but nothing is signed yet and I don’t want to jinx it.”
And everyone in Måneskin is on their own projects right now? This isn’t the end of the band?
“We’re in training to get back different, better and harder.”
‘Silverlines’ by Damiano David is out now.
The post Måneskin’s Damiano David on ‘Silverlines’ and going solo: “I was basically making myself unhappy, and I was doing pretty good at it” appeared first on NME.
Andrew Trendell
NME
