A conversation with Shannon Darcy
Where can we find you right now and what are you up too?
Well, at the moment I’m a full time uni student studying music in London. I’m doing a performance and production course, which I’m having so much fun with! I’ve been learning how to produce my own music and even doing my own compositions as I’m now learning to play piano too. I’ve always loved performing, so I’m really enjoying delving deeper into the music industry in a new way. Alongside this, with the release of ‘Control Freak’, I’ve been trying to build my online presence across my social media platforms and it’s been really fun filming new types of content to post so that people get to know me as an artist and as a person.
How would you define success? What is your goal?
For me, I just want people to enjoy my music. I want anyone who feels like they can relate to my songs, to be able to turn up the volume and head-bang to the lyrics or shout them out! I want to tour the world one day because I love being up on a stage and I love interacting with a crowd. Honestly, it means so much to me when someone tells me they can resonate with one of my songs, and that’s what I would define as a success. So, I guess my long term goal is to keep doing what I’m doing, but on a larger scale. I want to get my music out there, and it’s something I’m not going to give up on!
How did you start?
I’ve always loved singing from a very young age and I can remember being in the car with my mum and singing along to different CD’s she had whenever we would go out. It was only when I was ten-years-old, that I realised I wanted to be an artist and that being on stage was just something I loved. I was on holiday at a caravan park and they were putting on a talent competition, which I decided to enter last minute. I remember being so nervous before going up on stage, I got upset and almost didn’t do it. Yet, as soon as I got up there and started singing, I didn’t want to stop! I knew from that moment that it was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life. From there, I ended up winning the competition and got to the National finals! I will always be grateful that I ended up getting on stage that day, as it really was the doorway that led me to where I am now.
What is a typical day in your life as an artist?
Right now, as an independent artist, it’s really just about trying to push myself out there and making noise about the new release! I’m always writing new music, and now that I’m at uni learning to do so much more, I’m able to put that into practise at home as well. As I mentioned previously, I’m always planning on new content to post on social media, and I’m trying at the moment to post multiple things everyday to keep my pages active. I have a lot of fun filming TikTok’s especially and recording song covers, so I guess a typical day really just consists of music and anything interesting I can post haha.
What do you think of AI in music?
I have never used AI in any of my music and personally it’s not something I’d probably ever use when it comes to creating anything musically. I’m a very creative person, so AI kind of takes that away from me and anyone else who enjoys the creative process of writing or composing a song. I understand that people use AI in a lot of different ways, but when you have people who work so hard putting their creative vision into a song and then compare it with a song made entirely from AI, I feel like it takes the opportunities away from that creative individual. It’s definitely a big conversation in the music industry at the moment, and I think in any creative industry too.
Tell us about your latest or upcoming release.
My song ‘Control Freak’ has just come out and I have to say it’s definitely one of my favourite songs I’ve done! It’s so petty and sarcastic, but it’s also a lot of fun to listen and sing along too. I feel like everyone at some point in their lives has dealt with who they’d label a ‘control freak’ and sometimes it’s nice to be able to air that frustration out in a bold and sassy way! It’s quite a different vibe to my other songs, but I love experimenting with different sounds and different genres too. I worked with an incredible producer, Jim Hustwit, who was able to create something exactly how I’d envisioned when I wrote the song.
