From Toronto, the Pop Artist and Singer/Songwriter Dallas offers listeners empowerment on a platter with her latest hit, "Nightmare." One can recognize the likes of Dallas through her deep-rooted Pop sound that edges on the borders of Alternative and R&B. Painting surreal and vivid pictures have always come easy to Dallas, and we're able to experience this through her recent single.
Dallas' recent single, "Nightmare," falls under dark-Pop through the song's gripping and kicking production, offering a sense of life and power with each transition. All while Dallas comes through with her spiteful lyricism towards a past lover who's done her dirty. We love the intricate songwriting and rhythmic delivery Dallas offers, as it makes for a unique and engaging experience.
"Nightmare" begins with soft piano keys and a haunting ghost vocal. Once the ground-stomping kick appears alongside Dallas's unique vocal stylings, she starts singing a sour story of love and not having her expectations met. While asking for the bare minimum from her lover, it might be a little too late, as Dallas pushes through this empowering single with independence and strength as she continues to venture solo. The supporting production swells to this captivating atmosphere through unique synth arrangements, a steady drum kick, and various effects that broaden the song to be incredibly haunting and powerful.
Ending the song off with thumping instrumentals and Dallas' mesmerizing vocals singing her truth, we can't get enough of the overall life and independence she's infused into "Nightmare," as we're left feeling nothing but feeling exhilarated.
We love the strength and independence you've brought within your single "Nightmare." What pushed you to create such an empowering and spiteful tune like this?
Thank you! I think spiteful is actually the perfect word to use when I think about how I was feeling during the writing process of this song. Nightmare was actually written in the summer of 2019, so it’s been sitting in the vault for quite a while now. It’s definitely my most straightforward, lets not “beat around the bush” cause this is how you hurt me type of song. I wanted to make a statement with this one and I think I was able to do so in terms of how the song grows lyrically and melodically. I also love that even though this is a breakup song it’s super playful and up-tempo, so even if you can’t relate to the story being told, as a listener, your ear is still drawn to the melodies & production. I always want to make sure my music makes people (specifically women) feel confident, sexy & powerful. Creating Nightmare was about regaining that self-confidence & boldness that someone took away from me.
Was it difficult to mentally place yourself back in a past relationship in order to write lyrics for "Nightmare?" What did your songwriting process look like?
Writing songs is honestly like therapy for me. It’s how we songwriters vent, similar to writing in a diary, the only difference is our stories get shared with the world haha. Nightmare came together insanely fast. I remember building a simple chord progression using Maschine and the melodies/lyrics just started to flow. At the time of writing this song, the end of the relationship was still pretty fresh, so I didn't have to do too much deep diving in the past to bring out those emotions. In regards to my songwriting process, I like to start out with a simple chord progression, so that there is freedom for me to create an abundance of melodies/lyrics and then go back and choose the best ones. I’m a firm believer that the melody should be the driving force of the song. Production should then amplify and highlight those melodies.
Did you have any help regarding the production of "Nightmare?" How did you craft the production to offer such a dark and intriguing tone?
I’m super blessed to have an amazing team behind me. My music would not exist without the brains of my producer, @createdbyatom (make sure to check him out). Nightmare was one of those songs we revisited several times because we just weren't 100% sure about keeping the production so minimal in parts. We both love adding super foreign/weird sounds & samples throughout my songs, so Nightmare was definitely one of the more difficult ones to perfect. But with that being said, Atom killed it, and still brought so much depth and flavor to the production of the song. He really is a genius at what he does and I can always confidently leave my songs in his hands knowing he will create something insane.
Seeing as your single "Nightmare" heavily resides under Pop music, you've mentioned that you tend to grasp elements of Alternative and R&B as well. How would you describe your sound to a new listener? Do you tend to stay true to one sound, or do you experiment with others?
This question can sometimes get me into some trouble aha. My music is a combination of so many genres. Growing up, I listened to any and everything so my taste in music is vast. I always wanted to reinvent sound, fuse genres together in a way that sounded cohesive and pleasant to the listener. About a year ago, I was in a meeting with a pretty well-known producer/industry rep and he told me “you can’t be all genres.you have to choose one and stick with it.” Ever since that meeting, I made it my mission to prove him wrong. So I spent all of 2019 in the studio just building my catalog and making sure the sound did exactly what he said I couldn’t do. I’ve never been happier with the music I’m currently releasing. I don’t like to label myself or my music under one genre. I definitely experiment heavily in production. I only want to mold a sound that’s different than anything else out there right now.
What has been keeping you inspired this year?
This year has really forced me to get to know myself better mentally. I think it was really easy for a lot of people to sink into a depressive state due to the pandemic and everything else going on in the world. I didn't want to get distracted or allow myself to fall apart mentally & physically for that matter. So for me, it was all about making sure I took that time, even if it was 10-20min to just read a couple of chapters, meditate, go for a walk, do something to allow myself to just breathe. My team also inspires me every day. My manager, producer, graphic designer…were a close-knit group, and seeing how hard they work for this project each and every day is immensely inspiring.