Desarae Dee Has That “Holiday Soul”
BUZZ LA- Dec 21, 2022
- 4 min read
Toronto’s very own Queen of Vibes, Desarae Dee, is vastly known as a powerhouse pianist/keyboardist, multi-instrumentalist, producer, composer, content creator and music educator. Wearing these many hats, she has found a way to make waves in these artistic fields that all tie back to one another, especially as an instrumental fusion artist since 2014.
Delivering yet another zealous and significant performance through the expressions of her most recent single, “Holiday Soul,” we get to hear Desarae Dee in a festive and profound light.
Offering up rhythmic grooves that ooze with trademarks of the holidays, a warm embrace surrounds this record’s intentions as soon as it begins to play.
Heightening our senses, we’re exposed to this instrumental offering that fuses together the likes of jazz, soul, and R&B. The poignant contribution provides listeners with tantalizing piano progressions that leave an impactful trail of holiday spirit accompanied by chiming elements, elusive to the touch.
“Holiday Soul” softly ramps up with each moment that passes and incorporates yet another musical component while never straying from its elegance. The relaxed yet prominent percussion patterns set a tempo that effortlessly lures you down a path of feel-good sensations and encourages you to let loose and snap your fingers along the progression.
We’re huge fans of the vocals that Desarae Dee is known for, but in “Holiday Soul,” the purely instrumental composition doesn’t disappoint at all. She immaculately lets the heart-rending keys, and resonant undertones do the talking for her – all while still establishing her celestial poise. Transport yourself this holiday season and take in all that Desarae Dee has to offer as you press play on this soulful listen.
Welcome back to BuzzMusic, Desarae Dee, and congratulations on the release of “Holiday Soul.” We love hearing you in all your forms of artistry, and to take in a purely instrumental piece for the holidays has us feeling like our playlists are now complete. What inspired the essence heard in “Holiday Soul?"
It’s great to be back again with another release that I’m super excited about. The holiday season is always full of busyness, excitement, and typical Christmas carols. I wanted to create an instrumental holiday tune that brings out the calmness, relaxed and chill nature of the holidays that we often overlook. Holiday Soul is a tune that brings in the feeling of cozying up by the fireplace with a cup of hot cocoa, enjoying the winter scene out the window, and just being present in the moment. I wanted to give my listeners and supporters that feeling this year.
Being multifaceted, we know that many approaches are taken towards which avenue you choose to express yourself. What was the creative process like when bringing life to this song? Do you happen to have any favorite stories from the process?
I wrote this song during the first wave of the pandemic, and it wasn’t until around September that I decided to pull it out of my arsenal, as I didn’t release any Christmas music in 2021. Two years ago, I was in a different headspace as it pertained to this song, so I knew I wanted to make a few changes and adjustments. I wanted to give it more of a Lofi Jazz/Neo-Soul vibe, and I knew exactly who to team up with to bring that vision to life. I called on my amazingly talented co-producer, Connor Chan (aka. King Chino), and I had the honor of working with Gabe Gallucci, a multi-talented audio engineer in the industry who has worked with Johnny Orlando, Shawn Mendes, and other billboard charting, artists. Lastly, I had super talented bass player Kemy Siala add his signature sound — anyone who knows me KNOWS I LOVE BASS, so to have him on another one of my records is always a treat. Working with these gentlemen was easy as they all “understood the assignment!”
What happens to be your favorite part of the holidays? Are there any traditions that you’ve carried out since you were young?
My favorite part of the holidays is having a Christmas music series on my socials, where I arrange different Christmas songs. I don’t think I’ve ever gone a year without doing something Christmas related on social media. This year, I’m revisiting my 2016 Christmas Album, “A Desarae Dee Music Christmas,” and re-arranging the songs I arranged in 2015. Because my sound has changed over the last six years, it was nice to change the songs up to where I am with my skill set as a musician today. All the videos are available on IG, YouTube, and TikTok. As far as traditions, my mom used to dress me up in some sort of Christmas outfit from the time I was born and to be quite honest. I still do it today!
Having close to a million views in the span of 8 month on TikTok is rather remarkable! How have you found the process of building your presence on TikTok? Do you find 2022 brought you the encouragement to take this plunge as a content creator?
Yes, TikTok! I celebrated over 1 million views at the end of November. It was a goal of mine as I’ve been doing well on the platform since March 2022, so achieving that goal is a dream come true. I’ve been creating content for the past eight years, so I’ve been doing this, but for me — my goal was to reach a wider audience with my uniqueness and to be able to do that on a platform that I never initially paid any attention to, amazes me, to say the least.
What can we expect to see and hear from you in 2023?
In 2023, I will focus a lot more on my career in performing and traveling, and of course, more music will come. I’ve been asked by many of my listeners and supporters for the last eight years for an album, so we will see if it happens
