Dom Jones is an LA-based artist and creative entrepreneur of Dom Empire where she weaves her passion for music, media, and social justice through various projects. Since winning the International Songwriting Competition in 2014, Dom Jones graduated with a dual major in Songwriting and Music Business from Berkley and has since had her latest single “Crazytown” featured in the Grammy U Conference and for good reason.
“Crazytown” is a beautifully ethereal masterpiece of an experience. We felt like we were floating through a calm river as the song carried through, there are a lot of fantastic elements that all attribute to this flowing experience. Some of these would be the enchantingly breathy vocal pads, the delicate piano, soft drums, silky strings, and of Dom Jones' amazing vocal performance that sweeps down to the heart. “Crazytown” touches on the subject of self-love and trying to rediscover yourself, this is beautifully complemented by Dom’s amazing songwriting and arranging. We can’t wait to hear more from Dom and as well as her upcoming second book.
Listen to "Crazytown" here.
Welcome to BuzzMusic Dom Jones! We are touched by your latest release “Crazytown”, was there anything, in particular, that had inspired the songwriting? Is there a personal message in this release? Thank you so much! The song represents a phase in my life that I think many people experience. It's about feeling that if you can just be more of this or that, the light will miraculously go off in the head of the person you love and they will finally change. It's a story of losing yourself bit by bit until you're almost gone, and then the journey of returning to yourself through the greatest love of all: self-love. Toxic relationships are real, are painful, but are not insurmountable, and are not without crucial lessons. I learned my lessons, I left, I hurt, I struggled, but eventually, I healed. We can’t get enough of your airy vocal pads, how were those created? What about the rest of the base track? How were the strings and piano done? I actually recorded the background vocals in Logic in my apartment in Boston, while attending my last year of Berklee. I added heavy reverb and a good amount of delay, and then my fantastic engineer, Will Holland of Chillhouse Studios, took the mixing and mastering the rest of the way after I sent him the stems for the whole track. I composed the chords that you hear as well and reached out to my friend, Eric Fells, an incredible pianist (who also scored the music video), and you hear him replaying my idea on the final track. He also added the strings as well. There is a deep underlining message of loving yourself here, how do you want the listeners to respond and react to this song? Do you have a specific audience in mind? I want everyone to remember that love is a verb. We have to actively call love into our lives by the way we treat ourselves, others, and the way we allow ourselves to be treated. Audre Lorde said, "Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” In this relentless year, we're having, I want listeners to remember that Crazytown doesn't just have to be the inside of a doomed romantic relationship - it can be a toxic work environment, an unhealthy friendship, a habit that you just can't seem to break. Whatever it is... GET OUT OF CRAZYTOWN. As far as the audience, I definitely think that this song will resonate well with women. We are asked to endure, to be patient, to be quiet, and whether we do or don't, we are painted as the weak gender. Every woman has a deep and abiding strength within her - the question that we need to ask is are we creating social environments for that strength to shine? Since winning the International Songwriting Competition, how do you think your songwriting has evolved from then to “Crazytown”? What about yourself as an artist?
Wow, well I won ISC before I attended Berklee College of Music, so it has evolved quite a lot. I think that the songwriting department at Berklee, under the tutelage of the Chair, Bonnie Hayes, and great professors such as Paula Gallitano, Melissa Ferrick, and Swagg Arcelious, gave me the skills to uplift my gift. There are so many naturally gifted singers, writers, and musicians, and they rely on that natural ability without taking it any further. I went to Berklee specifically to avoid that. My professors pushed me to learn the science of music and apply it to the art, to try different song forms, to write real bridges! Berklee is also where I accepted and called out myself as a multi-hyphenate: A singer, a songwriter, an emcee (I also rap), and a burgeoning producer. The assumption in the industry, when you see a woman, is that she's a singer and that's all she is: a vessel to be handled. That's part of why I double majored in Songwriting AND Music Business. I'm God's vessel... but I'm the captain of my own ship, and I run my business like the leader I know I am.
What can we expect to see from you throughout 2020?
There are lots in store for 2020, even in this tumultuous time. I've started a cool series on my socials called "Rap Snax," where I do a quick rap verse over a fun beat every Monday, I talk about music culture on my Did Dom Dig? series (also on socials), and I've got more music coming - "Crazytown" was just the start. We launched a Patreon page for fans who'd like to support my work on a monthly basis, and I will have exclusive content being released there (patreon.com/domempire). I'm also looking forward to continuing to write for and collaborate with other artists, and while I can't give concrete release dates for that work, there will be more Dom Jones in your ear, whether it's from my voice or someone else.