This fresh new sound goes by the name of Dinneh Star, a 20 year old singer/songwriter hailing from the OC now based out of LA. After trying her luck in community college in Orange County, she decided to drop out and move to LA to chase her dreams. Dinneh Star has influences deriving from Aerosmith, Prince, and even Alabama Shakes. She isn’t set on writing within a specific genre but instead letting the music speak to her. Her debut single, “Does She Even Know” is a tale of her personal heartbreak. Tuning in as we venture into the world of Dinneh Star!
Striking! The simplicity of the single definitely lets her voice steal the show. Her sound is reminiscent of Sabrina Claudio mixed with her own swag. I love how the accompaniment in this track are the strings. Then there are very soft sounds that linger in the background. Sounds that flow with the sound of her voice. I love how the chorus gives you a smooth upbeat tempo and then fades back into the chilling melody of the strings. I can hear the pain within her lyrics but to hear it in her voice is so pleasing to the ear. She really doesn’t belong in one single category of sound because she is versatile! There is a strength in this singer and I love that she took a chance on her dream because this debut is EVERYTHING!
Listen to 'Does She Even Know" here and catch up with the artist in our interview below!
Hi Dinneh, great to chat with you! Tell us a bit about yourself!
Hey y'all it is great to chat with you! Well I am 20 years old, originally from Huntington Beach, and I moved out here to LA about 9 months ago to pursue my dreams of being in the music industry, and attend my dream school Musicians Institute!
What is the story behind your name?
Star is actually my middle name. My name Dinneh means Navajo, which is the Native American tribe I belong to, and my mom chose my middle Star so I could always find my way back to my people.
Tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to drop out of school to pursue music? How did you make that transition?
The moment I realized I wanted to drop out of school to go to MI (Musicians Institute) was actually when I wrote my first song. As awful as it sounds I remember thinking that I could care less how my life ended up, I just lost my grandfather and was still grieving the loss of my grandmother and aunt, so might as well go after the one thing in my life that never failed me, music. My parents were supportive but said if I wanted to do it, I had to find a way to pay for it. So I did, and I moved out to LA just 2 months later.
LOVE your new single “Does She Even Know”? It's such a good vibe. Can you tell us a bit about the creation process for it? Do you write your own music?
Thank you so much, that means a lot! Writing a song is such a beautiful and spiritual thing for myself. I almost never know what I am going to write about until I start writing. I never go in thinking, 'Hey I feel great today, let's write a love song'. I remember I came across the chord progression for "Does She Even Know" and it spoke to me, and brought up feelings of the past and then I wrote that song that day about those feelings. And thats how I usually write a song, the music speaks to me and it's like something else entirely takes over and Im talking about things I havent completely dealt with or talked about with anyone.
What's next for you through 2019?
I have a few exciting things coming up in 2019! You can expect to see a music video for one of my songs, a few more releases, and hopefully some gigs!