Drifting in from Montreal, Canada, is an alternative-pop recording artist and singer-songwriter Shiadanni with her latest turbulent and deeply personal single, "Penny Pills."
Before venturing into more personal and intimate songs, Shiadanni was known to heat the dancefloor with anthemic bangers, late-night soundtracks, and a fearless blend of European club music and Latin soul. Now, the Montreal-based artist takes us into her mind's deep and dark corners.
In her latest self-produced single, "Penny Pills," Shiadanni gives us a glimpse inside her psyche with ample amounts of pain, longing, lost hopes, and short-term solutions for long-term problems. She also released a self-directed music video for the song, which sees her backed to the wall in turmoil while encouraging viewers to face their demons and grow.
Elaborating on the single, "Penny Pills," the song gently opens with lush background pads and tender keys alongside Shiadanni's breathy and soft vocals. As she begins expanding on fear knocking on the door and inviting it in with each vulnerable song, we spin into bright breakbeats that offer this crisp, modern, and alternative edge.
Shiadanni's poetic lyrics are bound to move any listener, especially as she touches on relatable themes like dissociation, feeling lost, and wondering where her place is in the world.
We are so impressed with Shiadanni's drum arrangements in this track; it totally lifts the song into this emotional, flashy, and dark space. We also appreciate her ability to place emotions into cohesive song lyrics, which is something any alt-pop lover should experience.
Float into the abyss of thought with Shiadanni's latest single, "Penny Pills," now available on all digital streaming platforms.
Welcome to BuzzMusic, Shiadanni. You've truly moved us with your personal and relatable single, "Penny Pills." When did you begin feeling inspired to create this cathartic piece?
Thank you so much! I think my lyrics have been showing a similar essence with different nuances for a while now, which is all the upcoming music that I’m excited to share. I’ve been enjoying expressing and healing these same feelings in different ways, It’s a while since I don’t write a love song, for example, I think I am currently on a spiritual journey where my mind is focusing and getting to know every corner of myself, and I’ve been musically documenting that
What was it like producing "Penny Pills" by yourself? What inspired these flashy and crisp breakbeats?
With penny pills I feel what was exciting was creating a beautiful piano contrasting with a big, but short bass, I never have any plans or a structure I follow when I am producing, I go by intuition, and once I had the piano everything else fell into piece very quickly, I wanted a different kind of percussion because the bass demanded it, the instruments kind of talk to each other that way, I remember also I wasn’t particularly emotional or nostalgic that day, I was having a good day which is funny because the song is clearly a little dark, so I imagine I was using hidden stuck feelings and thoughts from another day
When writing your lyrics for "Penny Pills," was it challenging to be so vulnerable and open your mind for listeners to experience?
I never thought I was gonna release Penny Pills at all, I was just making a song for myself that day, so at the moment I never hesitated about any word, I usually think a little bit about the listener, because usually, I do like my sound and message to be clear, but with Penny Pills I think I was singing for myself, I was definitely nervous when my team wanted to release that one because of it being too personal but after seeing how people connected with it I am happy we made the decision to restart my musical journey with that song, I feel I have been very out there with a loud singing voice all over my socials and PP has a certain performance I don’t usually have in my songs, which is a nice detail
What did you want the listener to take away from "Penny Pills?" How did you want to make them feel?
I don’t know if I should try to tell people what to feel when listening to me I think it’s none of my business what they interpret, and that’s the beauty of music. I’m completely grateful for anyone feeling inspired by it, people who connect and send me the loveliest messages about it, which I never expected to get that many, for sure it motivates me as an artist to keep doing what I love, and to not be ashamed of any type of feeling or thought, as we all share them.
