Brooke Daye The Narcissist Interview


Brooke Daye The Narcissist Interview

Brooke Daye looked back on her past tumultuous relationship for inspiration, "Each song represents a different stage, showing the fights, the back-and-forth doubts, and betrayal," she explains. Daye is able to create catchy and fresh pop anthems with deep lyrics that express the subtle nuance and emotional contradiction of an all too relatable situation.

Brooke Daye is a Los Angeles-based singer and songwriter. 10 months after moving to Los Angeles, Brooke signed her first publishing deal, perfecting her craft with an expertise in lyrics. Her styles of writing vary from pure pop, country, progressive R&B, to rap music. Notable co-writes have been with Louie Lastic (Maroon 5), Rush Hr (Ella Mai, Dua Lipa, Demi Lovato), and Jasper Harris (Dababy, Mike Posner, Jaden Smith).

In 2019, Brooke started releasing songs for her solo artist project. The single, "Same Page" by Vincent and yetep was the first song where she was both a featured artist and a co-writer. In 2020, she released the first two singles off of her upcoming EP, THE NARCISSIST. The premiere single, DAILY was put on Spotify's highly coveted New Music Friday playlists in multiple countries. Writing on real experiences with heartbreak and internal struggles, her songs exude realness and relatability. Her songs have gained over 8.2 million streams, and her upcoming releases are highly anticipated.

Interview with Brooke Daye

Question: How would you describe your music?

Brooke Daye: I feel like my music is very pop with a touch of pop-punk. I definitely draw from early 2000s emo vibes, and loved the songs and vocals from Avril Lavigne, Hayley Williams, and early Demi Lovato. It still resonates with me! I wanted to find a way to create pop songs that still kept me true to my roots.


Question: Can you tell us about The Narcissist?

Brooke Daye: THE NARCISSIST is about my first love. It starts at the "beginning of the end," showing how our story ended and the mixed feelings that came with it. It's about knowing how someone was never going to be good for me because that person only loves themself.


Question: Is there a particular message you hope listeners take from your music?

Brooke Daye: For me, this EP is about how I learned to break the cycle of choosing someone who would constantly hurt me for self-gain. I learned how to have enough respect for myself to walk away and know that I deserve better. Love doesn't have to be complicated or messy to make a relationship meaningful or passionate. It's okay to choose yourself. It's okay to wait for the right person instead of settling out of insecurity.


Question: How has Los Angeles influenced your music?


Brooke Daye: LA has influenced my music by the people I've met out here. Whether I'm writing for other artists or myself, I draw on my real-life experiences with people. It's my therapy. I feel like I'm not the best communicator sometimes, so I write to help say what I wanted to say to someone, or work out my feelings that don't make sense to me. It provides clarity.


Question: Do you prefer performing live or recording?

Brooke Daye: Anyone I work with is probably laughing at this question. I HATE recording! I'm so hard on myself during the process and hate hearing my voice during the playbacks. Performing is more fun because you're more in the moment and you want to help people have a good time.


Question: Which is your favourite song to perform live and why?

Brooke Daye: I feel like this is a trick question! I released the first single in late January of this year, and then we were shortly on lockdown after that due to Covid-19. I haven't even had the opportunity to play any of my new songs live yet! It's horrible timing, but I realize that's out of my control. I'm stoked for when venues open up again and I have the chance to play live.


Question: What motivates you most when writing music?

Brooke Daye: My feelings about myself and others motivate me the most when writing. Being depressed also sends me into a creative mode. If I'm struggling internally with my mental health or if I'm writing about relationship issues, I'm writing constantly. Conflict never sits well with me, so I try to write it out of my system. It's like I'm trying to fix the issues through music, trying to make it all make sense at the time.


Question: Which music/artists are you currently listening to?

Brooke Daye: Right now, I'm really jamming to MGK's Tickets To My Downfall. It's the modern nostalgia I need because it reminds me of all the bands I grew up loving. I'm also really into Carlie Hanson's Side Effects and BANKS's III. I still love The Weeknd's Starboy album, even though it's been out for almost four years now. I listen to a lot of different stuff- whatever will move me.


Question: What or who was your inspiration to go into the music industry?

Brooke Daye: Writing poetry was my inspiration. I gagged saying that, it sounds so lame. But it's true! I did that before anything else. One day, I started singing in the shower a melody to a poem I had written and had an aha moment. I realized that's how songs are created, and I never looked back.


Question: If you could collaborate with another artist, who would it be?

Brooke Daye: Anyone who would want to? It would be cool to do something with Halsey, Julia Michaels, 5SOS, MGK, Avril Lavigne…anyone really!


Question: What moment in your musical career stands out the most?

Brooke Daye: There are a few, but probably my first solo artist song, "DAILY", getting Spotify's New Music Friday playlists around the world. It was validating to know my work resonated with people.


Question: What's a typical day like?

Brooke Daye: Walking my dog, going to sessions, responding to emails, hanging with friends, and therapy once a week. Things are a little more confined than usual with quarantine, but it's pretty normal stuff!


Question: What has been your favourite part of becoming a music artist?

Brooke Daye: I love that I get to create songs that show a definitive time in my life right now. Songs for me are like photo albums- they become nostalgic and placeholders in my life over time. Creating songs has helped me though the darkest times in my life, and it's nice to have something tangible. My songs are the lemonade I make from shitty, lemon situations.


Question: What's next, for you?

Brooke Daye: I'm always writing more songs, and I'm starting to plan my next release! Even though the world has stopped from the pandemic, I won't stop making and releasing music. We all need art now more than ever to keep us sane.


Question: Can you share your socials? (links please)

Brooke Daye: Twitter  
Instagram  
Facebook  


Interview by Gwen van Montfort

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