Danxgerous – aka Dublin-based Italian/Czech songwriter Daniela Mariti – uses a masterful fusion of alt-folk, dream-pop and indie-rock to confront her insecurities and search for a way home, with her debut album, Old Soul.

A BRAVE FIRST STEP

It’s a brave first step that she’s taken, there’s no doubt about that.  The tentative tow-in-the-water, test-out-a-few-options approach that many artists apply when presenting their debut album isn’t one that appeals to Danxgerous.   Quite the opposite, in fact.  The Dublin-based Italian/Czech songwriter, otherwise known as Daniela Mariti has, instead, reached out for the other extreme.  Old Soul is an album that uses a masterful fusion of alt-folk, dream-pop and indie rock as a vehicle to confront her own insecurities and launch her search for home.

With the ten songs on Old Soul, Daniela asks a deceptively simple but deeply relatable question: what does it mean to feel profoundly out of place in the  world, while still believing that there is beauty worth searching for.  Does she find an answer to that question?  You’ll have to give Old Soul a deep listen and make up your own mind…

MY OWN MODERN FABLE

“I think of Old Soul as my own modern fable,” says Daniela.  “It’s about an ancient character wandering through a strange, shimmering world where dreams don’t unfold the way she imagined.  After all the bitterness, frustration and disappointment comes the real surprise: discovering that feelings themselves are worth fighting for.  Love, nature, performing, creating – those are what make us feel alive.”

Lyrically, Old Soul unfolds like the chapters of a single story.  With opening track Leo Rising, Daniela introduces the album’s protagonist, searching for purpose and unable to imagine belonging anywhere, yet convinced that something greater awaits.  Gently fingerpicked acoustic guitar is supplemented by a resonant drum sound and comforting chimes of electric guitar.  Daniela’s voice rises and falls – sometimes it’s barely audible, sometimes vibrant, front and centre. 

Clairvoyant, the album’s lead single, is described as: “a cautionary tale about seeking answers too quickly, setting into motion a journey through memories, family and love that gradually reshapes the character’s understanding of herself.”  A quickfire drumbeat sets the pace and Daniela delivers her lyrics with a discernable sense of urgency.  Meanwhile, an instrumental dreamscape is constructed in the background.

A HAPPY STATE OF MIND

ding bassline provides the solid foundation for the poppy Where the Love Is.  Daniela’s voice assumes a vulnerable, pleading tone as she asks: “Tell me – how does it feel to be alone?”

By way of contrast, the accompaniment is pared right back to Daniela’s fingerpicked guitar for the tender Fresh Roses.  The movement of Daniela’s fingers up and down the fretboard is clearly discernable as she sings tunefully and wistfully.  Faint electronic sounds sweep softly along, as if to echo the sentiments being expressed, before Daniela concludes: “I am not sure, anymore.”

Daniela delivers her intimate vocal and her questioning lyrics to a hypnotic rhythm in the fast-paced Disillusionment.  Her lyrics identify that disillusionment can sometimes be a happy a state of mind and I believe that she might have a point, there. 

AN EMOTIONAL EPIPHANY

Old Soul, the album’s title track, comes at the album’s midpoint and it represents something of an emotional epiphany.  The song marks the place in the album’s narrative where Daniela recognizes that the acceptance she has been searching for has existed within herself all along.  The single, soft piano that accompanies the early stages of Daniela’s awakening is gradually supplemented as she recalls her life experiences and the lasting, positive, impact that they’ve had.

With the rich, melodic Teach, Daniela reflects on the subject of empathy – and the unknowable burdens carried by others.  There’s an air of sophistication about the sound – which is driven along by a busy drum rhythm, and there’s a new tone of assurance in Daniela’s voice.  But the gentle, vulnerable intimacy is restored for the ethereal White Moon.  The lyrics celebrate feminine strength and issue a reminder that pain, when mutually acknowledged, can become a source of connection, rather than isolation.  Choirlike voices accompany Daniela as she declares: “I’m your sister, I’m your daughter – we wither, then we grow back together.”

With closing track, Mission, Daniela reveals that her story – her quest – does not reach any conventional sense of resolution.  Her journey may not have delivered perfection.  Neither have all her dreams been fulfilled.  But, she has learned to accept herself as the person she is – and she’s happy with that outcome. It’s a message that she expresses with passion, as her voice alternately fades, then intensifies and, throughout, electronic, percussive sounds emphasise her words.

Watch the official video to Clairvoyant – the album’s lead single – below:

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