Q: Hi Danielle! Absolutely love “Never Be The Same”; your emotions shine through in your vocals, which I love in music. Can you tell me a little about the creative process of making this track?
DANIELLE MATTACHINI: Thank you so much! That truly means the world to me. For the most part all of the songs that I write tend to start with just me and my acoustic guitar. About 2 years following a painful breakup I was reflecting one day and felt inspired to start writing. I honestly tend to go into a hypnotic-like state when I write and then Im just sort of left with a finished product at the end. This was one of those songs where it only took about 2 hours to write and once I finished I knew in my gut that it was something special. At that point I was lucky enough to collaborate with two incredibly talented friends of mine (Lucas Liberatore and Justin Toito) who helped me with the production to bring the song to where it is now.
Q: I think I know what “Never Be The Same” is about, but can you tell me the inspiration behind this song?
DANIELLE: of course! Like I said, this track was inspired 2 years after I went through an awful breakup. While I was in the relationship with this person I had a lot of insecurities, one of them being a huge lack of self trust. I was always terrified of being physically alone or even worse – feeling any sort of negative emotion by myself because at the time I truly believed that I would not be able to get through it without another person being there. You can imagine how terrifying it is to lose someone when you feel like they are your lifeline. This being said, I am so incredibly thankful that it happened because I would not be the person I am today or have the relationship that I do with myself now if I didn’t go through it. The amount of grief I endured started to make me very comfortable with being sad by myself to the point where I actually started enjoying it. I always had a lot of emotional support from friends and family but there was something so healing about crying to yourself WITH yourself. One night while I was crying I felt called to literally wrap my arms around my torso and hug myself. It was in that moment that I realized that I’ve always been there for myself, I was just in a pit of self doubt and choosing to not trust myself. The line “both hands on my heart with the pain and I’ll never be the same” is a reference to that special moment because it’s the reason the song exists.
Q: If you could collaborate with any artist, who would it be and why?
DANIELLE: This changes all the time because I love so many artists haha! Currently if I had to choose I would love to collaborate with Gracie Abrams, Ben Kessler, or Alexander23. The reason is because I resonate with their sound and I find them all to be incredible song writers, but based off of their social media presence I also think we would connect well and be good friends if we got to know each other. Connection is the foundation of being able to create amazing music with another person so I think its so important! They also seem to be very good and kind people and I value surrounding myself with that kind of energy. It would be an absolute honour to work with any of them one day.
Q: I’m always interested in an artist’s musical journey; did you grow up with a musical family/do you remember what or who first made you fall in love with it?
DANIELLE: My mom used to play the ukulele when she was younger and despite what she says she can definitely carry a tune! My dad has never played any instruments but he has always been a music lover and he can sing as well. Because my dad was constantly playing music I remember growing up always knowing there was an importance to and something meaningful about music. I’m not entirely sure if something externally made me fall in love with it because its always been something that came naturally from within me. When I started writing songs at the age of 6 it was a creative outlet for me that became therapeutic as I got older and I think that in itself made me fall in love. Watching stars like Hilary Duff, Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift growing up also played a huge roll in inspiring me to dream as a kid and never give up on what I knew I was meant to do.
Q: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received about the music industry, and how has it helped you navigate through your musical journey so far?
DANIELLE: I actually recently met Alexander23 this past October at his Toronto show and he gave me some great advice that John Mayer had once given him. We were talking about the pressures of the industry and how easy it can be to start feeling like you need to be creating a certain sound or writing songs a certain way in order to build an audience. The problem with that is that it starts to weigh down on your creativity and suddenly you’re no longer creating what truly feels authentic to you. These may not be the exact words but what John Mayer had said to Alexander was to create music that feels good to you and only you. The best songs that someone will write is when the chords and guitar that they’re playing feels good in their hands and the lyrics and melodies feel authentic while singing them. When you release the pressure and stop trying to please anyone else but yourself is when you’ll create your best music. I loved that because it’s so true, even in other aspects of the industry. As long as you’re being true to yourself you’ll be much happier and always taking a step toward what’s most important to you. I remind myself of this constantly!
Q: Your lyrics are really poetic, and I’m interested in your writing process; can you walk me through your process in making “Never Be The Same”?
DANIELLE: Aw thank you, I love that. It’s hard to pin point how I come up with the words and melodies because of that meditative state i’m in while I write, but It’s almost like the words will just appear in my mind and then I start to build off of them. I’ll also have an itch sometimes that pushes me in a certain direction and I’ll keep trying a bunch of different combinations of words until the itch gets scratched. It’s kind of like putting together a puzzle and its awesome because it changes every time so there’s always a challenge that excites me.
Q: Was there a pivotal moment in your life when you decided to follow your path as a musician?
DANIELLE: Definitely. I’ve been writing all my life and always knew this was what I was meant to do but I did fall off of the path for a little while. When I was in high school I started posting covers on YouTube and built a pretty quick following of about 20k subscribers. Unfortunately I felt like going to University was what I was supposed to be doing and ended up having very little time to focus on YouTube and music. It wasn’t until I graduated in 2019 that I realized I’m going to regret my life when i’m 80 years old If I never truly commit to what I’m passionate about. It’s unfortunate that I lost the momentum I had at the time in 2014 and I regret losing the connection I had with the people following me because I genuinely loved our relationship. That being said I believe everything happens for a reason and I’m glad I’m focusing on my career now. Hopefully I’ll get the chance to reconnect with those people because it was an amazing time in my life getting to know them and have their support.
Q: Thank you so much for talking with me! Tell everyone what exciting things are coming up next for you! 🙂
DANIELLE: This was awesome! Thanks for taking the time to ask me some questions. Currently I’m writing a ton of music so I have a lot in the works! I’m hoping to release an EP at some point. I’m also planning on making YouTube videos again because I’ve genuinely always loved it. Following me on all my socials is the best way to keep up to date with any projects I’m working on. Its @daniellemattachini for mostly everything except Twitter which is @imdaniellem . Thank you again, I hope you have a great day!!
Interviewed by Melissa Cusano
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