On his track “Like Me,” he said, “In 2018, my friend Sean Greiner sent me a track he was working on and asked if I would be interested in collaborating on it. It was just an instrumental and I sent the track to Gail Grossman. I had just gone through a pretty toxic breakup and I was interested in creating an anthem about moving on from a love that has ended with healing strength and self-love.”
“Gail and I collaborated on the topline; she did the initial demo and I rearranged it and rewrote phrases of it to fit into my voice. The spoken bridge was an ad-lib I came up with in the studio. We still weren’t satisfied with how it was sounding so then I brought my long-term collaborator Jonathan Shulman onboard who I’ve worked with since ‘My Return Address Is You.’ We sat down for a few sessions and rebuilt the track, adding the orchestral elements and writing the arpeggio drop that I call the ‘moving on march’,” he elaborated.
On breaking the Top 20 on Beatport, he said, “Well, let me tell you something: a producer recently told me that my recent win for Electronica Artist of the Year from the IMEA Awards didn’t mean anything because no one is actually listening to my music. Beatport is the most competitive chart in the dance music industry; it’s a platform largely used by DJs so it’s a measure of who is downloading and buying the song. Right now, we are higher on the chart than releases from Dillon Francis, EDX, Nora en Pure, Dom Dolla, Purple Disco Machine… you know, all well-established DJ/producers who have been around for a long time. So I’d like to think that means something: maybe that guy is wrong.”
When asked about his music and songwriting inspirations, he said, “Most of my songs are inspired by my past relationships. That’s what ‘My Return Address is You,’ ‘What’s The Matter With You’ and ‘Like Me’ are about. My previous release ‘Hype’ is about social media culture and how we have become addicted to the hype. I am working on something new called ‘House Bitch’ with a producer overseas named KRAIZ and that’s just pure hedonistic fun where we let the technical ideas take priority over the message of the song. You know, it will be a big boy club track.”
On his plans for 2020, he said, “I am finishing up two more tracks for release later in the year. I am also an actor so I’d like to be acting as much as possible. I wrote a horror film which I will be directing as my first feature and also acting in. Filmmaking is what I studied in college and I’ve been working on this film project for six years so it’s a long time coming.”
Regarding the impact of streaming services (Apple Music, Spotify, Beatport) on the music business, he said, “It’s all about streaming now with much less emphasis on trying to break onto terrestrial or commercial radio. Three of my songs have had commercial radio play on Sirius XM BPM but the labels are much more focused on getting onto these Spotify playlists.”
On being an electronic artist in the digital age, he said, “There has never been a better time to be an artist. The streaming platforms allow an independent like me to build a niche following from fans all over the world. I haven’t started touring or performing live yet but that’s something I envision for the future. For the time being, there are thousands of independent Spotify playlist curators who have the ears of different listeners and I’ve been fortunate and grateful to get support there.”
He listed Meryl Streep and Lizzo as his dream collaboration partners. “I would love to do a track with Meryl Streep: I would want her to do some spoken vocals on a house track. And I love what Lizzo is doing. I went to the Grammys last week and she is a powerful presence. Maybe a glam rock track with a very EDM drop would be dope with her vocals.”
For fans and listeners, he concluded about “Like Me,” “If you’re going through a breakup or trying to get over someone who did not see your value, ‘Like Me’ is your song. Let it be your anthem. He/she/they ‘will never find another one like you’.”
“Like Me” is available on Beatport by clicking here.
To learn more about Adam Davenport, check out his official website and follow him on Instagram.
