Backstage

Daniel Merriweather

May 2009 | Pop

Award-winning soul singer Daniel Merriweather has released his new album, "Love & War", a modern day soul record, stuffed with retro grooves. To get to know more about the man and his music, we interviewed him.

Daniel talks to We7 about working on his new album, his long-term partnership with super-producer Mark Ronson, and dodging angry Smiths fans...

The Interview

You've come a long way from your beginnings in Melbourne - can you tell us how you ended up being an internationally successful singer?

I got my first record deal when I was 19 in Melbourne on an indie label. I started recording and writing songs and then someone gave a demo I had made to Mark Ronson. He called me out of the blue in 2002 and was like, you've probably never heard of me but I love your music and you should come to NY so we can work together. So I flew out there and we just both seemed to be on the same page musically. We kept in touch and then he started a label called Allido Records which I signed to. We kept making music together, I would come to NY or he would come to Melbourne.

When did you move permanently to New York?

In 2006 I met Clive Davis and he signed me so I moved to New York where I spend about half my time now. I had released some music in Australia and the UK but never put out an album. Then Mark asked me to sing Stop Me on what I thought was an album he was making for fun and people ended up really liking. I had a lot of songs but wanted to wipe the slate clean and start fresh on new stuff. I asked Mark if he would produce it all because initially he was probably only going to do two or three songs. He said yes, we got the Dap Kings to bless the ish and I ended up finishing Love & War. I guess that kind of brings us to now.

Mark Ronson has been a big presence in your career - in what ways has he been supportive of you personally?

Well the second time I came to NY I had just signed to Mark's label, Allido Records but I didn't really have a lot of cash so he let me crash on a futon on his living room floor for three months, that was pretty supportive I guess.

What is the best piece of advice Mark has ever given you?

'Don't listen to a thing I say'.

What was it that first made you want to be a singer?

When I was 10 my first CD, and only one I had for a while, was "coolyhighharmony" by Boyz II Men. I loved the harmonies and could sing every note of every song. I played the violin since the age of 4, so classical music was always a big part of my life, but when I was about 14 I discovered Stevie Wonder and that became a big influence. Between listening to the soul greats like Donny Hathaway, Otis Redding and then listening to bands like Radiohead, Faith No More and Jeff Buckley, I was inspired to start writing my own songs. I kind of taught myself basic chords on my dad's old acoustic nylon string guitar by ear and would try to learn songs from a Beatles chord book that my uncle gave me...

"Stop Me" was your first big hit in the UK - did you ever expect it to be such a big song?

Not at all, I thought he was just making Version for fun... We dodged a few death threats from crazy Smiths fans. I thought he was going to use the songs he made to play in his DJ sets. It came as quite a surprise when we ended up on the road for 18 months... I was like damn dude, I've got to get back in the studio and finish my album. It was a lot of fun though, I've got to admit.

You've toured with some big name artists like Kanye West and Justin Timberlake. Did you get to hang out with them much?

It was me, Ronson, Dizzee Rascal and Ryhmefest opening for Justin Timberlake. I remember briefly meeting him, then he was swept away by 20 hairstylists and 30 makeup artists... Kanye was cool, I was just starting out and he let me open for him all around Australia, he was really chill... good guy.

Your new album is out now - are you excited to be releasing it?

Yeah of course, I'm really proud of it... I can't wait to get on the road and tour...

I wanted to push genre aside and just write good songs and get great musicians to play them. Ronson produced the whole thing and the Dap Kings play on it from start to finish. I wanted to make an album that I could put on in 20 years and still want to listen to.

Thanks for speaking to We7 today, Daniel!