DANNY KUTTNER DANNY KUTTNER BLENDS SOUL AND LEFTFIELD ELECTRONIC IN DEBUT EP ‘PURPLE’
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Today, (31st March) Tel Aviv based artist Danny Kuttner shares her debut EP Purple via Kartel Music Group. With every track on Purple involving a variety of talented musicians, this debut EP is fast tracking Danny Kuttner into the spotlight.
Making music is not just self-expression for Israeli singer-songwriter Danny Kuttner, it is a transformative experience – a space of surrender and healing. Across the soft, enveloping sounds of Kuttner’s soulful debut EP Purple, we hear the first formations of a remarkably mature artist – an old soul channelling jazz vocals blended with infectious melodies and atmospheric instrumentals. Through the prism of her arresting voice, familiarity is twisted into beguiling new shapes.
Singing for as long as she can remember, Danny’s musical upbringing was informed equally by the intuitively emotive music of jazz auteur Norah Jones as well as the self-assured pop of superstars like Beyoncé and Britney Spears. Honing her sound during her high school years, Kuttner then delved deeper into the classic jazz sound of vocalists like Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, as well as discovering jazz adjacent acts such as Hiatus Kaiyote and James Blake, who were experimenting with electronics to create a new, textural language of melody and improvisation.
“Neo soul, electronics and jazz were all such exciting avenues to explore – they were colours for my palette,” Danny says. “But it wasn’t until I left home at 21 and travelled the world for two years that I really discovered what music meant to me. That was when I realised I am an artist and that I have my own voice.”
Opening on the synth-based ambience of ‘Inception’, lead single ‘Come Play With Me’ channels the introspective soul of Erykah Badu in its gentle harmonies, while her lyrics explore the ideas of creating during a time of isolation. Following track ‘Chasing Myself’ lilts through an ear-worming melody and smoky jazz trumpet solo from Roy Zuzovsky while Danny sings of the need for space during the intense intimacy of a relationship. Synth-pop meanwhile punctuates Danny’s tribute to divine femininity on ‘She’, and hip-swaying funk stutters through the story of infatuation on ‘Limelight’.
“The entire process of the record was very organic and it developed depending on each track – there were no set rules,” Kuttner says. “For ‘Come Play With Me’, I collaborated with my friend Yuli Shafriri and we holed up in her house for three days, turning her wardrobe into a makeshift studio. ‘You’, by contrast, was so simple – just guitars and vocals – while ‘Chasing Myself’ had Gal Oved sampling live drums to get this crazy kick to the groove going. Purple is a real journey.”
On the record, we also hear her production skills, which lend themselves to the ineffable feel and title of the EP. It is a touch behind the mixing desk, resulting in the understated swagger of ‘Limelight’ or the soaring melodic expansions of ‘Travelling’, that Danny feels is currently lacking. “It was important for me to produce on this record as a woman, since we bring a softness to the sound,” Kuttner explains. “When I listen to someone like Charlotte Day Wilson, I can hear that sensitivity instantly, and that is something we need more of in music today.”
Encompassing the purple, pastels and pinks of a transformative sunset, Danny Kuttner’s record is set to inspire listeners to embark on their own journey of musical reflection. With a tour planned through Israel, as well as potential future dates in Europe and beyond, Purple is poised to become a soulful phenomenon. “My songs come alive when people listen with their whole bodies, when they feel the energy it can create,” she says. “That is when music has the capacity to be something bigger than ourselves – it is joyful and healing.” We can listen with intent and let Danny’s vibrations sing through us.
PURPLE TRACK LISTING
Inception
Come Play With Me
Chasing Myself
Limelight
Travelling
Purple
You
She