We caught up with exceptionally talented Norwegian music producer, DJ, songwriter and artist, Martin Danielle (aka CLMD) ahead of his jam-packed release schedule over the coming months leading into 2020, whilst catching up with him about the release of his new track DANCE.
For Danielle, this collaboration is unique, as he explains having not collaborated with another DJ on this level before. The DJ in question is the very talented Tungevaag. Something Danielle found creatively new and thoroughly enjoyed. His inspiration behind the track was born out of admiration for the work undertaken by Tungevaag, and it was the perfect opportunity to join forces to produce the magic behind DANCE.
For those not familiar with CLMD’s music, the producer describes his music as pop-inspired house music. CLMD is openly honest about his view of creating a commercially appealing track where he is pursuing music he wants to make, and ultimately music he can be proud of.
The fact of being commercial is not as important as ensuring the music is on point and great for his fans.
To date, Danielle’s favourite piece has been “Trouble”. A track that involved a lot of risks, however, was a fantastic success. With a smile and jokingly explaining that “I would tell you how we created those stand-out vocals, but I’d have to kill you.” For CLMD, his music is designed with the purpose of invoking joy, with the purpose of placing his listeners in an endless, carefree state of mind, where you find yourself lost in the moment.
As a kid Danielle explains he was very into Hip Hop. However, on starting to experiment with DJing. he quickly realized the creative possibilities EDM, house and the likes offered. In his view, a genre which was far more superior to those in hip hop. Openly admitting that he finds himself far better at creating EDM music, that that of rapping.
Finding the Right People
For Danielle, he owes his entire career to those around him…
“The people close to me who enable me to continue working towards this dream, and my creative and professional team who keep my head in the game and support my ideas, no matter how big or crazy they are.”
Being a musician and producer, you need people around you to stay creative and productive. Danielle goes on to highlight how important it is to have people around you that will push your limits, both on a personal and professional level.
Looking to the music industry, CLMD believes what is needed is more equality. Further highlighting, that he sees so many female producers who aren’t given the time of day, just because they’re women. In his experience, women are a lot more attentive to detail than men, which make them great producers.
For students looking to get into the music industry, CLMD has a very short but equally powerful statement to take note of..”Be dumb enough to try, but smart enough to follow through.”
Danielle admits the hardest thing he ever had to do in his career was to re-establish CLMD after Carl left the project.
“I had to go over every detail in the project to make sure it was reflected in my vision. It took me years, but it’s also the best and most solid piece of work I’ve done so far.”
Looking to 2020, he has plans to continue working in the studio every day, whilst setting aside time to tour on a regular basis, with an EP and album in the pipeline.
