“If you’re looking for oblique sounds, you’ll find them in the desert,” says producer Chris Schlarb (Mike Watt, Sufjan Stevens) of Indio’s Dani Meza.

Born in Coachella's shadow where he still lives, Meza’s the crushedvelvets called “dreamy,” “soulful,” with “the night-kissed grace of Julee Cruise.”

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Dani Meza of the crushedvelvets as photographed by Cristopher Cichocki

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PLAY, POST & SHARE

the crushedvelvets | “Stun Gun”

[SOUNDCLOUD]: https://soundcloud.com/fanaticpro/the-crushedvelvets-stun-gun

Dani Meza will release the third of his three-song EP series as the crushedvelvets on Oct. 21. Hear “Stun Gun” now via New Noise Magazine or at the link above.

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In describing Meza’s music, his producer, Chris Schlarb — known for his work with Mike Watt, Sufjan Stevens, Nels Cline, and others — says, “Dani Meza is a throwback to the musical iconoclasts of yesteryear,” adding in reference to Meza’s hometown of Indio, California, “If you’re looking for oblique sounds, you’ll find them in the desert.”

Meza explains, “These new songs and style came about from necessity. After my medical incident (an aneurism and two strokes) it changed my perspective on how to write and perform.

“This set of songs were written while I was healing. Along with not being able to be as physical as I used to be, my vocal delivery had to be more laid back due to not being able to exert too much pressure on my neck. So the slow, grooving pace of these songs were built and written to not over stimulate myself. At times, you can hear the tension in the music and in my voice when I have to hold back.”

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the crushedvelvets | “Dig To Me”

[STREAM]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8V6Wcl713w

“Dreamy and soulful shuffles that have all the night-kissed grace of Julee Cruise and the poetic finesse of The Jazz Butcher,” says Stereo Embers Magazine. “‘Dig To Me’ is a perfect example of Meza’s new musical identity. A smooth number that’s set against an astral soundscape, the song is buoyed by undulating percussion and Meza’s stirring vocal delivery.”

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the crushedvelvets

EP 2(S/R)Out Now
Streaming Link:STREAM FULL EP

Track Listing:

01. Dig To Me (STREAM)

02. A Hero's Sin

03. The Way You Were Made

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the crushedvelvets

EP 1

(S/R)

Out Now

Streaming Link:

STREAM FULL EP

Track Listing:

01. Like I Do (STREAM)

02. Intertwined

03. Mosaic

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the crushedvelvets | About

After citing Al Green, Marvin Gaye, and Prince as influences, it is only natural that Dani Meza of the crushedvelvets concludes, “These songs are all about the groove.”

The nine new tunes by the crushedvelvets are presented three at a time, as if placed on a dark club’s bar like mixed drinks over the course of a mild summer evening.

EPs 1 and 2 are out now, with the third arriving on Oct. 21.

For Meza, getting to that stone cold groove meant first getting his own groove back, and not just in the sense of the popular turn of phrase. Meza literally lost his ability to write and perform following an aneurism and stroke.

“These new songs and style came out of necessity,” Meza confides. “The incident forced me to change my perspective on how to write and perform. My vocal delivery had to be more laid back and the groovy pace of these songs keeps me from over-stimulating myself.”

The circumstances surrounding these recordings are out of the ordinary, but for listeners, they are even more alive with Meza’s soul and survival because of it.

“These songs were written while I was healing and the influences on this sound and these songs comes from the variety of musicians and bands that I listened to while I was recovering,” he says.

In addition to the aforementioned artists, Meza also mentions Serge Gainsbourg, Julee Cruise, and Erik Satie.

“I wanted to combine my love of R&B and Soul music with surreal sounds and imagery,” he explains.

With this concept in mind, Meza knew he should reach out to producer Chris Schlarb, an artist in his own right with several releases on Sufjan Stevens’s Asthmatic Kitty label, as well as  production credits for releases on Asthmatic Kitty, Joyful Noise, Jealous Butcher and many more.

“Chris knew exactly what I was trying to achieve and gathered the players he knew would bring my new songs to life,” Meza says.

Musicians Davin Givhan (Bass & Guitar), Ben Lumsdaine (Drums & Percussion), and Heather Sommerhauser (Keyboards & Backing Vocals) join Meza on Guitar, Keyboards, and Vocals.

“At our very first session, the songs seemed to fall into place on their own. I had no ambitions other than capturing the groove,” Meza remembers.

In conclusion, Meza drops an inspiring reveal of his continuing ambition on the other side of emerging from recovery.

Following the release of these three EPs, he plans to take the songs he amassed during his healing and head back into the studio to start working on “one of the many albums I have ready to record.”

The first two of three new three-song EPs by the crushedvelvets are streaming now. EP 3 arrives on Oct. 21.

Dani Meza of the crushedvelvets is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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the crushedvelvets | Links

ASSETS : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : SPOTIFY : APPLE

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Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact

WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL