Today, I have a brand new artist that I think we are going to be seeing a lot more of. Meet Doji, a young artist based out of Los Angeles that has a fantastic debut single to share with us titled “Foreign Fields”. Below, he gives us a little bit more insight into his music.
Name: Doji
Age: 20
Hometown: Hockessin, Delaware
Where did “Doji” come from?:
The summer before high school I went to go to Tibet with a monk who gave me the nickname Doji. He told me it was a lucky name, but I think it has something to do with something called varja too. There’s something special about not being entirely sure what it means. My name is kind of like a souvenir or reminder that this crazy trip actually did happen.
Musical Influences:
I listen to all kinds of music nowadays, much like everyone else. But I can say that the first music I remember hearing include Believe by Cher, 1979 by The Smashing Pumpkins, The Sound of Music, Simon and Garfunkel.
What was the inspiration for Foreign Fields (musical or otherwise) and why did you pick it as your first single?:
Last year I was obsessed with getting toy keyboards and I eventually got this little Casio keyboard from ’85. It’s such a nice writing tool because it’s so barebones and forces you to keep things simple. One day I challenged myself to come up with something really simple and memorable. That’s how the rhythmic exhaling in the intro began.
I have a collection of half-written songs and ‘Foreign Fields’ happened to be the newest addition. Although I intended to finish the older songs first, this one kept coming back to me until I eventually became obsessed with it.
What should we be expecting in 2016?:
I’m working on some music videos at the moment. They are pretty fresh ideas and hard to capture but there should be something coming out around mid-February. Other than that, I plan on consistently releasing singles that explore new sounds.
We are The Lucky Velvet, so do you have any good luck charms or rituals?:
I used to wear this bloodstone necklace that had a several hundred year old Chinese coin. It was lost for a while, but it’s recently resurfaced and I haven’t taken it off since.
This single gives us all of the classic elements of indie-pop, and then adds in a little extra. The vocals in the track are just enough to compliment the tracking, so you really get to enjoy every part of the song as a whole. This is important because there are a lot of intricate things to appreciate here. The backbeat keeps the whole thing moving and it’s what will get you grooving. And then because you all know how much I love vocals, there is a break in the tracking to let you appreciate those leads vocals. This is a very impressive debut single from Doji, and I am intrigued to see what comes next. You can listen to “Foreign Fields” right here.
Be on the lookout for new tunes this year, because they are coming your way. You can check out Doji on any social media platform you so desire below.
Let me know your thoughts with a comment below!
I also love when people send me stuff to check out, so if you find yourself thinking “Man, this song should grace the pages of The Lucky Velvet”, let me know people!
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