Dies of Our Lives.
HERDD drops a punchy, self-love anthem ‘Dies Mei’ for Valentine’s Day.
To celebrate Valentine's Day, HERDD just dropped a hard-hitting new single ‘Dies Mei’ alongside a colourful lyric video. Produced by the platinum award winning Rob Wells (credits include: Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber & Adam Lambert amongst many others), Dies Mei acts as a powerful reminder that the most important person you can learn to love in life is you. ‘Dies Mei’, which translates from Latin to English as ‘my time’, is about reclaiming, celebrating and loving all that you are.
‘Dies Mei is all about learning to love the best and worst bits of who you are. On a personal level it’s not only a celebration of how far I’ve come, past addiction and suicidal depression, but also an acceptance of how far I’ve still got to go.’
It's always an adventure when new music from Herdd is involved. So we caught up with him to get all the juicy details of the song and what's coming next.
Hey Frankie, it’s great to have a new HERDD track to put “on repeat”. ‘Dies Mei’ is the new release and I’m wondering, what its origin is? What’s this song all about for you? And why is this the perfect next HERDD release?
Thanks for having me guys! It’s great to be here.
‘Dies Mei’ is a really special song for me because it’s a celebration of the hope I found through battling with my demons. The song was heavily inspired by my past struggles with suicidal depression, chronic anxiety and alcohol addiction and how over time I’ve been able to - largely - turn things around.
‘Dies Mei’ is Latin for ‘My Time’ and the song is all about learning to love the best and worst bits of who you are and then standing up and saying this is me, it’s my time and I ain’t going anywhere! Recording this song has been a really healing experience and I feel like my music moving forwards won’t be so impacted by my past.
Had you been working on the song a while or was this a new creation?
For me, songwriting is something that happens in stages. First, there’s the initial inspiration. This stage happens super fast, I can have a song formed from nothing in under an hour. The second stage takes a little longer, usually a few weeks, and it’s in this stage that I refine the song idea and produce a demo. The third stage involves me sharing my song demo with producers to see who wants to produce it. This pitch stage can take a while, you always want to make sure you’re working with the right person for the job.
Do you do your own production and mixing or do you outsource that help?
Although I produce all of my initial demos, I like to work with producers to help elevate my ideas. Although I’m a strong songwriter and love the creative process, I’m less skilled on the technical aspects of production. For ‘Dies Mei’ I worked with the incredible Rob Wells. He’s got platinum records to his name and has worked with artists such as Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez and Adam Lambert. So it was a super exciting experience.
‘Dies Mei is all about learning to love the best and worst bits of who you are. On a personal level it’s not only a celebration of how far I’ve come, past addiction and suicidal depression, but also an acceptance of how far I’ve still got to go.’
It's always an adventure when new music from Herdd is involved. So we caught up with him to get all the juicy details of the song and what's coming next.
Hey Frankie, it’s great to have a new HERDD track to put “on repeat”. ‘Dies Mei’ is the new release and I’m wondering, what its origin is? What’s this song all about for you? And why is this the perfect next HERDD release?
Thanks for having me guys! It’s great to be here.
‘Dies Mei’ is a really special song for me because it’s a celebration of the hope I found through battling with my demons. The song was heavily inspired by my past struggles with suicidal depression, chronic anxiety and alcohol addiction and how over time I’ve been able to - largely - turn things around.
‘Dies Mei’ is Latin for ‘My Time’ and the song is all about learning to love the best and worst bits of who you are and then standing up and saying this is me, it’s my time and I ain’t going anywhere! Recording this song has been a really healing experience and I feel like my music moving forwards won’t be so impacted by my past.
Had you been working on the song a while or was this a new creation?
For me, songwriting is something that happens in stages. First, there’s the initial inspiration. This stage happens super fast, I can have a song formed from nothing in under an hour. The second stage takes a little longer, usually a few weeks, and it’s in this stage that I refine the song idea and produce a demo. The third stage involves me sharing my song demo with producers to see who wants to produce it. This pitch stage can take a while, you always want to make sure you’re working with the right person for the job.
Do you do your own production and mixing or do you outsource that help?
Although I produce all of my initial demos, I like to work with producers to help elevate my ideas. Although I’m a strong songwriter and love the creative process, I’m less skilled on the technical aspects of production. For ‘Dies Mei’ I worked with the incredible Rob Wells. He’s got platinum records to his name and has worked with artists such as Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez and Adam Lambert. So it was a super exciting experience.
Your musical style leans heavily into the electro pop lane but often with a twist. When you sit down to write, where do you pull from. What are your go-to’s for inspiration.
As someone who has a very varied taste in music, I can find myself compelled to write in so many different genres. It’s honestly a bit ridiculous. One day I’ll feel attracted to write some beefy sounding EDM, the next I’m rapping over some hard beat and the next morning I’m writing tame acoustic pop. In short, I write in a lot of different styles. But then, part of the development process is to take my ideas and bring that HERDD vibe to them. That’s one of my favourite parts of the process.
For ‘Dies Mei’ in particular, Rob and I took some inspiration from Lady Gaga’s ‘Aura’. We loved how big the production was for that track and aimed to bring something similar to the table production wise.
‘Dies Mei’ is high energy and has some positive messaging in it. What do you want listeners to take away from it?
‘Dies Mei’ is not just about it being my time. It’s about all of us learning to see past our flaws and standing up for what we believe in. I think most people can get behind that.
Your last single came along with a very expressive music video. Will we be seeing a video for ‘Dies Mei’?
‘Dies Mei’ will unfortunately not be coming out with a big video like my last single, this time we’ve decided to produce a lyric video instead. As a self-funded project, resources always have to be pointed to the most important things. In 2020, that’s getting into the studio and recording new music.
Do you feel pressure to make videos for each release? You’re very comfortable in front of the camera sometimes video can be an expense very much out of an artists budget.
I definitely do feel pressure to put out the visual vision for my songs, but in this case realize that my resources can be best used by getting more music out there. It’s always a tough balance, but you just have to trust your instincts really.
As someone who has a very varied taste in music, I can find myself compelled to write in so many different genres. It’s honestly a bit ridiculous. One day I’ll feel attracted to write some beefy sounding EDM, the next I’m rapping over some hard beat and the next morning I’m writing tame acoustic pop. In short, I write in a lot of different styles. But then, part of the development process is to take my ideas and bring that HERDD vibe to them. That’s one of my favourite parts of the process.
For ‘Dies Mei’ in particular, Rob and I took some inspiration from Lady Gaga’s ‘Aura’. We loved how big the production was for that track and aimed to bring something similar to the table production wise.
‘Dies Mei’ is high energy and has some positive messaging in it. What do you want listeners to take away from it?
‘Dies Mei’ is not just about it being my time. It’s about all of us learning to see past our flaws and standing up for what we believe in. I think most people can get behind that.
Your last single came along with a very expressive music video. Will we be seeing a video for ‘Dies Mei’?
‘Dies Mei’ will unfortunately not be coming out with a big video like my last single, this time we’ve decided to produce a lyric video instead. As a self-funded project, resources always have to be pointed to the most important things. In 2020, that’s getting into the studio and recording new music.
Do you feel pressure to make videos for each release? You’re very comfortable in front of the camera sometimes video can be an expense very much out of an artists budget.
I definitely do feel pressure to put out the visual vision for my songs, but in this case realize that my resources can be best used by getting more music out there. It’s always a tough balance, but you just have to trust your instincts really.
As someone very familiar to live performance, and as someone who really thinks creatively, what do you strive for when preparing for a live show? What is the HERDD experience you try to give audiences?
I can’t wait to start playing live with this project. I have so many ideas about the visuals, the dancers and the general optics of my future performances. Ultimately, I love being on stage and sharing that intangible, electric energy with the audience. Nothing beats that!
Living in Toronto puts you at an epicenter of creativity and movement. I’m sure the city has both advantages and drawbacks for musical artists. What do you find the most challenging as an artist who is surrounded by industry? What are the barriers and what are the opportunities?
Toronto is an interesting place to be as an artist. Having traveled a lot and lived in quite a few major cities, it’s certainly one of the more business focused places I’ve lived. But there’s also a great undercurrent of creativity here too! It's a bit of a weird time for the industry in general though, streaming has totally changed the game as it has the power to turn anyone, anywhere, into a global sensation. These days it seems a little less about where you live and a little more about whether your music connects with people online. In that sense, the opportunities are for everyone, wherever they are.
What’s coming next? More releases we should assume?
Two words, more music! 2020 is all about hitting the studio and bringing more music to the world.
Finally, when are we going to see some HERDD live shows?
I’m so excited to play live, but sadly I don’t quite have the quantity of music out there to make that possible. My eyes are firmly fixed on the festival and pride circuit in 2021 though! But who knows, something may just happen sooner. You never really know.
I can’t wait to start playing live with this project. I have so many ideas about the visuals, the dancers and the general optics of my future performances. Ultimately, I love being on stage and sharing that intangible, electric energy with the audience. Nothing beats that!
Living in Toronto puts you at an epicenter of creativity and movement. I’m sure the city has both advantages and drawbacks for musical artists. What do you find the most challenging as an artist who is surrounded by industry? What are the barriers and what are the opportunities?
Toronto is an interesting place to be as an artist. Having traveled a lot and lived in quite a few major cities, it’s certainly one of the more business focused places I’ve lived. But there’s also a great undercurrent of creativity here too! It's a bit of a weird time for the industry in general though, streaming has totally changed the game as it has the power to turn anyone, anywhere, into a global sensation. These days it seems a little less about where you live and a little more about whether your music connects with people online. In that sense, the opportunities are for everyone, wherever they are.
What’s coming next? More releases we should assume?
Two words, more music! 2020 is all about hitting the studio and bringing more music to the world.
Finally, when are we going to see some HERDD live shows?
I’m so excited to play live, but sadly I don’t quite have the quantity of music out there to make that possible. My eyes are firmly fixed on the festival and pride circuit in 2021 though! But who knows, something may just happen sooner. You never really know.
Ask HERDD who he is and he will likely show you the small, scribbled tattoo on his inner right wrist that reads 'I am HERDD'. Ask him what this means and he'll explain that it’s through his music that he feels heard. And HERDD has a lot to say. Likened by Billboard to ‘early Gaga with shades of Daft Punk’ (Billboard 2019), HERDD’s sound is unapologetic and proud, brimming with brash beats, grand vocal harmonies and hooky melodies. And the best is still coming. At the back end of 2019 HERDD partnered with the multi-platinum award winning Rob Wells (Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber) to work on his next collection of singles with new music dropping throughout 2020.
