Interview: DaeShawn Forrest Discusses His New Single/Short Film "A Moment in Time"
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“The number one thing that inspires my art is real life experiences. Whatever I go through in my personal life naturally makes its way into the art I create. It just so happens that these last few years have been absolutely crazy.”
If you had to describe your music to a stranger in three words, which ones would you choose?
Transparent, authentic, and relatable are the three words I would use to describe my music.
Congratulations on the release of your new single/video "A Moment in Time"; tell us about your creative process and what motivated you to write the song itself.
This song is based on true events that happened in my personal life. I was engaged and on track to getting married around the start of the Spring in 2021 before things unfortunately ended some months before the wedding.
It left me devastated because, like in the video, I wasn’t the one that decided to end things. Immediately afterwards I found myself in a depression and decided to release all of my heartache into music and “A Moment’s Time” was one of many songs I ended up creating during that time. I knew this one was special the moment I played the chords on my piano.
Was "A Moment in Time" your first experience co-directing a visual, and do you plan to direct again for yourself and/or other artists in the future?
Actually my first time co-directing a visual was for a song off of “Transparent 1” called “Naive”. That one was also storytelling in nature just like “A Moment’s Time”.
I absolutely plan to direct again for myself because it was an experience that I truly loved. Not only am I passionate about music, I’m also passionate about film-making and telling real life stories.
Directing allows me to bring those stories to life to the best of my abilities. I would be open to directing for other artists as well if the opportunity ever presented itself.
"A Moment in Time" will be featured on your upcoming album “Transparent 2"; how would you describe this project, and when can we expect its release?
“Transparent 2” is deep. It’s emotional, inspiring, and very relatable. I made it a point to not hold back on the many different things I was going through in my life at the time from my engagement ending and the heartache from that, to my depression, suicidal thoughts and my anxiety, trust issues, you name it. But, when going through all of those things, if you're serious about finding the light at the end of the dark tunnel, you’ll find it. And after a while I found it.
So, on this album you might cry, and then you might get angry. You might end up feeling inspired and rejuvenated, developing a new appreciation for life like how I did. Or, maybe, you’ll end up being reminded of the importance of letting go of the past.
Perhaps, you’ll end up experiencing all of the above. One thing is for sure, this album is for anybody who has ever gone through a dark time.
You've mentioned that you have released two albums, one EP, and one mixtape in just three years. What are some things/people/places that inspire your creativity as an artist and do you ever get writer's block?
The number one thing that inspires my art is real life experiences. Whatever I go through in my personal life naturally makes its way into the art I create. It just so happens that these last few years have been absolutely crazy.
I’ve gone through a lot of growth as a person and have experienced a lot of hardships. Some of which actually hasn’t made its way into the music. Sometimes the songs get so personal and so deep that I have to shelve a few.
There are moments occasionally where I get a little bit of writer’s block, but I’ve learned over the years how to get myself past it. Usually, for me, it ends up being about how I pace myself. I do my best to make sure that anytime I work on music I come with a fresh mind.
Stream and Share “A Moment in Time”
Connect with DaeShawn Forrest: Instagram