Lyrically impassioned and sonically inviting
Songwriter and vocalist Desmon Myers reveals his long-awaited debut album, Shadowdancer.
Lyrically impassioned and sonically inviting, the Shadowdancer album is set alongside the visuals to the lead single, ‘Shadows’ directed by David Nobles. This final single acts as the centrepiece and the glue that ties the whole album together by providing context behind the deeper meaning of the overall project.
If previous Desmond Myers’ tracks have felt like the singer was opening his closet for all to see, ‘Shadows’ is the grand finale of that character arc. Where tracks like ‘Playing with Fire’, which earned the singer his first million streams, felt like Desmond was taking us on a journey through his battle with temptation, and ‘Real Man’ gave a bitingly honest critique of the insidious masculinity he inherited from his upbringing, ‘Shadows’ is the final thrilling chapter on this voyage of self-discovery.
Shrouded in dark, mysterious and funk-fuelled melodies, ‘Shadows’ was written by Desmond following a period of great uncertainty in his life; juggling fatherhood for the first time while still questioning young man’s ideas about sexuality and the crushing expectations of an international career in a music industry that seems to want artists untethered and hungry for as long as possible. Fear, self-doubt and isolation plagued a lot of the writing process but, as ever, it was the music itself that dug him out of the darkness. Lost in the driving beat and swaggering guitars ‘Shadows’ was penned as a celebration of finding the light at the end of the tunnel, as well as tender and heartfelt homage to finally gaining self-acceptance.
“Shadows” is a song I wrote after being frustrated with overthinking. I can be a very cerebral person at times and I wanted to make a song that got me out of my own head. I had been making a lot of mid-tempo music about things that were very personal to me and I just wanted to make something to shake those feelings off to. It ended up being just as vulnerable of an experience as those other songs. It was like treating myself through song, which is its own unique kind of vulnerability.”
Desmond Myers
Based in Atlanta, Georgia but just as comfortable in Paris, France, Desmond Myers has spent the best part of the last year honing his craft and living between these two iconic cities following his addition to the Parisienne neo-soul outfit Her, which soon lead to Desmond being signed by the French record label, LVCO Production in 2020.
Fast forward to the present day and Desmond is highly regarded as a seasoned recording artist and a regularly occurring act in the Paris music scene and beyond. Influenced greatly by his time in the city of love, Shadowdancer showcases Desmond’s unique history with the European country by employing a veritable première classe of French musicians; drummer Mathieu Gramoli (Her, Gaël Faye) bassist Pierre Elgrishi (NACH, Clara Luciani) and guitarist Louis Marin Renaud (Théo Lawrence, Lou Doillon) who also mixed the album.
Entirely self-written and conceptualised, the lyrical composition of Shadowdancer is equally as alluring, emotive and complex as its instrumentation. Delivered over 8 incredible tracks, the Shadowdancer album sees Desmond Myers expertly traverse a number of sonic landscapes and touch on a multitude of personal themes. From the deep, grooving motivation of, ‘Fuck Fear’ to the infectious beats of ‘Different Energy’ and the sultry crooning in ‘Abercrombie’, Desmond Myers offers fans and listeners a project woven together by a rich tapestry of sounds and textures. Each passing track is wholly different from the last whilst managing to remain seamless and coherent as an overall body of work.
An incredibly skilled vocalist and masterful songwriter, Desmond Myers has proven himself a more than capable artist time and time again, and Shadowdancer is a shining testament to his growth, versatility and development, both as an artist and a human being.
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