It’s been just over two months since Toronto’s Dabin dropped his debut album Two Hearts. We here at FUXWITHIT were instantly in awe at this cohesive creation, and have not yet been able to pick our jaws up off the floor. Whether it’s the use of seven different vocalists, the contrasting bright and dark themes, or the sublime storytelling, there’s little left to be desired. The only way to top the experience that is Two Hearts was to hear more from the man himself, so we connected in hopes of shedding more light on the magical release. Check out the full conversation below.
How have you been keeping up in these months following the release of Two Hearts? Did you give yourself some time to relax and decompress or has it been right back to work?
Definitely been doing some unwinding. I also just got back from supporting Black Tiger Sex Machine on their Music Is Our Religion tour so it was definitely nice to relax a bit. But I’m back in the studio now finishing up a bunch of songs.
What’s your go to way to unwind?
Definitely play video games. I still find a lot of beauty and inspiration from video games.
What has the response at shows been like now that people have had the time take in the album?
It’s been really great to see people connect with the album in such a personal and meaningful way. It’s not always easy trying to get a message or story across during a show, especially considering that people come to shows for a variety of different reasons, but it’s been great to seeing so much love and connection from the fans!
Clearly Two Hearts is something that will stay with you for the rest of your life (tattoo looks great btw), but I imagine finishing/releasing it was incredibly cathartic, can you share some of that experience?
It was definitely nerve-wracking. It’s like releasing your own personal diary of the past two years to the world for everyone to judge and take in. At the end of the day, I had to remember that the importance of the album was to tell the story that I wanted to tell and I’m so happy that a lot of the fans have been connecting with it the way I hoped they would.
Was there one track that was tougher/more nerve-wracking than the others to share? If so, why?
I think ‘Lilith‘ because there is such a specific story and theme I wanted to portray but also such a variety of different sounds utilized to portray this one idea.
Much of the lyrical content is tremendously telling of the, as you’ve said, “past two years of growing and learning.” But since you worked with several different vocalists, I wonder how much direction you gave them? Were you trying to stick close to a specific storyline/arc or did an organic evolution take precedent?
Before asking any of the vocalists to collaborate, I created a big document outlining the themes, subject matter, and direction for each song. I wanted go from light to dark as the album progressed and I picked vocalists based on how I thought they could project these themes and emotions. I think the vocalists all did a fantastic job sticking to the original story and outline that I had for them, and it was a real pleasure working with each of them.
At its core, Two Hearts is about love and loss.
Although Two Hearts is obviously very personal, perhaps you’d be willing to share the story of the inciting event. At what point did you think, I could write a full length album about this?
At its core, Two Hearts is about love and loss. I just really wanted to give my own interpretation of it. Music has always been a form of healing for me, and at the time, it was the best thing I could do to learn and grow from my experiences.
What is it about music that you find has healing powers? Why?
Music is always there for you when no one else will be. It’s an emotional catharsis. Without it, it feels like holding a breath in for too long. And hiding emotions and underlying issues can without a doubt be toxic to your mental well-being.
I’ve read that you write your tracks on guitar before mixing them on software, did you follow that same pattern here? Would you ever consider playing/releasing an acoustic or stripped down version of Two Hearts?
When I first starting songwriting, it was all on my guitar and I found it’s been the most comfortable way to write music. The majority of Two Hearts started off with ideas that I came up with on the guitar, then transcribed into other instruments and sounds. And I would totally be up for an acoustic session of Two Hearts!
You’ve already shared that ‘Lilith’ was inspired by Goethe’s Faust, are there any other literary links or easter eggs hidden elsewhere?
Totally! Just to name a couple, in ‘Worries’ after the first chorus, I use the same bell sound from ‘Corridors of Time‘ in the Chrono Trigger soundtrack. Also ‘You & I’ samples my friend River Tiber and his song ‘The City‘ during the chorus.
What do you feel was your biggest learning or growing experience, from Two Hearts?
Knowing where my strengths and weaknesses lie. I feel it has definitely made me a into a better producer and songwriter.
You’ve also shared that there are multiple tracks that “didn’t make the album,” enough for an EP?
There are a handful of songs that I wanted to include on the album but didn’t make it because either they weren’t near the level of completion that I wanted them to be or they didn’t fit the progression of the album. I’m hoping to finish these songs and release a B-sides EP somewhere down the line!
While there’s still some semblance of your older heavier (electro, DnB and Dub) productions in Two Hearts, the majority of it is more future bass bent. What led to this shift in style?
I always thought it was funny how people try to put everything into genres. For me personally, I just knew my strengths and weaknesses. I knew that my strengths were in my melodies and I just focused on writing music that was meaningful and story driven to me personally.
You can have an artist doing something really fresh and unique, but just because there’s not a category or genre for it, people will put the “future bass” stamp on it.
“Future Bass” is a genre title we’ve debated a bunch here at FUXWITHIT. What do you think brought about its explosion, the endless waves of “Flume imitators” and the cumbersome nature of its name?
I feel it really pigeon-holes producers into such a specific category for the sole purpose of identification and comparison. You can have an artist doing something really fresh and unique, but just because there’s not a category or genre for it, people will put the “future bass” stamp on it. At the end of the day, I try to appreciate an artist based on their sound and songwriting, not the genre in which the fans categorize them into.
Do you see yourself continuing to work with this lighter, more emotive, brand of beats? What’s next in the Dabin story?
Definitely. I think it’s more indicative of my style of songwriting and I have much easier time writing with this sound palette. As for what’s next, you’ll just have to wait and see!
Listen to Two Hearts below.
