Soul meets body

On the liner notes of “Love & War,” his Mark Ronson-produced debut album, Daniel Merriweather shares a rather interesting roll call of idols and icons. From Q-Tip and Vivaldi all the way to Steven Hawking and Thom Yorke, the 27-year-old Melbourne native tips thanks the singular figures who have collectively been his inspiration throughout the years.     

“I might meet somebody that might inspire a song or might read a book, or I might listen to it or listen to someone else’s song that might influence my music,” he tells Supreme, confirming the magpie-like eclecticism that has served him extremely well. “I’m constantly trying to learn more.”

Hardly an overnight sensation, Daniel has lent his full-bodied vocals to several projects, with Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before being the most commercially successful. Part of Mark Ronson’s 2006 album “Version,” the funk-based Smiths remake was proof that the apprentice, after a series of vocal cameos, was ready to earn accolades on his own.

“Love & War,” recorded in the twin hubs of New York and London, ranks high as far as first efforts go. For Your Money is both a Manhattan love song and an outsider’s struggle set against a throwback soul backdrop. With a sample of Alan Hackshaw’s Beat Me ‘Til I’m Blue and a nod to Jay-Z (“And get that dirt off my shoulder”), Chainsaw is as brilliantly retro as an episode of Soul Train. And in true pay-it-forward fashion, a few of Daniel Merriweather’s pals threw their support: Sean Lennon plays guitar on the opening track while Adele duets in Water and a Flame.   

Pulling Up His Pants

What was it like growing up in Melbourne? What kind of music did you listen to?

Oh man, it was great! I grew up in the forest, on top of the mountain. I mean I didn’t have a typical sort of Melbourne, Australian upbringing. I guess I was very fortunate that I was kind of in the middle of nowhere, secluded among trees.

I grew up in the ’90s. It was sort of the advent of MTV and music videos. I listened to a lot of local bands, but the first CD I ever bought was Boyz II Men’s “Cooleyhighharmony” when I was 10 years old. After that I just developed this love for soul music.

The same time, I was listening to a lot of Radiohead, Jeff Buckley, and hip-hop. It was a little bit of everything.

If you could write a letter or dedicate a song to your younger self, what would you write or what song would you pick?

If I could write myself a letter, I would probably tell myself to pull up my pants. And “Don’t sell drugs.” It’s bad!

Taking It Nice And Slow

How did you meet Mark Ronson? Do you consider him your mentor?

Yeah, I met Mark seven years ago. He had really done a lot of production then before as a DJ. He was looking for an artist who was starting out and we ended up working together. We clicked and now we’re mates! From then on, he and I kept working together and kept making music.

How often do you sit down to write songs? How many of these do you end up recording?

I’m a slow, slow songwriter! Like The Children, the 13th song in the album. That literally took me two months to write. I just wanted to say exactly what I wanted to say.

Some songs come really quickly. Some songs, they just don’t come together. I mean I was working with a lot of different people — friends of mine who are really talented and amazing musicians who definitely speed the process up. But if I actually write my song, I take my time.

What was the first song that made it to “Love and War”? Did this set the tone for the rest of the album in any way?

Yes, it was Change. And I wrote that with Cathy Dennis. Mark had this sample and I, Andrew Wyatt, and Cathy started writing into it. When we heard what it sounded like, it was just a no-brainer. It turned out amazing! He was gonna only produce three songs in the album, so I asked him if he could produce the whole album and he said yes.

 How was it working with Wale on this track?

Wale and I have been mates for a while, like we were on the road for two years. We’re label mates and he’s one of my favorite rappers. He says things in a very different way, with a very unique perspective on the world. He wrote that version for about like 10 minutes.

Cigarettes And Alcohol

I’ve met a few artists who say they regularly use humidifiers. How do you take care of your voice?

Smoke a lot of cigarettes and drink a lot of whiskey! (Laughs.) I’ve had problems before with my voice. I’ve had a blister on my vocal chords and I’ve had to have an operation. I had it cut out. I think you know a lot of the time, you know voice is like … when you sing you’re getting things off your chest. You’re getting emotions out of you. I think if you’re not being completely honest with yourself or you’re not expressing yourself in the truest way you can, I think the voice problem starts.

But I think as far as the lifestyle goes, I don’t see it really as a problem. If there is some sort of primal sort of rawness that comes out when you’re singing, I don’t think it has anything to do with, quite frankly, working out how to protect it. Yeah, as you can see I’m also a doctor! (Laughs.)

If you could provide the soundtrack to any film, what would that be?

Wow, ever since I was very, very young, it’s been 2001: A Space Odyssey. I used to watch it all the time! It’s weird because it’s kind of a boring movie. It doesn’t really have a plot, but there is something deeply disturbing about it. I’ve always been fascinated by that, just the loneliness in it being in space and that feeling of complete solitude. I’ve got songs that I’ve definitely written with that movie in my head.

What do you think of Auto-Tune? Would you consider using it?

I think Auto-Tune is just the first step to a song turning into a robot. You know it’s like, first it starts with Google. We ask questions and get answers. Next thing the computer tells us what to do. I think the same thing’s happening in music. People are relying so heavily on computers and technology that they’re losing the essence of artistry in the process. I would never use Auto-Tune. And I’ve sung really out of tune! (Laughs.)

Turning Points And Twitter

What do you consider to be the turning point in your career?

The turning point in my career? I’ve never really viewed what I do as a career. It’s just what I do. Turning point, if there was one, was probably when I was in New York for the first time with Mark Ronson. He invited me to come over and I’ve never been out of Australia before. That was very big for me. It was very empowering to have people on the other side of the world respect what I do and love what I do.

Your single in the Philippines right now is Impossible. Can you tell us more about it?

It will be “impossible” to tell you. That was bad joke! (Laughs.) When I sing that song, I always have these distant memories of being in high school trying to pick out that girl that, you know, you try to run really fast and do anything just to get her attention.

So the Daniel Merriweather Twitter account is really you? You tweet a lot?

Oh man! I tweet. I’m always tweeting! I talk stupid stories. It’s kind of fun, you sort of get an immediate response to things you say.

Do you think you’ve already made it?

No! I mean it’s weird. The idea of making it is something that … I don’t really understand what it even means. I don’t think I will achieve my goals. So no, I haven’t.

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“Love & War” is out now. Special thanks to Mark Bonifacio of Sony BMG.