Emerging US artist slimdan releases the Live at Jim’s Market video for latest single ‘Be Somebody’
WATCH THE (LIVE AT JIM’S MARKET) VIDEO FOR ‘BE SOMEBODY’
After recently unveiling his joyously reflective new effort ‘Be Somebody’ (HERE) near the start of the year, emerging artist slimdan has now delighted us with the release of an acoustic rendition of the single, with a twist.
Recorded at Jim’s Market, a local convenience store within Woodland Hills, California, the new video aims to add a vibrant visual edge to an already lively and uplifting release. Joined by his regular collaborators Noah Conrad, Ryan Linvill, and Pedro, the video elevates his wonderfully charming personality and showcases more of the song’s fresh and harmonious tones throughout.
Speaking about the new video, slimdan added, “This is a video of me and my close allies playing an acoustic version of my composition ‘Be Somebody’ at Jim’s Grocery in Woodland Hills, CA. I wrote and produced the song with Noah Conrad (dude in flip flops) and Ryan Linvill (the guy in the cool sweater) and then Pedro (happy Brazilian man in the back) mixed and played drums on the released recording. It was very nice and cool and fun to play it live with the people I made it with, and I hope I don’t look as awkward as I think I look in the video :)”
Growing up in a modern Orthodox family and attending Jewish school in Sherman Oaks throughout his formative years, slimdan (then just plain old Danny Silberstein) found his way to the guitar through his mom’s love of music. “She has amazing taste,” he shares, “and was exposing me to artists from Paul Simon to Moby to 50 Cent when I was a kid. That’s how I found my way to playing and writing songs.”
After four years at college in Boston, he returned to Los Angeles and “had every intention of working in a coffee shop and trying to tour in an indie band, but I started getting invited into pop sessions,” he recalls. “I was bored of guys with acoustic guitars and didn’t think the universe needed another one, so exploring the way other artists create was really interesting to me.”
His first collaboration, with singer songwriter Sasha Alex Sloan – one of his best friends since the age of 15 – was the ballad ‘Older’ which kickstarted his career and led to work with artists like Diplo, Ethan Gruska, and King Henry. “Before I knew it,” Silberstein says, “I had several years of pop writing under my belt.” Writing his own songs though, wasn’t really on his mind.
“For a while, I felt like I didn’t have anything to say,” he muses. “I didn’t want to release music just for the sake of doing it.” But when an artist he was scheduled to write with canceled her session at the last minute, he decided to meet with his collaborator Bryan Brundige anyway to “just write from the heart and see what happens.”
“I started writing in my own voice, songs that I knew no one else would want to cut.” As this voice emerged and evolved, he assumed the slimdan moniker – a throwback to his fourth-grade screenname, which he chose after memorizing Eminem’s “Mockingbird” in homage to Slim Shady – and the result is his forthcoming 5 track EP on Communion.
Songs like ‘MVP’ reveal Silberstein’s irreverent self-analysis and wit. “I’m just trying to be myself,” he explains. “I don’t take myself too seriously and want to focus on the artistry of making music. I’m not trying to dominate the charts. I just want to write songs and work with other artists I love.” If that’s the case, Danny Silberstein’s voice is a refreshingly individual presence in today’s indie landscape: a unique brand of nuance and humor at the fore of a diverse and well-honed breadth of musical sensibilities.
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