Gradually becoming more and more well-known for writing and sharing girl-power confidence tracks, pop-powerhouse Dasha has already seen herself featured in and supported by the likes of Nylon, TigerBeat and EARMILK to name just three, and her fan-base around the world continues to grow with every song she drops. Over the past year or so, with live shows off the table, she’s kept herself creatively busy by putting her time and energy into creating new music, including new single “More Than This” and her EP $hiny Things, both of which PopWrapped are delighted to premiere. We caught up with Dasha to find out more about the creative process to the collection and her advice for aspiring and upcoming female artists.

Today you are exclusively sharing with PopWrapped your single “More Than This” and your upcoming EP $hiny Things, both of which come out tomorrow. Can you tell us about the single and how it relates to the project as a whole?

I wrote “More Than This” with Autumn Buysse in one of my first zoom writes during quarantine. I keep a constantly growing list of song ideas and lyric inspiration in my notes and I had the rhyme scheme “hang out, make out, take out” written down. Producer Yuval Maayan had sent us the track to write over and I was instantly obsessed with it. The entire world was in lockdown back in May of 2020 when we wrote “More Than This.” We saw how relationships changed into people just sitting inside all day together because there was no other choice. I posted a clip of “More Than This” on Tik Tok and in a couple of days it hit one million plays. It’s crazy how fast things can change for small artists. As a whole, this EP hits every edge of my musical scape and “More Than This” is a perfect focus track that ties all six of the songs together.

What has the creation of this EP taught you about yourself?

This EP has taught me a lot about the range of my songwriting. I feel like in the process of writing this project, I fell in love with songwriting all over again. I’m really proud of every single song; each track was written from a very vulnerable and honest place and was put on the project for a reason. The whole EP tells my story, at least currently, of what’s happening in my life. It goes from getting cheated on in “None Of My Business” then falling in love with the right person at the wrong time in “Make It Work With You.” Then I write about crying over a boy who never calls in “21st Birthday.” Then we’ve got “Better Than She Did,” which is basically an anthem for girls who know they deserve better. The feeling and mood of “$hiny Things,” also the sparkly title track, represents my personality and energy so perfectly. Then to finish it off, “More Than This,” coming in to tie the EP into a pretty, danceable bow.

How would you describe your sound and style to first-time listeners?

Genres are becoming less and less prevalent but I like to describe my style as pop / R&B. Songwriting wise, my melodies are heavily R&B influenced but the production and lyrics lean more pop centred. I’ve got a pretty big range of songs, especially in my unreleased catalog, switching from danceable bops to songs you want to cry to in your car at 2am. My goal is to write honest, relatable, catchy songs and I guess my style and sound has naturally developed around that.

You are known for your girl-power confidence boosting singles. With this EP being released during Women’s History Month how important is it for you to uplift women through your music?

Being a female artist in a male dominated music industry is really tough. The best way I can give women the upper hand to try and level out the playing field is not only through the songs I release but also with how I show up as a figure in the industry. My biggest overall goal with my artistry is to uplift women and encourage other women to do the same. I make it a goal to look to hire women first to be on set, in the writing rooms, helping creative direct, etc. I want to help empower women to believe in themselves and help set a standard that we can do everything and beyond that men can do. I think the key is confidence, even if you have to fake it until you believe it yourself.

You’re very hands on when it comes to the creative aspects of your songs. As well as writing, you play the guitar and produce your own vocals. Why is it so important for you to be so personally involved with all aspects of your work?

My music is very vulnerable, almost all of my songs are about personal experiences. With writing my songs comes an entire artistic vision of production, background vocals, instrumental layers, cover art, music video etc. That’s what being an artist is. Your job doesn’t start and stop with singing the song and performing it. You’re in charge of the entire experience that comes with releasing music. My main instrument is my voice and I’m very particular with how I want it to sound on my records, so I learned how to record, edit, mix and engineer all my vocals myself. My older brother Bardo is a producer and pushed me to learn back in high school which I’m very grateful for.

What advice would you give to women just starting out in music?

Empower other women, insecurity makes you ugly. It’s all about community, not competition. Stop apologizing for things that men don’t apologize for and make the biggest, boldest and most authentic statement you can with your music. You have to be your own number one cheerleader.

What’s next for you? What can fans expect and where do you see the direction of your music going from here and where can fans follow you on your journey?

It’s only up from here. I finally feel like “the party has started”, metaphorically speaking. At the rate that I’ve been songwriting since moving back to Nashville, you can expect a ton of new music very, very soon. I already have my next single lined up, post EP. It’s been crazy seeing my artistry develop so fast and so genuinely. Follow me on Instagram to stay updated with everything happening! I’ve also been leaking new song demos just about every day on Tik Tok, so make sure to follow me there too!

Header photo credit: Mikey Newell.