Local heartthrob Danny K chats with ZAlebs about Brown Eyes and his new album.
Did you co-write Brown Eyes or was it purely your own creation?
I co-wrioe the song with a friend of mine that lives in London; we actually wrote half of the song and produced the beat while I was in London. I then came back to SA and, together with another friend of mine, we actually wrote the rest of the song over Skype! He’s the same person that I worked with in writing my last single Made to love you. He’s been my co-writer over the years and I just wanted a new sound. I wanted to bring in something no one has ever heard from me before. I think it’s just a very different song coming from me and there’s not much out there that sounds like Brown Eyes which I think is cool.
It sounds as though the single is a sample from a 90’s R&B song, are we correct in assuming so?
Yes, the chorus part of the song was sampled. I’m quite a fan of 90’s R&B groups and one of my favourite groups was a group called Mint Condition, they had a song called Pretty Brown Eyes and I’ve always loved that song so I wanted to bring back the song but with a 2013 feel to it. It’s relatively different from their version but yes Brown Eyes does contain a sample from that 90’s R&B single.
Most great singles usually come with a remix, is there a remix in the pipelines and are you considering featuring any other local acts?
Yes there is a remix that’s already been done. It features Kabelo, HHP, Reason and Brickz. It’s a very cool remix, it’s more of a rap interpretation of the song than anything else – the guys all just brought their A-game and really shined on the song. People are going to love the remix as well but it’s going to be released in about a month or so, for now I just want people to vibe to the original single as it’s only starting to get noticed now. I don’t really want to confuse people with the remix as yet but when they do hear the remix, it’s going to be amazing.
Can we expect an album from you later this year?
My album is about halfway there. I’m really working hard at finishing it, so something should come out by the end of the year. I’ve been putting quite a lot of pressure on myself to produce an album that has twelve quality songs and not just one good song and ten poorly produced tracks because if people are going to buy my album, I want them to feel like their money was well spent.
Are you planning on doing a music video for Brown Eyes and if so, can ZAlebs gain exclusive backstage access to the making of the video?
Laughs) I definitely am going to be shooting a video for this single. At the moment I’m just busy getting treatments from a couple of directors. I expect a video to be shot probably towards the end of this month or more likely the beginning of May and I’d love for ZAlebs to be there for sure!
Click here to listen to Danny K’s new single, Brown Eyes.
