Today we’d like to introduce you to some Human Dylan Davis.
Hi some Human, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
A loner kind of a kid, I was always in my own head – imagining my own plots to movies and video games instead of paying attention at school. Around the age of 7, I began learning Nintendo games’ soundtracks on my Mammaw’s piano (Zelda, Mario, etc.) and after some time began creating the soundtracks for the movies and games that were in my head. There was scenes of action, suspense, romance, and this is what taught me the power of music on emotion. Because of this at an early age, I began understanding how to drive certain sections of a song to explode to a finish or to break away to silence just before a drop to make your hairs on the back of your neck stand up – these are some core concepts of songwriting. Fast forward to 13, I got my first guitar for Christmas… I was pissed because I wanted a video game instead. Of course, little did I realize what this do to me. Bored up in my room, I revived my passion for creating my own soundtracks. I began writing scores to imaginary plots again, wrote hardcore songs (that’s what was cool in the 2000s), and eventually quietly began even singing to some songs I wrote when no one was home. After getting my first job at 16 I purchased a computer, illegally downloaded a music program, got a $10 music interface (what you plug instruments into the computer with) from a thrift store, and have been songwriting ever since. Now, a 27-year-old with a wife and child, I’ve been creating music and working my songwriter skills this whole time and I finally released my first EP “Flora & Fauna” in the beginning of 2022, 14 years after getting my first guitar and I’m never stopping. My plan is to work like a scientist. I don’t care about getting popular, although I love it when my music is heard, but I want to master my craft. I will keep getting better at songwriting, mixing, lyricism, and so on until the day I die. My saying for this is “eventually my songs are going to get to a point where they’re so good people won’t have a choice but to listen.”
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Some people thrive on art creation when they’re down or have some angst going on. For me, I need an empty head to create the weird, open-ended, emotional pieces I like, and can’t have too much personal life invading into it. So, figuring out what the hell I was doing with my life really intruded on my music development and why I didn’t release anything until I was in my mid-20s.
The 3rd Coming of Age
There is another coming of age people rarely refer to – that is transitioning from a college youth to a young adult where you begin needing the ability to maintain self-dependence, possibly take care of a family, and ultimately decide how to follow your dreams (or not). For me, it was a bumpy ride. I went to school for music technology – wrong music path, switched to music composition, met the girl of my dreams, realized I wasn’t going to be able to take care of a family on free-lance composition work, completely guessed I would like it and switched to a computer science path. From here I was failing my calculus classes and completely bombing my physics. I was screwed. One day I remember I studied for a crucial exam for like 3 days straight that got an F on it. Absolutely crushed; all seemed lost. I had now given up my dreams for solidarity and now lost my second future I was shooting for. Thankfully I heard of a 6-month boot camp for coding, and it was amazing. My wife found out she was pregnant as soon as I joined and I started my first job a week before our son, Archer, was born. There was a point during my schooling where my future became clear and I knew exactly what to do – finish my schooling, get a good job, have my family, and set up and spend the rest of my life mastering the skill of songwriting. And that’s the path that I’m still on. The current of life is strong, it’s gonna take you where you need to be. Just chill, go with the flow, and don’t fight it otherwise you’re gonna drown.
Confidence in Self & Music
Although I was a dreamer of a kid, I was very much a realist and believed that songwriting, composing, or any kind of art was completely unrealistic. So, I mainly played music when no one was around. Adding to this, I was so unbearably shy up until high school so even to today I struggle with my self-confidence and social skills. What really gave me confidence was when I started showing some people my music in high school and jamming with random people my skill was present and people were encouraging. Still though self-doubt was dominant until I finally decided “screw what people care” later into my 20s and decided to began writing to release stuff – even if no one listened. Now through my releases, listening parties, and shows I’ve received such honest, amazing feedback. I thank everyone who’s come to my events (including those random bar patrons) for cheering me on because it is one of the main reasons I’m now confident in my work. Of course, by far the biggest influence on my confidence and following my dreams is my newlywed wife! She’s given me consistency, happiness, boosts of confidence, and most importantly tells me to follow my dreams no matter the cost. If it wasn’t for her, I’d still be quietly making beats in a closet. Basically, screw what people think. You’re a human and humans can do amazing things.
Now, my main obstacles in life revolve around planning for time to create. I work 40 hours a week, have a family, and so on. However, like I said I have my whole life to become a master of my craft and I’ve improved so much in the past year – it’s not a matter of IF my music gets heard, but WHEN.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m just “some Human.” I make psychedelic rock/pop songs and am a surrealist composer.
My sound is derived from hiding complex music theory into catchy, very emotional pieces of art that can be played casually while driving to the beach or laying in your bed with headphones on and your eyes closed.
Each song starts as a completely blank slate – no templates. My writing style is usually pretty improvisational so many of the tracks you hear in a song are first-takes and completely off the cuff.
I create, play, sing, mix, produce, master, and promote all on my own.
What sets me apart from others is my originality and honesty in my music.
This is my natural passion, and I would die if I couldn’t create.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Of my first releases in 2023, I will be releasing two singles “Too Long” and “LSD” early in the year followed by my first full-length album “just some Human.” Subscribe on any of the usual sites – YouTube, Spotify, Apple – or whatever to get notified when they come out! They’re pretty sick.
“You don’t have to take, oh, LSD to see the beauty in humanity.”
Also, I’m a composer for soundtracks of all kind! Making a game or film? – hit me up. I’ll be releasing soundtracks to my SoundCloud and website this coming year.
Pricing:
- 50% off latest EP Fish Driving Cars at https://somehuman.bandcamp.com/album/fish-driving-cars with promo code – orlando
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.somehumansounds.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/somehumansounds/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/somehumansounds/?ref=pages_you_manage
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjgJwBDfnUhBFrrau9ZKOhg/featured
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/somehumansounds
- Other: https://somehuman.bandcamp.com/
Image Credits
Amara Gogia
