Dena Deadly Interview: Quest for Love!

by Imran Mirza

Championed largely by Gilles Peterson, as well as artists like Mos Def and the Chemical Brothers, Plantlife burst onto the scene in 2004 with ‘The Return of Jack Splash’. The band, which consisted of Jack Splash, Dena Deadly, Panda One and Rashida The Beautiful, had been described as funk for the new millennium, or perhaps more appropriately described as an “electrotechnofunkrock” group, which may sound like a mouthful, but really sums the group up fairly well with each of these vibrant and energetic styles of music embraced and fused beautifully into an incredible debut album.

Lead vocalist, Jack Splash, played his part with excellence, displaying the vocal uniqueness of James Brown and the self-assured (sexual) confidence of Prince, but he was, by no means, the only star in the bunch. While members of Plantlife have ventured off to solo successes, Dena Deadly, born and raised in Hollywood, California, has a CV that reads from budding solo star, to winning the ISC Songwriter’s Competition (trumping 16,000 other competitors in the process), and being nominated for BBC Radio One’s ‘Song Of The Year’ in 2005, for ‘I Don’t Ever Wanna Stop’. The latter track finding its home on the awesome debut solo album from Ms Deadly, featuring staggering production from Jack Splash, will.i.am and Scott Storch, ‘The Mastery of Love’.

Whether it be the throwback soul of ‘I Woulda Loved You’, the smoky jazz-club ambience of ‘Quest For Love’, or the luscious mid-tempo groove of ‘Guitar Love’, ‘The Mastery of Love’ delivers Dena Deadly’s beautiful, creative and introspective lyrics with a luxurious and sublime voice reminiscent of classic old-school songstresses.

Far from resting on her laurels, the journey continues even further, with the formation of the new musical collective, Girth. Liberation Frequency were ecstatic that Dena Deadly took time out of her schedule to discuss Plantlife, her time growing up, ‘The Mastery of Love’, and Girth…

LF: When did you realise you wanted to explore a career in music?

DENA DEADLY: I started singing in church when I was only five years old but it wasn't until I was in college that I realized I had to make music my life and journey. I was attending a very prestigious and expensive university and I remember thinking that the only thing I would get out of the experience was a passion for activism and a deeper understanding of the warped capitalist system in tact in this country, the competitive and harsh system and the culture of self-reliance that it fosters. When I began to feverishly pursue music in the years after college, I would tell my family that my degree would some day be put to use when I'm "sitting on stage with Oprah" (laughs).

The grind is not for me and I find it hard to work under anyone. I have my own ideas and need, deeply, to see them realized. I have always been a creator and an artist of all types and that is what I am demanding (peacefully) from the Universe now. There just really isn’t any other option for me at this point. I have only become more attached to and in love with the process of writing songs and creating a moment in time when someone can jump in their ride, click on their seat belt, take a deep breath and turn that volume switch up after a long day.

LF: Who were some of your musical influences growing up?

DD: My musical influences, growing up, included Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Anita Baker, The Emotions, Smokey Robinson, and pretty much anything of the Motown era. Later I found jazz and studied all the greats from Billie, to Nina, Miles, Coltraine, and Parker but always loved Louis Armstrong the most for his pure and ego-less state of deliverance, his Godly demeanour and his innate ability (against tremendous odds) to always be a great human being, and someone that folks just loved to be around. These days I follow folks like Lauryn Hill, OutKast, D’angelo, Angie Stone, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Esthero, Tweet, Missy, Timbaland, Pharrell, Alicia Keyes, and of course all of the amazing musicians we've just put together to form the new ‘collective’ we've built called "Girth".

LF: How did you and the guys from Plantlife come together?

DD: I met Jack Splash on the streets in LA and we started making music together immediately. He introduced my to the underground soul and hip-hop scene, and so many other people that still make up the core of my crew today. Rashida was LA's "sweetheart" and a friend of his so he pulled both of us together to work on The Plantlife's first record and it was finished pretty quickly.

LF: 'The Return of Jack Splash' was met with such critical acclaim – you all must have been blown away by its success?

DD: That first Plantlife record did seem to pick up momentum very fast and I remember being very excited about all of the fun and wonderful opportunities it was providing. Success is always fun!

LF: Was 'The Mastery of Love' something you always wanted to do, or was it just a natural evolution from Plantlife's album?

DD: You have to understand that before we ever approached a Plantlife record I had a stock pile of "Dena Deadly" songs ready to go. So, ‘The Mastery of Love’ was just a natural response to the Plantlife's success. However, I have recently decided to put that record on the back burner until we see how folks respond Girth. ‘The Mastery of Love’ has a lot of good songs on it but I was never able to really see the songs completed (with no record deal and therefore no budget). I hope to come back to the record and re-record all these songs, Funk Brother's style, with a 12-piece band.

LF: How would you say the two albums differ from each other?

DD: The Plantlife's vibe, sound and affect are very different from my solo record in that my goal was to tell stories and Jack's style was always capable of getting people on the dance floor. The Plantlife is a lot more funky then ‘The Mastery of Love’. With a live band, my record sounds like something straight out of the Motown days with drums and a bass line that feel a little bit more like hip-hop.

LF: Tell us what people can expect from your current project, Girth, and how your sound has evolved?

DD: The Plantlife record was funk, soul, pop, 80's fusion. Girth, my new baby, is the blues first with jazz, soul and hip-hop influences. For once, I wrote some stuff that will keep people dancing – mostly strippers! With the advent of Girth, I feel like I have finally found my own "sound" and have a new contribution to make to the industry and world – this is the record that I believe will finally "define" Dena Deadly.

For more info, please visit Dena Deadly, please visit here
and for more info on Girth, please visit here

To purchase a copy of the excellent ‘The Mastery of Love’, please click here