NASHVILLE, Tennessee— “Perhaps unsurprisingly, behind the sweet and accessible vocal style lies a multi-talented artist and businesswoman,” Euphoria Magazine‘s Aimee Phillips wrote on Thursday. “Whilst Daniella Mason has penned tunes for other artists— most notably superstar Nick Jonas— she has also been running a one woman show since leaving Warner in 2016. In that time, Daniella has been (writing) all her own music, directing and editing her own videos, styling her own photo shoots, and graphic designing all her visuals… Though (‘Public Places‘) is upbeat and undeniably catchy, the song’s emotionally charged lyrics set the tone for her forthcoming EP.”
The London-based tastemaker premiered Mason’s newest single yesterday, marking the second cut from her forthcoming Emotional State EP, due out October 5th.
While Mason is no stranger to pop commerciality, earning her own praise from the likes of Popjustice, V Magazine, and Refinery 29, it’s her left-of-center musicianship and distinct powerhouse vocals that afford her credit in tastemaker and alternative spaces, as well. Her material is pop for pop’s sake— no flashy aesthetics or overhyped production— just a knife-edge balance between club banger and emotional gut punch that has earned the Nashville-based singer-songwriter comparisons to Robyn, Maggie Rogers, and Billie Eilish.
With that rawness at the forefront, Mason touches on themes in her new Emotional State EP that are largely universal and still uniquely personal. Topics like the loss of her mother (“Morning Mourning”) and the catharsis of crying in public (“Public Places“) are thoughtfully examined over a boutique production style that has listeners simultaneously contemplating complexities and getting lost in the beat.
The new record will stand as one of four EPs that she’ll be releasing over the course of the next year as part of her State of Mine sound series. Each album— Emotional State, Physical State, Mental State, and Spiritual State— will explore the different parts of our humanity that we tend to suppress and have difficulty embracing.
“This is by far the least competitive I’ve ever been with a project,” Mason admits. “I’ve always been a storyteller, but I often let expectations creep in and disrupt the process. With this project, I purposefully waited to put my business hat on until after the creative process was finished, allowing things to unfold organically, uninterrupted. It’s been a new experience for me, and I hope these EPs continue to reveal more and more of what’s been hidden.”
“Public Places” is streaming now via SoundCloud, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, and Google Play.