Our newest artist of the month, Xenia Dunford is attracting Jango listeners with her sultry smokey voice.
Her accessible and honest personality comes across beautifully in her newest release, His & Hers. Get to know this talented artist and what inspires her as a musician.
Describe your sound in one sentence
Jazz tinged folk/rock.
What inspires you to make music?
Songwriting is a very intimate experience for me. It's definitely therapeutic, but I don't write solely for myself. I write about life, the human condition, and I hope that others can find meaning in my songs.
Name three people who have influenced your music, and tell us why- Living or dead.
Carole King has been a huge inspiration. As a singer/songwriter it's hard to deny the super talented songwriting giants of the 60s and 70s, but she has always just stood out from the bunch because she just knows how to write great songs about life and love.
David Byrne is another major influence because I love his ability to constantly evolve as an artist without losing his integrity. From fronting the Talking Heads to partnering up with numerous unique and contrasting musicians such as Brian Eno, Fatboy Slim and St. Vincent. I always enjoy musicians who genuinely love what they do and live for the music, not the money or the fame. He's the real deal.
Jazz is in my blood. Since I started studying voice as a kid, I was introduced to the greats like Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, and the list goes on. As much as I constantly try to mix in new sounds and genres into my repertoire, jazz just innately lives in my songs. The first jazz standard I sang was Ella's version of 'Angel Eyes' written by Matt Dennis and Earl Brent. I was so fascinated by her interpretation, I imitated every nuance she uttered. I got my first taste of that liveliness, that inexplicable feeling that is jazz, and I never felt the same about music.
How do you connect with fans and get them involved in your music?
Unfortunately I can't sit down with every single one of you, so I try to maintain a very active presence on the internet. Personally, I don't go as far to take pictures of all my meals and post them online, but I do like my fans to feel like they're talking to a person not just a voice. I constantly initiate conversations with fans and keep the floodgates for communication open. In addition to being present on all the usual social media sites, I also have a monthly newsletter that fans can subscribe to by visiting my website at www.xeniadunford.com.
What do you like the most about Radio Airplay?
One of my favorite things about Radio Airplay is the ability to connect with fans from all over the world. Throughout the short time my music has been playing on Radio Airplay's stations I've acquired over 1,000 fans and in one week alone my music has reached listeners in over 100 different countries. Going a step further, to be able to share contact info and stay in touch with new fans is an immeasurable tool as an independent artist.
Do you have any recent or upcoming projects you'd like to share with us? Tell us about it.
In the Spring I released my first full length album, His & Hers, produced by Charlton Pettus whose worked with Tears for Fears, and singer/songwriters Michael Wainwright and Parker Richey. It was a huge labor of love and featured a lot of talented musician. You can download His & Hers, as well as my full discography, at www.xeniadunford.bandcamp.com.
Website: www.xeniadunford.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/xeniadunfordmusic
Twitter: www.twitter.com/xenia_dunford
Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/xmd117
Jango: www.jango.com/music/xenia+dunford