In 2016 two friends got together in the Colombian city of Cali and started making music. The project that Tim Gallego and Michael Villa named DANAE has since grown into an indie-rock band and taken them across the ocean to Berlin where they have recently released their first single False Hopes and are currently working on recording their first EP. We recently met for a chat with DANAE durring a Kiremico session at a Music Traveler space in Berlin!
Featuring Tim Gallego on vocals and guitar, Tommy J. Brownston on drums, Emidio Mazzilli on bass, Dan Hirsch on keyboards and Miina Viitala on violin and backing vocals, DANAE blends indie, folk and pop with elements of Latin American musical stylings. The gang is influenced by anything from Far Kaspian to Men I Trust, Juan Pablo Vega and Juanes. But experimentation is a constant and the band is taking advantage of the lockdown that has caused the cancellation of many concerts and live events to focus on growing as musicians and evolving towards a new, more mature style they describe as spacey and influenced by everything from reggae to boleros.
“There’s no script. We just go and see what works for us and for the people.”
“A lot of the songs we’ve been playing are beloved songs from when the band started. That’s very special to us.”
But they are also staying true to their roots. Their recent single False Hopes, released in November 2020 on Bandcamp, a metaphorical exploration of one-sided romantic love – Haven’t we all been there? – is one of the first songs Tim and Michael wrote back in Colombia. So are several of the songs they are currently recording. They are not staying idle in the slightest and are taking advantage of this time to work on the more digital aspects of their musical production. Something helped in large part by the city of Berlin itself.
“I always knew I would come to Berlin,” says Tim Gallego in a recent interview, and it’s not difficult to see why. Gallego had already visited Berlin to work a year and a half ago and had fallen in love with the sheer creative force of the German capital. For a musician, it is an inspiring experience to be surrounded by like minded individuals who are all working just as hard. It helps get the creative juices flowing.
So, what’s next for DANAE? If the pandemic will allow it, we can definitely look forward to a tour in spring of 2021, but until then they have many tricks up their sleeves. One such trick was a livestream gig for fans who purchased their first single, paired with a delivery of a “beer and peanuts” package to Berlin-based listeners. Talk about an immersive experience. In the next two months they will also be releasing two more singles and much more music is undoubtedly coming very soon.
