Our interview with Lebanese Singer-Songwriter IJK is a must read. Check out the process of putting together his new single, “Dancing Shadows.”
Why did you select this song as your current single?
I chose “Dancing Shadows” as my latest single release for many reasons. First this is a song with an optimistic vibe celebrating the beautiful things in life. In today’s world, one should step away from all the negativity and bad news, take a step back, relax and start enjoying life!
Additionally, this single has been on my agenda for quite some time now, I felt it was time to do it justice and re-release it as a single along with a music video
How does this single relate to the rest of the Album, EP or Mix-tape?
Dancing Shadows was the title of my original demo EP released back in 2009. I have chosen to re-release the song as a single in 2017 along with a music video. The song is quite different than my usual materials as it is based on a synth-driven rhythm mixing guitars and a distinctive, electronic sound
What was the writing process for the song?
I have written Dancing Shadows while I was in London, following a tense period in my life: Massive workload, short deadlines, no time for myself and a feeling of loss of control. I decided to stop everything and get back to the basics. This song came as a result.
What does this song’s lyric mean to you?
Focusing on what matters before it’s too late. That’s what Dancing Shadows is all about. It is a call to dance your worries away and move in a more constructive direction in your life. As the songs’ lyric say: “Dancing shadows live only once, so let us live our lives as it should be!”
What would it be like to see you in person performing this song?
Performing live always presents an interesting take on a song and an opportunity for a different interpretation. Dancing Shadows live is an interesting performance especially that it allows us to do a lot of freestyle improvisation to fill the electronic parts in the studio version. To understand my point, here’s a live performance recording of Dancing Shadows (At the legendary Bull & Gate in London):
Could your fans summarize who you are as an artist by this song?
Yes and no. One song is not enough to define an artist. However Dancing Shadows does give fans a good idea of who I am and what my music is about.
Is there a video planned and or completed and if so, what was the idea behind the video?
Yes. Dancing Shadows’ music video has been released in June 2017. I invite fans and readers to watch it below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1lH4usvmBE
The original concept was blending my performance with striking dancing silhouettes with lyric overlays. Fans and critics like it so far.
One last question, what is your motivation behind your music?
To me, music is the ultimate form of expression. My motivation is to engage with others, let them stop for a moment whatever they are doing and just enjoy the music, the singing, the lyrics…
