Wednesday, August 16, 2023

More Rumors from Duda

If you know me, you know I love the behind the scenes stuff. I’m the guy who looks backwards on It’s a Small World to see how everything works. So, when I heard “Rumors” by Duda, I asked if she’d be willing to share some of the background behind the EP. She thankfully agreed, and here are some of the things I learned.

It was a quick process. From the decision to actually make the EP to completion was about three months. As someone who had never released a song before, it made for a crazy three months, but it was so worth it. Since she is an independent artist, so much of it was up to her. Sure, she had amazing friends help out, but everything from the marketing, planning, scheduling the photo shoot, the concept, to the lyric video was all on her shoulders. It was so much work. Since this was her first time though this, she thought it would be easier than it ended up being. But it was absolutely worth all the extra effort. 


She has always wanted to work in music, as a singer and songwriter, but was never sure she was good enough. That’s probably a common theme amongst young songwriters. But, she wrote “Lost Messages” in April and knew it was THE song. This was the song that she could take that leap with. This was the one to start the process rolling. The next day, she decided she might as well go all in and write a whole EP. She started figuring out what it would actually take to make it happen. She didn’t have a blueprint, so she felt her way along on her own. The rest of the songs were written with that EP in mind, other than “Done”. That was written a year earlier and could have been a single on its own, but it really matched the energy and vibe of the EP she was creating. It felt right to include it, especially as the last track…”Done”. The last song written was “Memories” and it’s honestly her favorite. It came together so quickly that she wrote it in about an hour. It almost didn’t make the EP but she loved the lyrics and the vibe, and decided it fit well with the concept.


The most stressful part ended up being trying to find the phone for the photo shoot! She had a picture in her mind of the phone she wanted to use, and knew it should be an older style, but she didn’t have one. Friends tried to convincer her to just use a new phone, but she knew what she wanted. Thankfully a friend was able to track down a phone for her. She had been thinking a red or pick phone would be the way to go, but really likes how the silver one ended up looking. It was a marathon to find the phone, but she was eventually able to find her vision and do the shoot.


The shoot, and the studio session itself, was a lot of fun since she had so many friends involved in the process. One of her friends did all the mixing and mastering so the whole process was an incredibly enjoyable experience.


She’s a big Swiftie, and loves easter eggs. So, you’ll find a lot of them on Rumors if you look close enough. From the lyrics, to the photo shoot, color palette, to the order of the songs. There’s so much to see if you know where to look.


The order of the songs actually tells a story. The five tracks represent the five stages of grief. What’s neat, though, is that she feels different people may interpret the sings differently and find the different stages in different songs, depending on their own life experiences. It really allows each person to enjoy the album in their own special way.


Overall she really enjoyed the process of making “Rumors” and can’t wait to see what the future brings for her.


And, neither can I. I’m so glad she was willing to share these stories. I hope you enjoyed reading them as much as I enjoyed hearing them.


If you want more stories about Rumors, Duda has released a BTS video, which you absolutely need to watch. Check it out now.


Be sure to go listen to “Rumors” to see what stages you find in each song.


Thanks Duda!



No comments:

Post a Comment