FEATURE:
Spotlight
Dan Whitlam
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THE wonderful…
Dan Whitlam is an artist that everyone needs to get behind. I am quite new to his work. I have been introduced to him by BBC Radio 6 Music as they recently played his music. I have also seen an interesting interview with NME – one I shall source from soon. I am going to get to some interviews soon. In terms of Whitlam’s style, he is more of a Spoken Word artist. Someone setting poetry and moving words to music. With some Hip-Hop flow in there, he definitely stands out from his peers. I am not normally a fan of Spoken Word in music, yet it makes more sense and is more affecting if not mixed into other genres I feel. I want to start out with some biography and background from Curtis Brown:
“Dan Whitlam is a poet, spoken word artist, rapper and actor from South London. He has gained notoriety from his music videos on TikTok which narrate the lives of 20-somethings through spoken word and rap. His soulful voice and poignant lyrics have quickly made him one-to-watch.
His poetry has been featured on BBC Radio 4, Radio 1 and Radio London as well as in a series of successful shows performed in venues around London. This has earned him a place as one of the most ‘intriguing’ up and comers in the UK alternative hip hop scene (Jess Iszatt – BBC Radio London/ Radio 1)”.
In fact, I shall concentrate on parts on the NME interview. I want to look back earlier in the year. Paper People, one of Dan Whitlam’s most powerful singles to date, was released back in February. CLASH shared new of a song from a remarkable talent. An artist who can bring his acting experience and discipline into his music. As much a poet as an artist. Someone who deserves more airplay and attention:
“South London artist Dan Whitlam has shared powerful new track ‘Paper People’.
The performer uses social media to spread his music, sharing ideas and demos online. Blending UK rap aspects with spoken word, Dan Whitlam embraces creativity as a means to overcome trauma – he was stabbed when he was 16 years old, and suffered a collapsed lung.
Word is already out on this brave talent, whose first UK tour has sold out – including shows in Manchester, Bristol, and London’s historic Union Chapel.
Out now via Needwant, ‘Paper People’ blends his evocative rumination on the fragmentation of a relationship to downcast, atmospheric production from Oscar Moose.
House of a deeper than deep shade, check out the poetry behind ‘Paper People’ after the jump.
I don’t know if we can be friends.
Not like you imagined anyway.
Cos…
That would mean writing over what we were. All those rose tinted days.
And, turning it into something less special
and slightly more mundane.
A lower level, of pain where you no longer want me as your lover.
But, wanna hold onto my best bits while your chest hits the arms of another.
I don’t think we can be friends.
But then everyone says it will get better with time.
A cruel irony cos…
the thing about time is it takes time”.
It does surprise me that there has not been more focus on Dan Whitlam. I wanted to spotlight him now in the hope that his name and music reaches new ears. The fact big stations like BBC Radio 6 Music have played his songs is early indication that he is the real deal. An artist who is going to go on to bigger things. Lots of live dates will be in the diary. I think that Dan Whitlam is someone who ranks alongside the best new British artists coming through. He is hard to compare with anyone else. Perhaps that is a good thing. Maybe touches of Loyle Carner or Antony Szmierek. I think comparisons are also good, as you can see how these other artists have progressed. The venues they have played and the success they have had. Dan Whitlam is perhaps more Spoken Word than Hip-Hop, yet he manages to seamlessly blend music, poetry, an incredible backdrop and a commanding and affecting vocal that takes you inside the song. I want to me to an NME interview. It is the only recently and detailed interview with Dan Whitlam. I cannot think of too many Spoken Word artists coming through right now. It has always been a style that has been marginalised or seen as a less commercial and marketable. Dan Whitlam can change that:
“Social media presents us with an infinite number of options when it comes to consuming music. But how much of what we see stays with us for longer than the time it takes us to scroll to the next thing? How does art that requires patience and time survive in a climate governed by fast moving mediums? Yet, arguably, there is a growing appetite for art that challenges this status quo, and spoken word artist Dan Whitlam is at the forefront of this wave.
Interestingly, Whitlam’s weapon of choice has been TikTok. Bringing content that is not purpose-built for the doom-scrollers into their domain is bold, yet his music has been a huge success on the app, with the Londoner building an impressive following of over 100,000. Although Whitlam’s tracks might lean towards the melancholic, they are always beautifully juxtaposed by his warm, baritone vocals which serve as the perfect vessel to grab the attention of anyone that happens to be scrolling by.05
Spoken word wasn’t always confined to the screens in our pockets; back in 2002, Def Poetry Jam took it across around the world. The TV series was a place where up-and-coming poets shared the stage with legends like DMX and Mos Def. Seeing some of the biggest artists in hip-hop at the time perform poetry on primetime television gave a global audience an entirely new perspective on a genre that had previously existed outside of the mainstream.
Since then, spoken word has largely remained on the periphery, though acts like George The Poet and Kae Tempest have made groundbreaking progress over the last decade. Whitlam’s current success suggests he could join them. The ability to distill the universal experiences of lovestruck twenty-somethings across the world on tracks like ‘Quick Intimacy’ and ‘Exit Sign’ are what have gained him such a loyal following.
PHOTO CREDIT: Loan Nguyen
What was your upbringing like?
“I was born in London, then I straight away moved to Russia. I grew up in St Petersburg and then I was there for about five years, and then I moved to Turkey and grew up in Istanbul until I was 11 before coming back to London. Musically, I had influences like Tarkan from Turkey, and all these sounds which were very different from mainstream Western culture. In Turkey, my mum got ill so we came back to London, and then she sadly passed away when I was 11.”
What is it about the performing arts that you were drawn to?
“I’ve got Tourette’s [syndrome], and at first whenever I was on stage it would just go away, and there was a feeling of ease being up there. It’s so ironic that when more eyes are on you, you feel more free. I think being in the spotlight is nice, isn’t it? Whether it’s your friends laughing at your jokes or being on stage, it’s a nice feeling. I enjoyed reading someone else’s words and it continued from there. Then, I started writing my own words and I was like, ‘Oh this feels even better.'”
You said you wanted to make poetry more accessible, but what does that actually look like?
“I think the overriding topic of spoken word on social media is that it’s ‘cringe’, it’s dead, it’s not an art form people like, apart from this tiny little percentage of people who really enjoy it. First of all it would be to try and make it – and I hate using the word – ‘cooler’, but that’s what it is.
“In schools, they should start realising that rap is rhythm and poetry, and start teaching work from more mainstream or relatable people, you know? Dissect Kofi Stone, or dissect Chance The Rapper… Tupac wrote this incredible poetry book. Make things more about day-to-day issues going on now, because people get interested in stuff that’s happening to them, rather than stuff that happened in 1650, you know?”
How do you manage to make your music work on a platform like TikTok, which is typically geared towards instant gratification?
“The answer is I don’t know. But I hope it’s because there is some sort of validity in what I’m putting out there, and people are enjoying what I’m doing. What people keep saying to me is that [my music] grabbed them in the moment. A lot of the time people say that they don’t like poetry; I hated poetry at school simply because it was either like poets from a long long time ago that I found no kind of comfort or relatability.
“I think it’s about having an attention-grabbing hook: in the first three seconds you say something big, bold and relatable – that’s how I work. I try and say things that are quite universal.”
Why do love and loss feature so heavily in your writing?
“After losing my mum at a young age, I’ve always had a mad respect and adoration for the women who come into my life, whether they’re friends, lovers or family. Love naturally is so entangled within that, and I write really passionately about it because potentially I didn’t have a lot of that when I was growing up. Breakups happen, love and loss happens; people find comfort in how I write about the latter so candidly.
“In the beginning when I put [music] out, I was like, ‘This is way too personal’. But then it takes one person to be like, ‘Wow, I felt this way too – I didn’t know that you felt that way as well.’ Traditionally, men have been put down in terms of being so open. A lot of artists do this, but I think a man speaking about things so openly and being vulnerable is going to breed nothing but positivity.”
Is there anything that you’d like to write more about that you haven’t yet?
“Yeah, my mum, that’s one thing for sure, I don’t think I ever will though. I wrote a poem about me getting stabbed, and it took so long because I was like, ‘I wanna get everything right.’ I don’t think I’ll ever be able to do my mum justice, so I don’t think I’ll ever write [about her].
“I’ve got another tour coming up, and I’d love to write a few more upbeat things. At my live shows at the moment, everyone is very engaged, but I’d love to see people lose their head a little bit and have the best time”.
I know that the more live performances Dan Whitlam undertakes, the more his magic and incredible music will travel. I was hooked the first time I heard him. The Our Mind E.P. was released earlier in the month. It is phenomenal. Ever since releasing the single, Exit Sign, in 2021, Dan Whitlam has released some stunning and unique music. His debut E.P. will lead to bigger things. A debut album and a headline tour. I love his music videos. He is the complex artistic package. I do hope that more journalists feature interview with Whitlam. He want a wider exposure and celebration. If you are unfamiliar with him and his amazing blend of Spoken Word and Hip-Hop, then you need to check out Dan Whitlam…
AS soon as possible.
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