September 1 / 2024 –

Dye is the musical moniker of Daniel Ye. Ye is a fascinating figure. When you hear a dye song, you’d probably never draw the conclusion that the singer of singles like “taKe” or “dirt” – with their roaring choruses and heavy guitars – were performed by someone who describes himself as reserved and bashful. I was lucky enough to ask some questions of the rising artist about Kurt Cobain, 80s goth, and plans for the future.

Real Goblin: You’re a self-described “shy kid”. It’s not an impression I get from your music, at least from a performance perspective. In my limited experience performing in front of audiences, I actually found the anxiety I felt in day to day life didn’t affect me the same way. Has that been your experience as well?

Daniel Ye (dye): I actually don’t get much anxiety performing live. It’s weird because I’ve always felt immense anxiety in real life scenarios, but when I’m on stage.. It’s really the only time I feel like I could be myself. Off stage I simply don’t know what to do haha. I’m pretty awkward and the way people function puzzles me, so I just stand there. So yeah, it’s definitely different.

Real Goblin: I can certainly hear the Nirvana influence on your style. I can distinctly recall the moments that I first heard specific songs or artists that changed my tastes in an instant. Do you remember the particular song that first opened your eyes to Kurt Cobain?

Daniel Ye (dye): Nirvana is my main musical inspiration and the reason I play guitar and write. I remember the very first time hearing Teen Spirit. I was in my dad’s car on the way to school.. It was actually the first day of 8th grade and the song just so happened to play from the radio. It blew my mind. I honestly couldn’t get over just how catchy yet badass every corner of the song was. Sufficed to say, I was humming the verse and chorus melody throughout the day and became a devout student of the Cobain songbook since then.

It’s hard to imagine Daniel Ye’s sound in an undeveloped state. His music oozes with a sense of angsty confidence. It’s difficult to picture dye in a state of self discovery. And yet he’s still continuously evolving as an artist, even at this early stage in his career.

Real Goblin: How have your tastes evolved since you first picked up a guitar? How did you go about finding your style for this upcoming EP?

Daniel Ye (dye): I became obsessed with guitar playing or I guess you can say the art of it. Obviously it was Cobain who kick-started my passion, but I became a huge fan of rock and roll in general. I learned riffs/solos from Jimmy Page, Hendrix, Slash, Kirk Hammett etc. and pretty much sought out to become a guitar player. I didn’t believe in myself as a singer/songwriter until a few years ago so it’s been a long journey, but a full circle one.

Real Goblin: There’s a grunge quality to your singles “taKe” and “supernAtural”. But “dirt” is more synth heavy – like the kind of thing you wanna drive 100 mph to. How do you blend your particular musical interests when you write?

Daniel Ye (dye): I have a wide array of influences. I’ve been really into new wave and 80s goth music lately so “dirt” pretty much takes from that era. I don’t like to put myself in a box so I write whenever I feel inspired and never try to recreate the same thing twice. I was on a huge “The Cure” kick when I was writing “dirt” so naturally the song become very synth and bass driven. Listen to “A Forest”, I wanted a song like that but modernized and done my way. So to answer your question, I blend my influences by not thinking about them when I write. I just let it happen.

“A Forest” is one of The Cure’s moodier tracks, and it’s clear to see how it inspired Ye. The track contains some of the band’s signature guitar work, but re-contextualized. Which also happens to be an interesting way to think about Ye’s music. He borrows the unique pieces of the work that inspires him and throws it into a blender. The resulting sound is heavy. The synths are dense, layered alongside pounding drums and screeching guitars.

Real Goblin: “tAke” is a song about struggling with OCD. A friend of mine describes his OCD as being frustrating on two distinct levels. It’s not only difficult to deal with personally, but it’s especially hard to explain to people. Do you find this to be the case as well? And how did that manifest in the writing process of this song?

Daniel Ye (dye): OCD is tricky because many people don’t seem to understand what it actually is. It’s often misinterpreted as a some sort of organization quirk but in reality it’s a pretty debilitating disorder that requires a lot of work to remedy. So yes, I totally agree with your friend. “taKe” pretty much details my struggles with intrusive thoughts and how much they affect my day to day life. It literally takes away so much from me.

That frustration is certainly felt on “taKe”. The breathy verses build to an explosive chorus that feels like punching a hole in the drywall of a frat house – but in less of a “red flag” sense.

Real Goblin: What’s next for dye?

Daniel Ye (dye): More music.. It’s funny because I don’t really have an overarching theme to my music but somehow they all seem to meld well. I guess that’s because it’s the first time I’ve been honest with my writing. I haven’t been prior to this project, so just more “heart on the sleeve” type songs I suppose haha.