“If you’re expecting the same old soul singer, that’s not necessarily who I am,” the prodigy divulges as perhaps the most telling description of his work. “I call my sound ‘future throwback soul’ since it’s what people love about old soul music, that throwback sound… but I bring it into the future.” Growing up in Manchester, he put in his time studying the soul greats of yesterday and today, developing his sound as a teen through bedroom recordings and making his name performing on Britain’s underground urban stages. “It was tough fitting into the Manchester music scene which had always been really focused on guitar and dance music, the urban scene was almost non-existent… so, in making those recordings in my bedroom, I figured out how I wanted to sound…It was my training ground. Everything really began there for me. It was the first step in becoming the artist I am today.”
He first perked mainstream ears accompanying the Gorillaz on their 2010 chart hit, “Doncamatic,” after a mutual friend introduced the group to his music at one of his many London shows. He released the single, “Smoking Gun” in 2011 to impressive airplay, gaining ground as an independent artist on BBC Radio 1xtra and being listed as one of the station’s ‘Sound of 2011’ honorable mentions. He later fueled Wretch 32’s “Long Way Home,” for which he co-wrote.
His gradual ascent didn’t come easy, however. Pulling in favors after nearly being dropped by his label and investing his own money into promotion, Daley completed his EP, Those Who Wait, spawning his initial viral online success in 2012. “I made the EP a free download because after the Gorillaz track there really wasn’t much else out there for people to get ahold of from me and in doing so, it spread around the world and helped me gain the attention of more listeners,” he explains. “In being free, it took on a life of its own and became like an introduction for me as an artist… I knew I had to get it heard stateside and that was really the best way.”
His second EP, Alone Together (also released in 2012) continued his rise with his first stateside single, the subtly seductive “Alone Together” featuring Grammy nominee, Marsha Ambrosius, for which New York R&B radio station WBLS gave its first spins. Since his US debut, he’s garnered two Soul Train Award nominations and has racked up over 5 million YouTube/VEVO views with the video for his Jessie J-assisted duet, “Remember Me.” Supporting the likes of Miguel and Emeli Sande, along with megastar label mate, Jessie J, he’s performed to sold-out audiences around the world and counts icons, George Michael and Bobby Womack, among his fans. 2013 scored Daley his first MOBO nominations, for “Best Newcomer” and “Best R&B Artist,” along with a guest spot on Nelly’s latest single, “Heaven.”
Part of Daley’s international appeal comes from his ability to harmonize the sounds of yesterday and tomorrow with the technologies of today. His Twitter hash tag “#ASKDALEY” has trended globally, while he’s notably become one of BBC 1xtra Live’s most shared acts to date. He says of his digital following: “I can gage people’s reactions and I like to hear their feedback. It’s important to me to hear how people feel and relate to my music.”
All signs point to a massive full-length debut from the artist in 2014.
Entitled Days & Nights, the album balances the bright young star’s individual style and awe-worthy falsetto with illuminating vulnerability and substance. “Days & Nights is literally my life for the past couple of years. It’s trying to balance your career, your love life, your ‘everything’ and keeping them all in check… it all blurs into one like your day’s and night’s,” he describes.
Fusing R&B/Soul aesthetics he grew up on (from Prince’s funky fervor to D’Angelo’s neo-soul) with sparse electro-ambient stylings, he effectively captures this generation’s sonic amalgam. While his palette’s rooted in the classics, he pushes music forward with a sound beyond his years. “It’s soulful at its core and in terms of sound and production, the album reflects me and my influences – a combination of US and UK sounds,” he details.
On “Be,” he employs 80’s percussion with moody piano chords to achieve a Sade-like AC stunner. “Blame The World’s” boom-bap brass and orchestral backing show off his bombastic versatility, while the empowering “Broken” proves he can easily hold his own as a triumphant balladeer a la Adele. Pharrell’s co-production on “Look Up” even reminisces Marvin Gaye’s seminal “What’s Going On,” begging a comparison to the icon’s greatest moments.
Tackling the everyday has never sounded so sensuous.
Days & Nights welcomes Daley to the world stage without compromise.
Time Travel
Daley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cause there's nothing else but now
But I'm sleepless and it's over
So somebody show me how
I can get back to a feeling
That existed in the past
Find somebody with some meaning
I wanna go
All the way, all the way
All the way back...
All the way, all the way
All the way
All I really need
Is time travel and you
Don't know what this is
We're traveling through
All the memories
Unravel with you
So all I really need
Is time travel
And you...
And you...
It's the silence that will save us
Now all too much has been said
We no longer know the people
That we cling to on the bed
Is it beyond reparation?
Does this have to be the end?
In an alternate dimension
Maybe we could start again
I wanna go
All the way, all the way
All the way back...
All the way, all the way
All the way
All I really need
Is time travel and you
Don't know what this is
We're travelling through
All the memories
Unravel with you
All I really need
Is time travel
All I really need
Is time travel
All I really need
Is time travel
In "Time Travel," Daley poetically expresses his longing for a time machine to go back to a better time when he was happy with someone. He asks for someone to show him how to get back to that feeling that existed in the past. He desires a significant other with meaning whom he can reunite with and perhaps equal the past memories. He wishes to go all the way back and start again with that person. Daley realizes that all he needs is time travel and his significant other to recapture those moments of happiness.
However, Daley's dream of going back in time is impossible. Instead, he must face the reality that time travel does not exist, and he might never have those good times again. The silence, ironically, may save them from all the words that have been said, which caused the distance between them. They no longer know each other as they cling on to each other on the bed. Daley wonders if it is beyond reparation and if it has to be the end. He proposes that, in an alternate dimension, maybe they could start again. Daley ends the song, still holding on to the hope of time travel but ultimately coming to the realization that all he really needs is time travel and his significant other.
Line by Line Meaning
They say live within the moment
People suggest to focus on the present time.
Cause there's nothing else but now
The only thing that exists is the present.
But I'm sleepless and it's over
I can't sleep because it's done and gone.
So somebody show me how
I need someone to teach me how to go back in time.
I can get back to a feeling
I want to return to a specific emotion or experience.
That existed in the past
That happened in a previous time.
Find somebody with some meaning
Meet someone who has significance or importance.
Try to equal what we had
Attempt to match the level of greatness that we achieved.
I wanna go
I desire to travel.
All the way, all the way
The entire distance or duration.
All the way back...
To long ago in history.
All I really need
The only thing that I require.
Is time travel and you
I need to go back in time with you.
Don't know what this is
I'm unsure what this means.
We're traveling through
We're moving through time together.
All the memories
Every remembrance we shared.
Unravel with you
Disentangle alongside you.
So all I really need
Thus, what I desire is.
Is time travel and you...
Travel back in time with you is what I truly need.
It's the silence that will save us
Remaining quiet can help our situation.
Now all too much has been said
Too much was spoken in the past.
We no longer know the people
We have ceased to recognize the individuals.
That we cling to on the bed
The people we hug to on the bed.
Is it beyond reparation?
Is it irreversible?
Does this have to be the end?
Does this have to be over?
In an alternate dimension
In another universe.
Maybe we could start again
Perhaps we could begin anew.
All I really need
The only thing that I require.
Is time travel and you
I need to go back in time with you.
All the memories
Every remembrance we shared.
Unravel with you
Disentangle alongside you.
All I really need is time travel
Simply, I need to travel back in time.
All I really need is time travel
Basically, I need to go to a time in the past to resolve this.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: CARLO MONTAGNESE, GARETH DALEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Gloria-gv2my
Il contenuto
può essere espresso
in tanti modi
diversi!
Io preferisco
quello stile/ stilo⚡✍️
che incide
sull'Anima
con " lettere di 🔥"
( Montale )
e brilli⚡⚡⚡
come croco 🌻👼⚓
in polveroso campo...
Montale:+🌻 Portami il girasole ( poesia da poiein FARE ).
@WoahxItsxShaye
Daley is too good a an artist to be this underrated. I feel as though too many people get known for a catchy hook or an easy dance and not enough get noticed for actually having talent and good content. It's sad.
@FloatingThroughSpacexx
I lovvvvvveee daleyyy and I Agree!!!
@deborahhanna8737
I agree I feel the same way about Monica I still feel like she doesn't get the recognition she deserves
@FloatingThroughSpacexx
I LOVE DALEYYY LOL😍😍
@pipersoileau4587
I totally agree!!!
@Gloria-gv2my
Il contenuto
può essere espresso
in tanti modi
diversi!
Io preferisco
quello stile/ stilo⚡✍️
che incide
sull'Anima
con " lettere di 🔥"
( Montale )
e brilli⚡⚡⚡
come croco 🌻👼⚓
in polveroso campo...
Montale:+🌻 Portami il girasole ( poesia da poiein FARE ).
@Gerald.S.Williams
I am really glad someone is still singing good R&B its much missed. New generation music is just so sad.
@ksupafly
I second that, honey!
@TheLowkeyChef
I know, right?
@rochellehall1112
Still don't make sense