From The Depths of “Oblivion” to Taking on The World: A Profile Interview With Dafna

Fresh off a headlining performance at The Fox Theater in Boulder, the musician appears on a 25-inch computer screen with the smile of one on the rise to stardom. From classically inspired ballads to ‘70s rock guitar riffs, the journey for 21-year-old Dafna feels like a local secret the world will soon hear of.

Exuding a collected demeanor, the musician greets me with a warm welcome to our Zoom meeting. We dive promptly into her song, “oblivion” — her fears of self exploration, reflection and introspection echo loudly through the caverns of her first album, “submerge,” which features Frédéric Chopin- reminiscent piano ballads.

“That project was definitely a lot less about writing love songs or songs about other people, but more about myself or looking at how I was changing,” the musician states as she looks away from the camera. Dafna wrote the project her Freshman year of college in the midst of experiencing different things and learning about herself.

The artist embarked on her musical journey at age four to learn classical piano the sonic roots that Dafna called upon at the dawn of her career.

“Early on in my projects there was no, sort of, filter because I wasn’t really thinking about who was listening to it,” said Dafna.

The distinct sound of honest release within the musician’s first work is voiced in the title track: “I don’t want to be your burden, I’m on my own and it’s enough. All these thoughts I’ve been submerged in say the waters will be rough.”

“As time goes on, I’m worried that I might’ve lost a little bit of that (honesty) because sometimes when I’m writing a song, I’m thinking about how it’ll land with an audience versus how I can best describe what I’m going through,” Dafna replies as her eyes return to the camera. “It’s something I’ve been trying to deal with.”

The musician’s honesty also carries through into “ILOVEYOU,” her second 2020 release.

“As time has gone on, I’ve tried to do more than just piano and add different instruments,” said Dafna. Bouncing between ‘60s upbeat ballads, ‘70s funk guitar scratches and modern indie bops, Dafna expands on her classically rooted repertoire with expertise. “Going hungry and blind”, the musician’s track “let u go” strikes the balance between heartbreak and happiness. The song’s title is a play on the phrase “If you love them, let them go.”

“I think that song specifically, or the album, was about this guy that I was obsessed with for two years; we were close friends. When I finally told him how I felt, he didn’t feel the same. Like ‘all that build up for nothing? I’m gonna keep trying,’” Dafna chuckles.

The conflict of seeing this person again a year after writing the album, having flings in between, and a budding music career rings true throughout the project: “He always lingered in the back,” Dafna states.

A week before Hanukkah in 2020, the songstress launched “8NIGHTS”: a collaboration between herself and musician Cameron Desnoes. A warm and dreamy track, laced with the alluring hums and string arrangements of Dafna herself, garnered over two million streams on Spotify.

“That song, I produced it, wrote it, and released it within a week. I have a lot of ideas that are very spur of the moment,” As a self-produced musician, Dafna adds, “It was cool to see something I was able to turn around so quickly, and independently, reach those numbers without any label support or anything.”

Speaking further on the matter, she mentions how her view of being a musician inspired an empowering career. “I was never like, ‘Oh I’m gonna set out on a music career and do it independently,’” Dafna said. “I always had this idea that you needed a label to do things, but now I learned there’s so many ways you can release music and produce it on your own. As soon as I was able to produce on my own I was like, ‘I don’t really need these other things.’”

In the era of exposure, where certain labels, management groups, and legal battles over music ownership are being brought to the forefront of the public consciousness, being able to create, own and distribute one’s own work means creating one’s career without outside interference.

“That’s the thing with labels. You need the money to pay for a producer to do all of this and pay the marketing team to do all of that, but I don’t think labels are needed,” said Dafna. The artist emphasizes her fondness for independence; Dafna cites the ability to control her work as an important factor in her art.

Spawning two different hits with over one million streams, Dafna is forging her own path with her art. This path allowed for the release of her 2021 trilogy, “Sour.” The anxiety-riddled EP’s three tracks, “Sweeter,” “Bitter” and “Sour,” contain echoes from “submerge”.

“Those songs are more about my anxiety in relationships and how I am constantly either doubting myself or doubting the other person,” said Dafna.

Introspection acts as a key in the “Sour” trilogy: “How many sеcrets do you think I can keep? If I should speak it or if I hold my peacе? If seeing’s believing, then I’ll try not to blink- How long before things turn sour?”

“My senior year of high school, I was so dramatic. A boy gave me flowers for the first time and I was so excited, but if I held onto those flowers for too long, they’re gonna die. I didn’t want to see or deal with that so I threw them out before I could even see them wither away,” said Dafna before pausing.

“I’m one foot out the door constantly,” the musician adds.

“I was like ‘Woah, that’s so… gotta write that down, ” the musician said with another chuckle.

As we continue our conversation into the psyche of Dafna, anxiety calls with the distorted lines of “Bitter”:

“Cause I don’t care if you’re the one to leave me.”

Through exploring Dafna’s anxiety, the musician mentions her gratefulness for growing up in a household where emotions were not something to be feared. “I think that’s helped a lot, being able to feel helps me articulate that,” said Dafna.

Speaking more about home and English not being her first language, her parents being immigrants from Israel, she said, “We only spoke Hebrew at home until I got to school when I was younger. That’s how I learned English.”

Dafna – on top of being a trailblazing self produced musician – is also an electrical engineering student at the University of Colorado Boulder. “I’ve always been someone who’s kept busy, especially in high school,” Dafna said. The artist says that extracurriculars were integral in her routine. “My parents enforced school first. Now it’s stuff that I enjoy doing, music and engineering, so it hasn’t been that bad,” Dafna states.

In Sep. 2021, the artist found herself performing alongside friend and musician, Covex, at Red Rocks. “I hadn’t ever been to Red Rocks. It was a cool first experience, even just seeing the venue,” Dafna said. “We went to the same high school, but didn’t really talk until we graduated. At the time I didn’t know how to produce and thought I needed a producer to release stuff, so I asked him if he could produce songs for me.”

The pair began to collaborate instead.“Seeing him grow with his career has been really cool. He’s always been open arms, inviting me to every experience he has, and I’ve really enjoyed being able to do that with him,” the musician states.

The artist offering a million-dollar smile of warmth, we change topics back to a four-day relationship that Dafna has been speaking about in a slew of hilarious TikTok videos. Her first release of 2022, the musician pulls out her journal to show me the lyrics through the screen for “We Jumped the Gun,”  a peaceful track that bursts into a ferociously powerful 1970s-esque rock power ballad.

“I wrote it very quickly. As the relationship was going, other than the four days of when we were official, there was a month leading up to it where I hadn’t written any songs. I was writing little phrases and lyrics, which is the beginning of the song.” Dafna pauses to flip the page in her journal. “And then as soon as he broke up with me, the first thing I did was open my notebook, turn the page and write-

“‘PSYCHE!’”

We both exchange a loud laugh; Dafna’s humor is not to be forgotten. On her Spotify page under the playlist section, a viewer will be met with her “party jams” playlist. Inside the playlist?

“Pump Up The Jam” by Technotronic appears 94 times, with the addition of the edited version six times.

As we bring our time to a close, I ask the musician about her future plans, she mentions that she’s thinking of having a single come out every month until May “and then the album comes out. “Always A Dream” and “We Jumped The Gun” will be on it,” Dafna elaborates.

Anticipating the 2022 album from the musician will be a true test of patience. Dafna is quickly on her way to bursting out of the Colorado music scene and into the national and global sphere with her wit, knowledge of music, and exponential growth as an artist.

Dafna is one to watch.