This week we had the pleasure of getting down with DRAMA, aka Via and Na’el, at their sold out show at London’s Heaven as part of their world tour. In two weeks, Valentine’s Day no less, they drop their debut album, Dance Without Me.
Loverboy catches up with vocalist and lyricist, Via, about feeling catfished, being joined onstage by Naomi Smalls and potentially writing a song about heading to the supermarket.

Dance Without Me is being released on Valentine’s Day and one of the main themes of the album is love. At what point did you go, ‘Oh shit, we have to release this album on Valentine’s Day!!’
It actually happened serendipitously. Being the hopeless romantic I am, I obviously instantly agreed. It’s totally on brand and makes sense considering the majority of our fans have big’ll giant hearts filled with LOVE.

If someone is listening to Dance Without Me on Valentine’s Day, what kind of Valentine’s Day do you think they will have been having? 
Well, they’d probably spend all day thinking about everyone who actually has a Valentine or how long it’s been since they’ve had someone to love. Maybe cry a little. Drink a little champagne. Hopefully by the end of the day they’re dancing in their underwear in front of the mirror with tears of joy in their eyes. Wait was that question not directed towards me? Ahem ahem.

In ‘Gimme Gimme’ you left the line ‘Cause I need a man that’s not going to give me any…’ open-ended so the listener can say what they don’t want in their next lover. What characteristic would you put at the end of that line?
So ICE T has this song called ‘DRAMA’. I actually envisioned sampling his voice or mimicking it to say ‘Gimme any any DRAMA!’ but it sounded really bad in reality. So yeah it’s supposed to be DRAMA, stress, lies, heartbreak and all that. If you have no intention of LOVING ME then just leave me alone straight up. I’ve been alone for so long and seen so many relationships go sour. I think I’m a goddamn CATCH. So whoever you are, you better BRING IT and not gimme no unnecessary problems.

I am a terrible overthinker when it comes to love. Last year I went through a phase of only listening to electronic instrumentals because with so many songs out there about love, my ideas of what love should be were being influenced by the lyrics I was hearing and then consequently I would fuck things up. 
WOW, I too feel like music influences us 100%. Sometimes I can’t listen to anything ‘cause it’s just as intense as listening to someone vent their problems. It’s one of the reasons I was so hurt when I found out people don’t always write their own music. I was like, ‘All these years I thought I was getting to know this person’ meanwhile I’m getting to know someone I’ve never even seen or may never see. It’s like being cat-fished. I actually watch more movies than I listen to music and when I feel overwhelmed by the lyrics I listen to music in other languages or like you, instrumentals.

When you were both working on this album, how did you find it affected your thoughts and expectations on love? Were you sick of love by the end of the process?
I don’t think I’ll ever be sick of love. Honestly, writing music about love helps me understand it more. Whether I’m writing about personal experiences or exaggerated experiences of my friends, it’s my way of coping with how people treat each other. I then go back out into the world with my head held high with more hope than I had before. It kind of sucks ‘cause if you know me then you know I could get my heart broken then fall in love again the next day. Finding someone worth falling in love with? That’s another story.

 

The video for ‘Years’ is beautiful. When it comes to the visual side of things, do ideas and inspiration come to you as naturally as the music side of it?
Sometimes no, sometimes yes. Though I feel we are both very visual artists, we like to focus more on the music than anything else. So all the music videos we’ve done are passion projects between us and the directors. We have input but love to let others we collaborate with be creative. I think it’s only right ‘cause it’s how we work with each other.

You guys have released a lot of music, with other singles coming out just six months ago. How did you decide which songs to feature on your debut album?
Man, it took a lot of going back and forth. We had many more songs we wanted to put on this album but they just didn’t make the cut. Every release we’ve done has always been one giant folder of music and we do the whole  “process of elimination” thing until we have a story that we connect with. Then we spend months on the track-list.
The song order for this album was actually put in order by our manager, Amjad. Na’el and I were having trouble figuring out what made sense. Our manager, who has been listening to the songs from the start, put the songs in a certain order based on what would flow well. He shared the link and I listened to it and cried ‘cause he captured the story so beautifully. I was blown away. 

‘Forever and a Day’ was inspired by a fan’s story. Are DRAMA open to suggestions for songs? What would a DRAMA song about going to the supermarket sound like?
HAHA, wow, that’s a good question. I’m not NOT open to suggestions but I also often feel it’s not really up to me. I’ve always felt like the music writes the lyrics and I’m just a vessel. When I’m writing the majority of the time I feel as if I’m lucid dreaming pulling images from my subconscious to form these conversations/moments like when you talk to yourself in the shower. I just do it over music. Btw, I’m definitely interested in writing this song about going to a supermarket now though………..

Chicago is famous for its drag scene. We can often be heard screaming ‘Bitch I’m from Chicago!’ Have you seen any of your local queens perform?
I rarely leave my house let alone go to parties. My friend Jean Deaux LOVES Drag Race so we’re always watching it together. I really love Naomi Smalls. She’s a local queen that is also a fan of our music. She came to one of our shows in Chicago and got on stage with me. That was the first time I ever really let go and danced like it was nobody’s business during a show. I’m forever grateful for her. That night changed my life.

Lastly we are named after the infamous Mariah Carey song, ‘Loverboy’. What is your favourite Mariah song?
Na’el and I are both 90’s babies. ‘Fantasy’ will forever be my jam 100%!!! The bass line on that record and the synth! Such a sign of the times while simultaneously being timeless and not to mention Mariah sang her ass off!

DRAMA are currently on their world tour. See here for details.
The album Dance Without Me is out now.
Follow the band on Instagram or Facebook.