Known for her organic singer-songwriter approach, Dani Zanoni strolled into a new realm of electro-pop and fell into her “Rabbit Hole.” Inspired by Disney’s Alice in Wonderland, Zanoni’s latest single took the influence of the twisted romance and related it to her own “shitty one-sided situationship.” Dani delves deeper into the lyrics explaining, “The lyrics I wrote to Rabbit Hole are about falling in the same patterns with someone, disregarding their red flags, and letting them drag you down (the rabbit hole). Where they just keep you around for when it’s convenient for them. But then finally waking up to the realization that you deserve more, and choosing to cut them off and move on.”
The track did not always start as electronic or with a larger production. Beginning with a minimalistic chord progression on ukulele, Zanoni then enlisted the help of Toronto’s Spatial Soul, who transformed the track into whimsical perfection. Zanoni explains that while all the sessions had to be over Zoom, being that he’s all the way in Canada, Spatial Soul was able to understand her vision and extrapolate on the production Dani was already hearing in her head. And to record live vocals, Zanoni was able to pop into her local studio, Portrait Studios, led by Chris Badami.
Dani discusses how the inspiration and genre of the track differ from that of her previous releases, “I think the thing is that I don’t want to put myself in a box of what “type” of artist I am. When ideas come to me, I roll with them no matter what genre or feel they give. That’s the whole point of being an artist/creative in my eyes. We don’t limit ourselves...we keep experimenting and exploring. I love where I went with “Rabbit Hole,” and that was a very unique writing scenario because it wasn’t something like anything anyone has heard from me before. It opened me up to a whole new way of writing and expressing myself and my lyrics, and I grew as an artist because of it. Every song I write, I take inspiration from for the next.”
Although “Rabbit Hole” may have surprised fans in terms of the stylistic genre, Zanoni and her team worked on something else that was quite unique; the release rollout. With a typical single release, the track and video will either come out simultaneously or the track first, later followed by the video. But Dani opted for an innovative reverse release, and credits her producer, Julien (Spatial Soul), with the initial idea. After hearing the idea, Zanoni said, “we did research on our own and decided it would be cool to release the video first to get views up and get people excited when the actual song release came out a few weeks later. People’s eyes usually catch onto visuals quick, so we thought...why not give it a shot. Honestly, I am very happy with doing this “backwards” release. I think it definitely was a successful strategy and something I may roll with again for future releases!”
The music video was made possible by a culmination of talented folks. Working with her hairdresser Jill, as well as many friends from her alma mater (Ramapo), including Jake Feldman (Videographer), Angelica Pasquali (Photographer), Tara Frawley (Makeup Artist), the “Rabbit Hole” music video was made possible. “Every one of them took my visions for the music video, helped me to edit and develop them further, and together we created something magical. My favorite part of shooting the video was probably all the transitional scenes of me falling asleep & waking up...it was so cool to see Jake piece that all together after,” says Zanoni.
A Message From Dani Zanoni:
*Random note: For the music video & production/songwriting. I took inspo from the cartoon Alice In Wonderland, watched that movie & researched it to add little sneaky sounds or visuals in both the production & video. So it’s a bit of a scavenger hunt as well for the audience, which is kind of fun - if anyone is a fan of that movie!*
LONG STORY SHORT: Whether Dani Zanoni is playing an acoustic set or an electro-pop track, we’re sure to be fans. Lucky for us, “Rabbit Hole (Acoustic)” was released, and now we have the best of both worlds!
Stream "Rabbit Hole" Below!