[FEATURE] VIPER PRESENTS: ADANNAY

South London-based queer artist ADANNAY is making politically-engaged, powerful and playful R&B, that straddles the intersections of queerness and blackness. Get familiar with this VIPER Presents interview…

What five words define your sound?

Soulful, Honest, Rooted, Nostalgic, Fun.

Tell me something unique about your creative process.

My creative process always starts with a story. No matter what the vibe, or what the sound for me the most important thing is the consistency of the narrative across everything. So I think it’s pretty unique that I start by finding stories that excite me first, before even thinking about the music.

Which song of yours would you like people to hear first?

In this time and climate it has to be ‘Misleading Is The Medicine’!

What inspired you to make that song?

I started writing ‘Misleading Is The Medicine’ because I could see that politically and socially we were slipping into a really dark space. In the wake of party-gate during covid, the tory government stoking culture wars and with the Rwanda policy, I could see that too many people were falling for the lies being told, in the hopes of dividing us. So in my eyes ‘Misleading Is the Medicine’ is a rallying cry against political deceit and societal apathy.

What’s the most vulnerable you’ve allowed yourself to be when writing/making music?

I think this project is the most vulnerable set of songs I’ve ever written. I think songs like ‘Love Her Anyway’, which is the final track on the EP is the rawest because I wrote it straight after a pretty traumatic and difficult time in my life. Essentially the song is about coming out and it not going very well and writing about something like that for myself is one thing, but putting it out for the world to hear is something else entirely.

What’s the best/worst experience you’ve had on stage?

The best experience I’ve had on stage so far was probably the set I did at Cheltenham Jazz Festival. I was booked onto one of the free stages so no one really knew who i was at the start of the set. But the end I had about 2000 people singing my song right back at me. It was incredible.

What is your favourite song to perform?

Its hard to choose! I’ve been working with a new MD Dolapo Sanya and a new live band set up, and with these guys performing Misleading is the Medicine live is pretty dope!

Which artist/song/album made you want to make music?

There are so many artists that influenced me. But from a young age I have been obsessed with Luther Vandross. His voice and his songs, but also his incredible song writing. I grew up trying to make melodies as good as his!

What’s the meaning behind your name?

It’s my actual name! It’s my middle name’ that my Dad has always called me. I’m really close with my Dad and it felt really comfortable to perform under the name he gave me which is still very much me but a little removed from my actual first name!

If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing instead?

Well I’m a pretty busy human! When I’m not making music I work in Art Direction and Set Design for TV/Film/Ads and events too. I also have a background in Architecture and do some teaching. So if I wasn’t making music I’d probably be throwing even more of my time into the creative design work I love to do.

What’s success to you?

That’s really hard to pin point for me. I would say that the aim of my music is to start conversations and to help foster genuine empathy within people. So I guess success is knowing that my music has actually sparked genuine conversations and so the wider that music is spread the the more successful I’ll feel.

Where can people keep in touch with you?

I always keep up to date with my socials! So feel free to find me on Instagram and TikTok @adannay.music.