DISCO SHRINE COLLABORATES WITH MAGDALENA BAY FOR SUPER-JAM ‘POWER’

Today (November 22nd), Los Angeles saw two dynamite artists release a collaboration for their generation. Entitled ‘Power’, Magdalena Bay (Matt + Mica) and Disco Shrine created an anthem for people all over the world who are navigating what it means to stand in your own strength.

Following up Disco Shrine’s previous single, ‘All Right‘, ‘Power’ serves a similar sentiment created specifically for females. “As a female artist, it’s easy to feel lost along the way and to feel like you’re making a ton of mistakes,” Disco Shrine (aka Jessica Delijani) tells us. “But instead of keeping your head down and letting the doubt seep in, we turn ‘tears into flowers’, meaning we channel those insecurities and turn them into strength. ”

The result is a jam in every sense of the word: groove, empowered lyrics, finesse, and familiarity. A bona fide collaborative effort between the three musicians, ‘Power’ was recorded in Magdalena Bay’s mid-city home studio. Yet despite the feel good anthem it became, Disco Shrine says she was actually in a darker place and “was experiencing a lot of self doubt at that time.” She continues, “We all started talking about the struggles you face as an artist and it turned into Power.”

Self-proclaimed the ‘Persian Barbie’, Disco Shrine weaves inventive melodies into her dance music, making us feel like the 90s Britney Spears is coming back for more. The soulful pop princess is renowned for being an event curator as well, a world traveling DJ, and perhaps most rightfully so, a bold songwriter. Her tunes have been praised for topics such as inclusivity, immigration, and transparency.

Learn more about Disco Shrine and what we can expect from her in 2020 in our conversation below.

Tell me what was your process in writing the song? What came first? lyrics ?

Magdalena Bay and I got together in their home studio in mid city. Matt had already started working on a beat that I loved so we had a good foundation for the song from the get go. I personally was in a darker place in my life and was experiencing a lot of self doubt at that time. I just wasn’t sure my life was going how I wanted it to, but was playing it safe instead of making changes. We all started talking about the struggles you face as an artist and it turned into Power. The verses came first, then the chorus, then the bridge. It was definitely an extremely collaborative process. We all chipped in with melodies, lyrics, production. Even the video was planned out via texts back and forth between us and shot/ directed/ edited by Magdalena Bay. It was really amazing collaborating with Magdalena Bay. They really inspire me in what they do as artists so to be able to see their process and to create a song of our own was really magical.

 

You said you just knew you’d work well with Magdalena Bay. How do you feel your styles compliment each other?

One thing I love about Mag Bay is that they’re not afraid to try different styles of music but they still find a way to keep it true to themselves and make it their own. I personally have been experimenting with a lot of music and the newer music I have coming out is a lot different from my old stuff. I’m leaning more into an 90s rnb/ pop sound and this collaboration felt like the perfect segue from my old music to my new unreleased music. Also Magbay are just badasses so I knew it would be amazing <3

A lot of the lyrics in this song are about breaking out of a cold haze, or pushing out of the bubble. What are these forces (no longer) holding you back?

While we were writing the song, I felt really lost in my personal life. It was a mix of personal life goals I didn’t feel like I was achieving, but also musical goals and aspirations too. I basically was going through a quarter life crisis and I wasn’t sure what I should do to change my life for the better. I felt really aimless. But as I have always done with music, I decided to use it as my tool for therapy. We ended up making the chorus this powerful message about overcoming self doubt ie “turning tears into flowers”. When I say “yeah I got the power” it serves as a reminder that if things aren’t going the way you want, you have the power to do something about it.

What makes you feel at your strongest?

Being on stage performing makes me feel so strong and powerful. It’s such an unusual feeling, but there’s no high like being on stage doing what you love. Also I’m a sucker for those cheesy inspiration quotes on Instagram. They make me feel super empowered haha.

Who are some artists you’re currently listening to?

Mo, Empress Of, Holychild, Dorian Electra, Charli XCX, Carley Rae Jepsen, Gwen Stefani, Tove Lo, Bea Miller, Phem, Ashe, Elohim. Are all definitely on my rotation right now

What’s on your mind now when you’re writing? What can we expect from your next releases?

My writing is definitely reflective of my life and the people I meet or experiences I have. I take everything from the outside world and usually when really inspiring things happen to me whether bad or good, it ends up manifesting itself into a song. I plan on releasing an EP next year and I think people can expect me to be a lot more vulnerable in my new music.

CONNECT WITH DISCO SHRINE:

INSTAGRAM // SPOTIFY // TWITTER

CONNECT WITH MAGDALENA BAY:

INSTAGRAM // SPOTIFY // TWITTER

photos Disco Shrine / Nicole Lipp

photos duo / Cosme H.

story / Ariana Tibi

Recent Posts