IAMDDB burst onto the scene in 2018 with her track “Shade” became a certified club anthem and travelled the world through Instagram and TikTok, amassing 46M views on YouTube and over 64m streams on Spotify. We caught up with her at the Union launch party to chat about her latest project LOVE is WAR, Volume 6.
You’re back in Manchester tonight, tell us about the last time you were here and your upbringing here
“I think it was my last tour show, 2021. I’ve been gone for too long, I don’t even sound like I’m from here anymore. I lived all over. Stockport, Cheetham Hill, Salford, Wythenshawe then Hulme, Fallowfield and Didsbury. I’ve been all over.”
The new album LOVE is WAR, Volume 6 is out now, self published. How does that feel to achieve on your own?
“It’s great. I’ve been through a lot between the first and the sixth album. It’s been a f*cking rollercoaster. Good times, bad times. I’ve returned back to my roots and it’s self-made. Self-made. No one can take any of that sh*t down because I uploaded it myself.” [proceeds to cup hand to ear and asks do you hear that].
It’s a pretty chilled out album, the tune Ibiza especially.
“I like to keep it simple. Okay I’ve done jazz and drum and bass but it’s about putting the urban jazz flavour into everything and if people feel different emotions I should have a song to cater to each one. I really hope people just listen to it and ride the wave. We all need to be in our feelings but also scream and shout sometimes.”
I think your music is really interesting because there’s loads going on across different genres, especially African jazz from the 1970s. Is that intentional?
I like to merge sounds but also have to take into account the sonics that the listener has become accustomed to. I just can’t just jump from jazz to afro. I have to ease them into each other. I have great afro songs but it’s about timing the transition properly.
Is that harder without a major label?
“Yes and no. If you aren’t a pr*ck, people will want to help you. It’s hard when you have strong opinions, they want you to shut up and go with the typical flow. No b*tch, I’m the label and the manager and the artist. Do you want to play my sh*t or not? Let’s get straight to it and cut the cr*p”.
“It’s been interesting to see how it all works first hand but luckily my fans want to help. I don’t think having a label is as effective as it used to be unless you’re trying to be a pop star which I’m not. I don’t think I’m made for that and if it happens it’ll happen by me being me not something a label wants.”
Was music something you always wanted to do?
“Yeah, always. I was going to try and be a lawyer but the time I was having to go and spend in a library locked away, I could be touring instead or could be making bangers and I was going to be cooped up in a library with all this jargon I still don’t understand.”
Is it true you spent one hour at University before dropping out?
“Yeah. Big up Man Met. I did English because I wanted to master writing but I sat down and watched the presentation and I thought nah, three years is way too long. I ended up being a retail girl. Selfridges, hairdressing, casino work, I worked in Wetherspoons on Piccadilly for f*cks sake. Walking round here shows how far I’ve come. The level of self-control you have to have in retail is mad, I’ve got so much respect for them.”
Is there a plan for a tour?
“Ha. Well, I had to cancel a European tour because the people that were working on the tour weren’t good at their f*cking jobs. I said what I said, you didn’t do your job properly and if you want to write this in block caps, put me in caps. We’re doing a world tour instead with extra dates. I just came back from Angola and I’ll be back performing there when the time is right.”
And then after that? Another album or a break?
“I’ve got a deluxe version of the album coming out and then volume seven is pretty much done, it just needs to be mixed and mastered. I don’t want to speak from a place of ego anymore, I just want to be like a flower in my soulful vibes. Some of the songs on this album are from 2020, I’ve got loads of demos. I’m ready to drop 7, 8 and 9 if I wanted to but I don’t want to be a slave to my own artistry. I want to be able to enjoy being a human being and make space for love and people but at the same time if God says get on that cr*ck energy, Go!”
If you didn’t get a chance to see IAMDDB at the Union launch party, you’re in luck, she is playing again at Manchester Academy in September.