MP3 Chelsea Dasso - Chelsea Dasso
Emotional piano driven music, coupled with rich and engaging melodies and harmonies allowing the listener to connect to the meaningful lyrics that reveal a common human experience.
12 MP3 Songs in this album (51:59) !
Related styles: Pop: Piano, Easy Listening: Mood Music, Solo Female Artist
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Details:
Chelsea Dasso’s experience with music has been an integral and vital part of her life, beginning at age 6 and continuing through her early twenties. After playing piano for years, she began writing her own music during her junior year of high school. Her writing became a way for her to process her experiences and express her feelings in a creative way. Her songs immediately drew an audience and as a student at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington, Dasso had the opportunity to share her music with the student community. As a result she won two Whitworth Unplugged music competitions, and was featured on a compilation album of local artists recorded by Perfechter Studios. Dasso used these positive encouragements to motivate her to reach a wider audience. She began to play live shows at a number of different music venues in Spokane. At the age of 21, Chelsea Dasso self-released a self-titled 11 track album and in 2010 she competed in Spokane’s Got Talent with the top 25 selected contestants. Dasso has sold over one hundred CD’s and is continuing to pursue an audience in the Spokane community.
Dasso musical success is largely due to how relatable her lyrics are for her listeners. Her ability to express emotion through piano and vocal melodies along with meaningful lyrics exhibit an artistic maturity as she grasps a vast array of human experience. A review published in The Pacific Northwest Inlander in February 11, 2010 stated “Dasso’s work is stark and hauntingly honest.”
Dasso’s purpose as a musician comes from her passion for life and the people in her life. “I think people can identify with the way I have felt in the different life circumstances I have faced.” Dasso also says that sharing her music with others, “is one of the most vulnerable and scary places I can be and it’s an exhilarating feeling, but it feels good to be able to share that part of me with someone else, even if only one person in the room is listening.”
Dasso graduated with a B.A. in Sociology at Whitworth University, Dasso is currently working to further her music career performing at local venues and periodically collaborating with other local artists. Ultimately she says “I just want to be heard”. With a distinct style and perceptive, soulful lyrics, she is definitely worth listening to.
"After listening to singer-songwriter Chelsea Dasso''s self-titled debut album, I found it funny that iTunes placed it in my library under the "Easy Listening" genre. Truth be told, Dasso has an utterly beautiful voice, one I wouldn''t mind playing all day long. But when I think of Easy Listening, I think of artists like Jack Johnson or Norah Jones; I think of musicians whose music, while it may be great, fades into the background with relative ease.
Dasso''s lyrics don''t let her songs fade like this; along with that beautiful voice, the words are powerful and, most of all, relatable. Sure, the production here is very simple, but to call it bare-bones would be a fallacy; there''s too much vocal and lyrical prowess to be found.
"There''s a reason and a season for it all." That''s the lyric I''d choose to sum up much of the album''s theme. Fittingly, those words come along in the album''s leadoff track, "Crazy". Featuring simply an acoustic guitar and Dasso''s voice, she reflects on a crazy year no doubt filled with heartbreak and complication.
"Crazy" is an important track because it''s simultaneously sad and introspective, but it comes off as non-mopey. Again, the tone is set for the album. There''s some extremely sad stuff to be found throughout the 11 tracks, but I finished the album with a "light at the end of the tunnel" mentality. I think that was intentional.
If I wrote more album reviews, you''d know I''m a sucker for the piano. Both “This Goodbye” and "Rescue" feature it heavily, and that''s one of the reasons I appreciate them. Dasso shows some shades of Amy Lee here, which I appreciate (the fact that Lee is featured with Seether on one of my favorite songs of all time notwithstanding).
I love "Line in the Sand". The lyric "I''m afraid we''re meant to be together, but not forever," is one that requires an extra moment of thought to truly understand. It has gravity, and the song tells a story. I like that.
"Every Song" is one of the sadder pieces on the album; it gives an outright reason for why we write sad songs, and explores how maybe, just maybe, the people we write these songs about don''t deserve the time. It also delves into how songs we don''t write ourselves can still hit home. Yet another great summary of my feelings on this album: I didn''t write these songs, but I''ve definitely felt these feelings.
"Generation" was probably my least favorite song on the album. It has a lot of production value, adding in drums as well as a choir effect towards the end, but I think I appreciate the simplicity of the rest of the album a bit more. However, the repeated line about not wanting to "go it alone" gives a much-needed personal touch to a song exploring the struggles of an entire generation.
"Front Seat" is another story song. We get a short picture of a seemingly good situation, fast-forwarded into an excruciating future. This song demonstrates how drastically and tragically things can change over time. It’s also a stark reminder of how difficult it can be to see where exactly things went wrong. Comparing two contrasting situations is a sad course to take, but the contrast is a wonderful mechanism to illustrate the sadness. It''s easy to wonder if we''re even hearing about the same people, which is a strange, somber thought.
"Reflection" is hauntingly epic, and another favorite of mine. It''s a confrontational song, one of those pieces that sounds as though it was written during a venting session. I''m convinced that some of the best songs ever written were hashed out during a time of difficult, passionate emotion. The listener can feel this, and it gives the song a great deal of power. The eerie, surreal piano that’s present here only adds to that. Wait for the 2:30 mark in the song, you’ll see what I mean.
“Undreaming Love” is an intimate portrait that compares love to dreaming. It took me a few listens to acquire the meaning. To me, the song basically asks how we can know we’re dreaming when true love is good enough to be a dream in itself? I truly enjoyed the song, probably partially due to my interest in dreams. The lyrics here tell us that dreamlike love is indeed possible. Uplifting, no?
“Worth You” is a slower song, but that doesn’t detract from its fiery message. It’s one of the songs on the album that doesn’t seem to look for the positive in lost love. It’s a portrait of a lover who is going through a phase in which she can only see the negative. It’s a reminder of the dark place we must all sometimes go to when dealing with heartbreak.
“One More Kiss” acts as the album’s closer, and it reinforces the “light at the end of the tunnel” mentality I mentioned earlier. It’s a simple, piano-driven love note from one person to another. It’s the perfect end to an album that runs the gamut of emotions. At the end of the day, all craziness aside, there’s love to be found, and that’s what counts, no matter how much we must search for it.
"I''m waiting for the sun to rise on something new, something beautiful.” It’s my hope that this album is just the beginning for Chelsea Dasso. These songs couldn’t fade into the background when I played them. They feel as though they’ve been ripped from the heart of somebody trying their best to see the big picture in some very hard times. Music has always helped me do that, and my iPod is now graced with 11 more songs to serve that purpose.
I can’t wait to hear more." Brent Lindquist Writer for the Lynden Tribune