40 Days with Chanel Dela Cruz

What inspired the single “40 Days”?

I was inspired by quite literally the worst break up of my life 😂 I was kind of over the hunch of crying and sleeping all day and i had eventually started going out again. I counted, it took about 40 days for me to start doing that 😂 So I went and saw a clairo concert and was totally inspired by how she can make sad situations sound really chill and vibey. Went home and the next day wrote 40 days.

Did you get any help writing and producing or was it all you? How long was the process?

I wrote all the lyrics and melody myself. The producer on the song, Benjamin Lee, did the full instrumental. We picked out chords together and wrote and recorded in his bedroom. He had all the gear to have a DIY studio. The process of making the instrumental took maybe a few hours. I wrote the chorus and first verse in a few minutes but I didn’t fully finish the song until about a month later. So I then re-recorded the vocals. We started in August 2018 and didn’t get the final master until March this year!

What came first the lyrics or the beat?

I think the beat sort of came first. While we were making that I already had the title 40 Days in my head and once I heard the chords I was able to put a melody and lyrics to that.

Where do you hope to see yourself in the next coming year?

In the coming year I’m planning to be living out in LA, playing shows, meeting even more artists and collaborating. And I’m planning to have another EP out by the end of the year 😉 (so I guess that kind of answers the next question.)

Any other new stuff coming soon?

Yes! I have a super deep 3 song (for now) EP to come out later this year. It’s centered around a really hard year that I had, which started off with my college closing and my great grandmother passing away and then going through a break up. So it’s a pretty sad project, topic wise, but I’m excited to share that part of myself with everyone because I’m a very private person. I think it comes out better in my art.

Who do you wish you could collab with one day?

I’d honestly love to collaborate with Julia Michaels or even just meet her one day. She’s written for SO many people and I love that she’s finally starting to breakthrough as an artist herself. I think she does an amazing job of being honest in her music and even outside of that. She talks about real struggles with mental health. I really strive to be on her level.