Darla Biana is Iridescent
Written by Daphne Bryant
All images courtesy of Darla Biana
meet Darla Biana, a manila-based musician who writes and produces all of her own music. with a sound heavily inspired by early 2000s electronic music and video game soundtracks, this mystical artist knows how to captivate an audience and immerse them in her world. read our exclusive interview with darla below!
Q1: Hi Darla! I’d love to know a little bit more about your origin story. When did you start making music and how did you know you wanted to do it as a career?
A: Music has always been a huge thing for me. I grew up in a family passionate about music, so I was exposed to a lot of it. When people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would say I wanted to be either a musician, or a zoologist because I love learning about animals.
The first instrument I picked up was the guitar when I was 8. My dad taught me the basics, just to get myself familiar with the chords and reading tabs, [and] from there I was self-taught. I think naturally, when you can play an instrument, you try making your own stuff. I used to come up with my own songs on the fly, like [I’d] play some chords and sing something over it. Nothing seemed too serious [at the] time because I was a kid just having fun, but [that] laid the foundation for everything.
I started experimenting with music production when I was in high school. I got my first iPhone when I was 14, and that’s when I started playing around with GarageBand. I would create song covers from scratch, like I wouldn’t just replicate the original song, but instead I’d reimagine it with my own twist. Looking back at that process, I’d say I found myself a pretty efficient way to learn music production, because as I was learning the technicalities, I was also figuring out my own sound.
Q2: When did you release your first song?
A: I released my very first song,“ dream,” on SoundCloud in 2019. The song was basically about me wanting to follow my dreams and how I’m not going to stop until I make it happen, which is honestly such a great prologue to my music career. I wrote a bunch of other songs during that time, but I never really put them out and they just stayed in my drafts. When the pandemic hit in 2020, I took a break from music and focused on streaming video games. Apart from music, I stream video games and I go by Darlz in that space. [Honestly] I only found my way back to music last year. I was hit by this huge wave of inspiration after watching a Tyler, the Creator interview where he was giving advice to aspiring artists and creators. I thought to myself, maybe it’s time to give music a shot again, so I challenged myself to create, and out of that [my debut album] Iridescent emerged.
Q3: I love that! If you had to come up with a brand new genre to describe your sound, what would it be called?
A: I would call it something like“ Hypersonic Electropop.” I think“ hypersonic” captures the fast-paced nature of my music, and the genre itself has a futuristic yet nostalgic ring to it, which I feel perfectly encapsulates my sound.
Q4: You mentioned this earlier but you recently released your debut album, Iridescent. It’s an 11-track electronic record that you wrote, composed, recorded, produced and mastered all on your own, which is so impressive! What influenced and inspired your songwriting and sonic production?
A: Thank you so much! I feel so proud of this project because it was seriously a lot of work. I challenged myself to complete the whole album within three months while I was balancing a full-time job, my streaming community, and my other side quests in photography and art. It was chaotic but yeah, if you want something to happen, you’ll make it happen.
With the songwriting, I wanted the album to feel intentional and have a recurring theme. When I was conceptualizing the album, I had an idea that the first half of the album would focus on love and the second half would focus on confidence. I wanted the songs to be catchy too, I wanted something that people could easily chant or sing along to in shows, in the club, or at parties, so there’s a lot of repetition and hooks and all that.
As for the production, it’s built on early 2000s house, techno, and electronic music and video game soundtracks, but it also has futuristic tones, like it [could] belong in a neon-saturated, digital world. I was [really] inspired by soundtracks of rhythm games like Bust-a-Groove and racing games like Need for Speed. The whole album is upbeat because I love music [that] I can dance or drive fast to.
Q5: I listened to the whole album and my favorite tracks are“ Love You Down” and“ Peach and Lime”! I adore the lyrics and the beats on those so much. What’s your personal favorite song off Iridescent and why?
A: Thank you so much for taking a listen, that really means a lot to me! I still get so excited when people tell me they listened to my stuff.“ Love You Down” is definitely a fan favorite and honestly, it’s so valid. It was actually the first song I created for this project, and there’s a prototype version that feels more stripped-down and mellow, but I eventually decided to rework the production to fit the pace of the album.“ Peach and Lime” is a nod to my“ emo kid” roots, it was inspired by a lyric from one of my favorite Panic! at the Disco songs that mentioned [a]“ peach and lime daiquiri.” I loved how those words sounded together, so I wrote a song around that. I was, and honestly still am, an emo kid, and I love having little references like that to honor that part of me.
My personal favorite song off the album is easily“ The Way I.” I mean, there’s just something so hypnotic about it. I love how it’s sultry and atmospheric, but still catchy and danceable. That song unfolded so naturally, I finished it in just a few hours. People have told me that it feels so vogue, like something you would hear at a fashion show, and I get it, I see the vision! I would honestly love to witness that.
Q6: Me too! Also I have to say I am so obsessed with your website and branding! It’s so deliciously Y2K; I saw there’s even an option to dress up a virtual version of you on the homepage, like, that’s so genius. What about that aesthetic and time period appeals to you?
A: Girl, I feel the synergy, like I could say the same for Dreamworldgirl’s branding, it’s so perfect!
I was on the Internet a lot as a kid and I loved playing Flash games. I really miss that era of the internet, so I knew I had to integrate that experience in some way into my website. I’m so grateful that KITA (a.k.a. @keeshuuu on Instagram) worked on the character illustrations, her art style is just incredible and it captured the vibe I had in my head perfectly.
Looking back at the early 2000s just feels so comforting to me, I mean it was a time when everything was a lot more vibrant, everyone was experimenting with different styles when it comes to hair and fashion choices, and somehow the media, tech, and fashion coming out that time felt more futuristic aesthetically, if that makes sense.
Q7: It totally does. Your music video and visuals have that cyber-nostalgic vibe too! Do you have any fun MV stories or experiences on set?
A: Yeah, it’s always so fun filming the music videos! We’re actually just a team of three people, myself included, so we have to really think of resourceful ways to execute the concept we want. I think you can get really creative when you limit yourself with only the resources you currently have. And it’s always such a great collaborative experience because the three of us are completely synced up on the vision.
The most memorable MV shoot for me is the“ Lose My Breath” music video, which we filmed at Shibuya and Harajuku in Tokyo. We had two nights, a digicam and a dream. We specifically chose to film with a digicam to get that early 2000s Japanese street aesthetic.
It was a whole adrenaline rush because we were in a time crunch. We could only shoot at night because we’d be busy during the day. We were staying an hour away from the city so we would take two trains, and once we got to the city we immediately looked for a place to film. After filming, we would [find] a place to celebrate and have some drinks. We would squeeze all of that in just a couple of hours because we had to be sure we’d still make the last train heading back to our place. It was pretty thrilling!
Q8: What’s it like being an independent artist? How would you describe the music scene in Manila,Philippines, where you’re from?
A: Being an independent artist is a perfectionist’s dream, but it can honestly be a blessing and a curse. You’re hands-on with everything, you have control over the music and visuals, you plot your own timeline, and you call the shots on the execution. It requires you to work a little harder for sure, but I like the challenge!
I feel like the music scene here in Manila has become a lot more versatile and experimental in recent times. It’s really cool to see more and more local artists broaden the definition of music with all the new and different sounds coming up. I also think DJ culture has boomed here as well, a lot more people have been exploring the art of spinning. It’s inspiring to see [this], and I can say without a doubt that there are a lot of really talented people here.
Q9: How do social media platforms play into your artistry? Is social media a way that you promote yourself?
A: I think in this day and age, whether we like it or not, it’s almost necessary to be on social media if you really want to put yourself out there. There’s a lot of ways to go about it, but I love when an artist uses social media to visually build a world they want to portray alongside their music. It adds an additional layer to their work that makes it more engaging. I love using my social media the same way.
I’m most active on Instagram because of my passion for photography and visual aesthetics. I try to be more active on TikTok since I know a lot of artists have grown and landed great opportunities through there, but that’s a platform I’m still trying to be more comfortable and consistent on.
I also found a lot of value in Discord; it almost feels like forum culture back in the 2000s because of the niche, interest-based communities within the platform. I’ve joined a creative community there that has really helped me become more confident about my music, and had the chance to connect with talented artists too.
I also stream on Twitch, which is another way for me to express myself on the Internet on a more authentic level since it’s live, and I’ve also met some really amazing and supportive people on there.
Q10: That’s so awesome, I especially love that you’re building community on places like Discord and Twitch, which people might not traditionally think of. What are some of your biggest career aspirations? What do you foresee in your future as an artist?
A: One of my biggest goals is to bridge the gap between my two worlds. I would love to have my music featured in, or even create music for, a video game. Maybe a game set in a cyberpunk or futuristic universe, or a street racing game. That would be really cool.
I would also love to collaborate with other artists and producers. Working on my debut album on my own was a great experience and I’ve learned so much overall, but collaborating has a whole different learning curve and I think it’s vital to know how to work with others too. It would be a dream to collaborate with Kaytranada, PinkPantheress, Frost Children, Ninajirachi, and so many more artists who inspired my electronic sound.
In the future, I see myself building an ever-evolving discography. I love to experiment and tell stories through my sound, so I want each project to feel different and have its unique vision. I’ve honestly already started conceptualizing the direction of my next project, and I can’t wait to see how it all unfolds.
Q11: Finally, what advice would you give to any aspiring musicians out there?
A: I would give the same advice I repeat to myself. Do what you love, and do it for you.
The most important thing is you’re doing it for yourself, to make yourself proud, and not for anyone else. If it makes you happy, as long as you’re not hurting anyone, go for it. And always, always believe in yourself and your capabilities and never let anyone tell you otherwise.
Remember that you can do anything that you put your mind to, and that you’re usually doing a lot better than you think. Not every day is going to be a good day and you won’t always feel confident, but what matters is that you pick yourself back up and never lose sight of whatever it is you’re working toward.
Dreams aren’t too far out, they’re much closer than we think, we just have to keep going.
