In April of last year, Diana Silvers wrote the song “Daughter.” Over finger-picked acoustic guitar, the 29-year-old model, actress and singer-songwriter ruminates on the transition from girlhood to womanhood through the eyes of her mother — who, by the age Silvers is now, was already married with two children. On Oct. 20, Silvers was on tour in Cincinnati, Ohio, when she got a call from her mom saying that her father had unexpectedly died. The next few weeks were a blur — she planned and attended his funeral, turned 28 and released her debut album, “From Another Room.” It’s a chain of events she’s still processing one year on.
Still, many of the songs on “Daughter of Sorts” — a record originally intended to be about the growing pains of your 20s — became about him and, more broadly, the inevitable passage of time. Equal parts devastating and uplifting, the record tackles growing up, death, grief and renewal through lyrics that are deeply personal, but still inviting. Together, they built out the album’s sonic world, keeping certain songs acoustic as Diana had written them and adding strings, drums and bass to others.
For second track “(Un)Lovers,” the only song about romantic love on the album, Silvers enlisted Dylan Minnette of Wallows for a duet. His bandmate, Cole Preston — who Silvers met at a Paul McCartney concert in L.A. — played drums on the track, as well as on two other songs on the record. It was the last thing we recorded, and to me it completed the whole song.” Nikolai Fraiture and Fabrizio Moretti of the Strokes also happened to be in town rehearsing for Coachella, and as Lader engineered their latest album, dropped by the studio.
They ended up also contributing to “(Un) Lovers,” with Fraiture on bass and Moretti arranging the strings section. When I listen to the record, it feels like there’s really good energy in the music,” Silvers says. The final interlude, “8.8,” is a voicemail from her dad.
It’s just been a long time.” Silvers found the voicemail just two days after he passed, and felt like it “perfectly summed up our relationship,” adding: “His words are kind, but there’s a tinge of disappointment in his voice.” It’s obviously an incredibly vulnerable moment to include, but Silvers didn’t want to shy away from the reality of their strained connection — and also thinks of it as a way to commemorate him.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
