Dan E.T. has premiered his new video for the track titled ‘Do You Right’ featuring Grieves. Creativity does not happen in isolation. We are collaborative animals by nature, and typically the best results happen when multiple minds come together to work on a project. And that’s exactly the approach Dan E.T. has taken on his newest single, “Do You Right.”
Dan E.T. is the effort of Phoenix-based songwriter Daniel Torgersen. Torgersen has developed a reputation as a go-to trumpet player and producer, and has worked with artists like Cardi B, Weezer, and Gondwana. As Dan E.T., he’s opened for artists like Animal Collective, Cee Lo Green, and George Clinton. Torgersen’s musical language is clearly inspired by the diverse range of artists he’s worked with in the studio and on the stage.
“Do You Right” is a dub-leaning pop sensation that immediately hooks you in with catchy melodies and an irresistible groove. The song’s punchy brass hits and feel-good message bring a little bit of Summer into gloomy Fall. Don’t worry – the sun’s still here somewhere. With Gerhardt Koelsch on drums and Corey Groove on bass, Torgersen has put together a group of musicians that could follow him down any musical path he chooses. “Do You Right” also features frequent collaborator and tourmate Grieves. The rapper’s verse in the song adds the perfect flow, and brings out new dimensions in the backbeat created by Koelsch and Groove. In the chorus, Torgersen sings, “Our love it never dies / Our planet, a paradise / I just wanna do you right.” And in this age of scams and frauds, this message captures something simple and beautiful about humanity. Our planet is something special, isn’t it?
In the accompanying video, the trio of musicians play for a group of people at a warehouse party. Everyone is having fun, letting loose, and cutting it up. There’s not many artists that are able to make feel-good music that digs deeper into the collective unconscious in a way that feels effortless. Dan E.T. channels philosophy and an optimistic outlook into engaging, groovy music. And that’s the type of artist worth paying attention too in this isolated era.
Q&A
How do you balance being a player on so many records with writing your own material? Has working in the studio with artists impacted your own work?
Juggling the metaphorical planets in my musical solar system isn’t easy, and to be honest, my new music is like a chimeric cocktail of every amazing artist I’ve loved working with this last decade. Each experience changed me; whether we toured together or just trolled around in the studio. That tornado of projects ultimately led to meeting Matthew Keller, our producer, as well as my collaborators: Corey Groove (bass), Gerhardt Koelsh (drums), Grieves and The Kaleidoscope Kid.
For so long my original music, including Captain Squeegee, was like a punk-rock rejection of the accessible music I was producing elsewhere. But when it came time to look within for my next project, we decided to finally lean in and create our own cosmic brew of reggae, hip-hop, and pop, but always with that dose of psychedelia. I’ll never abandon it!
Is there a personal story behind “Do You Right?” You have this ability to keep your lyrics simple and memorable while revealing a depth to your brain and personal philosophy.
Funnily enough, this song was created in deep COVID lockdown, which is the source of this re-occurring ‘apocalypse’ reference in the chorus. I was hearing so many stories about couples and lovers going through the experience together. Some trauma-bonded, while others grew annoyed being stuck with each other 24/7. But I felt so blessed to be with my partner Kandi during this time (who is also featured in the music video btw!) because I only fell DEEPER in love with her during those dark times.
We found a light in each other and STILL had so much fun regardless of the doom around us. Also I’m glad you like the lyrics, THANK YOU!
Your collaborators Koelsch and Groove really add a rhythmic character to the song. What drew you to those musicians for this song?
As a multi-instrumentalist, I NEED drums & bass rocking to actually have FUN musically. And since this song was written during the lockdowns… At first, the only people I was risking adventures with was my GF & my musical collaborators at our own studio Foggy Rhodes (Tempe, AZ) – Starting just as a hip-hop loop, ‘Do You Right’ was my first in-depth collaboration with Corey Groove on bass (since our days in The Veragroove), which really kicked-off the ‘groovey’ core of the Dan E.T. sound. Then when Gerhardt Koelsch added his live-drum energy to the song, we really discovered our FULL sound. That Mega-Zord level of groove haha!
We also suddenly had a lot of time to continuously re-imagine the song… So this was kind of an exploration in song-writing rocket science. The song took several forms before its final version with Grieves. It was actually after a long US tour I performed with him, when the time came to find a feature, and he was just the obvious choice for what is easily the most Hip-Hoppy Dan E.T. song on the EP. He just knew EXACTLY what to do on this vibe. He is a TRUE artist. We are stoked to have him.
The music video is so fun and colorful. What was it like developing the concept?
We’ve been friends with Marina Fini (of Meow Wolf, MotelScape, etc.) for years now! We were SO excited when she brought her “Rainbow Bathhouse” to Sedona, AZ and we knew instantly it was the perfect place for the bubble-gummy, love-song, party-video we were imagining!
The song and video location reeked of a retro vibe, so we enlisted director Cory Davis (of YELLOWBOX Films) to weave-in all kinds of original, analog video FX that he’s known for. It really helped showcase the psychedelic nature of the song visually.
Can we expect more singles from you soon?
OH YES I CAN GUARANTEE MANY MORE E.T. SIGHTINGS IN THE NEAR FUTURE!
Featured image by Cory Davis.
LINKS:
https://www.dan-et.com
https://tiktok.com/@dan.et
https://instagram.com/dan.et.music
https://twitter.com/danetmusic
https://facebook.com/dan.e.torgersen
https://apple.co/3lFFgB3
https://spoti.fi/39G6vWK