WATCH: Become Mesmerized By Donna Missal’s Bedroom Sessions
WATCH: Become Mesmerized By Donna Missal’s Bedroom Sessions
She self-directed the dreamy four-part series
Words by: Amanda Marano
After teasing a more intimate look at her dreamy melodies and soft vocals across her Instagram page, indie-rock singer Donna Missal has released her Bedroom Sessions track renditions in their entirety on her YouTube page. The four, self-directed, intimate performances reimagine some of the songs from her new album, Lighter. After giving fans a first look at the Bedroom Sessions for “Slow Motion,” “Bloom,” “Who Loves You,” and “Carefully” on Instagram, and now all four videos are available to watch on YouTube.
The videos, which were shot in the bedroom of her Los Angeles home and in the backyard of her childhood home in New Jersey, were all brand new covers of her most popular tracks. “These videos were made by taking new instrumental interpretations of songs from Lighter and performing to them live,” says Donna Missal. “I made projections using footage captured throughout the process of creating Lighter and cast them over myself to be immersed in them. I recorded the performances live by capturing audio and visual at the same time, using a laptop camera and my recording set up, thrown about my bed or the floor.”
The lockdown gave Donna the inspiration for Bedroom Sessions. She explains, “I wanted this series to represent live performance in a way that is shaped by the environment, to bring live performing into an intimate space, using digital mediums to create and share. From the shifting paradigm for the way artists connect to listeners, along with the inability to tour an album live, we’re all trying to fill the void – connect, and create. Bedroom Sessions is a take on the challenge of staying close to others through music, even from far away.”
An ode to letting go, “Slow Motion” was originally a piano ballad on the album. The new charged cover takes on an even deeper meaning sung from the grass of her childhood home’s backyard where she played growing up, a clash of the past and present. Illuminated by blue light, Donna sings “Bloom,” a tale of raw, unfiltered, unselfish love. Joined by Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Liv Slingerland as she plays guitar, Donna sings, “I don’t want to be the reason you don’t shine, realize I’m standing in your light…I don’t want to be the reason you don’t bloom.” Accompanied by her brother Steve Missal on guitar, Donna replays memories in her head with “Carefully.” An emotional story of a breakup, Donna’s vocals shine through the sadness in her voice. Singing against a backdrop of a technicolor sky at sundown shares a heavenly, layered version of “Who Loves You.” Sung on two microphones, she creates a full, lush soundscape.
The Jersey native rose in the music scene with her self-recorded single, “Keep Lying,” in 2015. The track went viral, receiving 2.7 million streams. After releasing a number of singles, she collaborated on a track with Macklemore in 2017. Soon after, she released her debut album This Time in September 2018 via Harvest Records. So far, Donna has gathered over 35 million global streams. In a feature that put Donna “In Conversation” with Shania Twain, Interview Magazine said, “Missal’s thunderous vocals, mixed with her poignant lyrics and a country-meets-90s rock attitude, transformed the record into a wildfire of emotional upheaval making way for growth accompanied by a newfound sense of creative empowerment; one that comes from being in full control of her story.”
