On the surface everything was going well. Daniel Schulz skyrocketed on to the Danish music scene with the most streamed debut single on Spotify of all time – ‘Turn Back Time’ released in 2017 – and now he was living the dream in and out of amazing sessions across the Atlantic with world-known producers of acts like Post Malone, Nicki Minaj and Wiz Khalifa. But back home, the world and life he had always known, crumbled to pieces.
“The last time I talked to my mom I ran out the door and slammed it behind me - frustrated and unhappy. It’s been six years now,” Daniel says and continues: “My mom and dad went separate ways. A divorce is never easy and I’m not sure what happened but my mom was determined to start over with her own life. My dad was obviously heartbroken while my mom moved on without us. I’ve always wondered what she was running from? And why? She just disappeared and it ruined everything that once was.”
As time has gone by, the young songwriter has fought his own battles and won them through the making of music. But Daniel has also realized that reconciliation, an apology or just a simple talk and a coffee date with his mom is way out of sight. He knows that she isn’t going to reach out and if their relationship is to be saved, he has got to do the hard part.
FAMILY TRAUMA AND POP ANECDOTES
On the other hand, the easy part was to pack his guitar and studio gear to team up with his mates – the Danish hitmakers and producers Frederik and Fridolin Nordsø, Lasse Baunkilde and Jonas Henriksen – and process the family trauma and create pop anecdotes and musical pictures out of his stories. It was when they all sad down around the dinner table in a remote Swedish cottage and started talking, Daniel learned that family issues come in different shapes and is way more common than you’d think.
“Everyone has a story to tell about their parents, siblings or friends. I wanted to create this scrapbook of songs that was going to be deeply personal and relatable to anyone out there listening. I forced myself into writing about the tough times and what truly means something. A frightening process, really. But, more than anything, expressing these feelings made me feel free.”
The first song he wrote was ’Mom’. It’s one of the toughest songs Daniel Schulz has ever written and thinking back on the recordings he remembers how he broke into tears several times. ‘Mom’ is about acknowledging his mom’s wish to move on – on behalf of the life and home she left behind – but it’s also a song of gratitude for all the love and care she gave to Daniel when growing up.
A SAFE SPACE TO FACE HIS MOM
Writing the album became a safe space for Daniel Schulz – a place where he could face his mom and feel like getting heard and most of all pass something on to her. ‘Someone Send This to My Mom’ is an album of life; about the ups and downs being a young man, having to stand on your own two feet, falling in and out of love, about new relations and everything you win and lose.
He launched the album in August 2022 with the release of the radio hit single, ‘Make It’. The song sparks with melancholy and yet uplifting melodies while the lyrics are from Daniel to a dear friend who needed love and encouragement to see the bright sides of life again.
‘Dead of the Night’ is the sound of worry-free youth. On top of a bouncy and smooth R&B-track Daniels delicate voice takes us for a stroll through the city lights along with two young lovers who are headed for the future together. Coming from a personal experience, ‘Walk Away’ is the opposite side of the story – the break up, recorded and eternalized in one take on Daniels beloved acoustic guitar.
’Someone Send This to My Mom’ might have been realized under severe circumstances but to Daniel it’s been his way of dealing with his personal responsibility and to stand up for his own feelings in this matter, and the writing process made him feel free and liberated.
”From the very beginning, I’ve known that making ‘Someone Send This to My Mom’ would be the final push to actually reach out to my mom again. How it eventually will happen or turn out, I don’t know. No matter how unfair or unhappy these past years have felt - probably to the both of us – and no matter how this will end between us, one thing is sure: I will always love my mom.”
BIO
Daniel Schulz is 24 years old. Born and raised in the town of Kolding, Denmark and now living in the capital, Copenhagen. Daniel Schulz is known for his genuine way of expressing his own life in his song writing. It proved to be an immediate hit when the self-released single, ‘Turn Back Time’, hit the charts in 2017 and became the most streamed debut-single on Spotify by a Danish artist ever.
In 2021, Daniel Schulz released his debut-EP, ‘9720’, including the hit single, ‘Bad Company’. It was later followed by a collaboration with the talented Swedish newcomer, Mimi Sandén.
‘Make It’ was a new beginning for Daniel Schulz, when it was released in August, 2022. The flawlessly catchy tune hit the NMF-playlists all over Scandinavia and was praised by numerous international tastemakers like CelebMix naming the songwriter “a creative force”. ‘Make It’ was also chosen as “Song of the Week” on national hit radio station, The Voice.
The release was followed up on tour, when Daniel Schulz supported the international pop star, Christopher, on a nationwide tour of Germany.
’Someone Send This to My Mom’ is written and produced along with Frederik and Fridolin Nordsø – the most influential hitmakers on the Danish scene most recently known for their work with Tobias Rahim and Drew Sycamore. On the team, Daniel has also collabed with his long-time musical partner-in-crime, Lasse Baunkilde, while Jonas Henriksen, with whom he wrote ‘Turn Back Time’, is also onboard.
’Someone Send This to My Mom’ is out Worldwide on April 28th through Warner Music Group.
