An old soul in a new music age
Iris Dunn isn’t letting anything stop her fulfilling her passion of singing, writes Georgia-May Gilbertson.
She’s come a long way since winning a trip to Japan through songwriting, but music isn’t a job to Iris Dunn, it’s like living and breathing to her.
The 21-one year old singer from Napier is about to embark on a journey to Los Angeles to focus on her music career.
Her single Dangerous has more than 4.5 million views on YouTube and over 250,000 streams on Spotify after releasing it on music platforms only a couple of months ago.
Dunn’s songwriting is mainly about experiences, even if she hasn’t encountered them yet.
‘‘This is what’s weird about all my songs, I’ll write them and then later I’ll experience what I was talking about in the song. It’s a bit worrying when I write a sad song, because then I think ‘well what if that happens’,’’ she laughs.
‘‘Sometimes they’re about nothing, sometimes it’s about events that happen and sometimes it’s about stuff in my past that I don’t even know is in my head, so it’s really therapeutic.’’
Dangerous was written during a difficult time in Dunn’s life and is about encountering strength and overcoming battles.
‘‘I wanted to get over the difficulty in my life and become strong and dangerous, take risks and overcome demons.’’
Dunn says she was influenced by many artists. Songs from Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Blondie, Queen and Amy Winehouse, drifted through the house where she grew up.
‘‘Both my parents worked in music stores, so we were all very musical.’’
But when Dunn moved from Auckland to Napier aged seven, her confidence faded.
‘‘I joined a choir, but I was really shy. I guess when you move to a new place you become shy.
‘‘Then a girl told me I wouldn’t be good enough to get a solo part and I thought, ‘well I’m just going to try harder then’, and since then, that’s been my attitude throughout my whole life.
‘‘When people don’t believe in me that just makes me want to do it even more. When I knew I wanted to go bigger than just performing at local gigs I just did everything I could to make it happen.’’
Dunn believed the doubtful attitude to succeed in the music industry was common across New Zealand.
‘‘It’s not like they intentionally don’t support you, it’s just that we’re in a small place and we’re boxed into that, especially people who haven’t travelled, they think this is all there is – but until you jump outside New Zealand you realise it’s a bigger world, filled with opportunity, there’s so much out there.
‘‘For me it’s fuel. Yes, I come from a small place, but I can still fulfil my dreams.’’
Dunn began writing songs in primary school with a friend and described it as basic pop. At high school they entered into singing competitions such as Rockshop Bandquest and Smokefree Rockquest.
‘‘We did really well with those, coming first place a couple years in a row. We also created a jazz band and had another separate one on the side.’’
When her friend moved schools, Dunn dropped music for a year because she was too shy to perform on her own.
‘‘It was the most depressing year, that’s when I realised I needed music, it just keeps me happy.
‘‘I randomly picked up my guitar one day and wrote a song called Tranquility.’’
The next day her school sent out a peace song competition, the prize being a trip to Japan to perform in Hiroshima and teach students at a local college. Dunn entered her song and won.
‘‘It was then I thought ‘well maybe I can do this as a career’. I applied for a music course at Massey University and did that for a year, I went busking on the streets, so my student loan is really small right now,’’ she laughs.
‘‘I would go into bars in Wellington like The Library and perform there every Sunday. I don’t know what happened, I just stopped being shy all of a sudden.’’
Dunn flew to LA when she was 18, where she met her now producer/director Charles Lutman.
‘‘He’s just boosted me up, we just work on everything hand in hand. When there’s other people who are really pushing you and want you to be the best person, you’re going to reach that level.
‘‘Music is the thing that saves me, that’s why I want to help other people with their music, because if it’s helping me a lot just by writing then I hope it can help a lot of other people too.’’
Dunn is set to release another single Lay With You next month.
‘‘When people don’t believe in me that just makes me want to do it even more.’’ Iris Dunn