Daneshevskaya shares new single ‘Somewhere In The Middle’
Daneshevskaya - Photo Credit: Madeline Leshner
“Daneshevskaya makes music to ease the pain.” — The FADER
Today, Daneshevskaya (pronounced Dawn-eh-shev-sky-uh), Winspear’s newest signing, announces a North American tour supporting Black Country, New Road, and presents her new single/video, “Somewhere In The Middle.” Daneshevskaya is the songwriting project of New York City’s Anna Daneshevskaya Beckerman. Her artist name (also her great-grandmother’s last name) is a call back to her Russian-Jewish familial roots from her home base in New York. The name conjures a world of romance and unknowns, and as Daneshevskaya, Beckerman crafts artful, haunting songs that only ever reveal themselves half way before she spins the wheel again.
On “Somewhere In The Middle,” Beckerman approaches identity with a childlike curiosity. Backed by the production team of Model/Actriz’s Ruben Radlauer (drums, synths) and Hayden Ticehurst (guitar, synths), plus co-producer Artur Szerejko (bass) and Black Country, New Road’s Lewis Evans (saxophone), Beckerman delicately dissects the ways we often see ourselves and others in the harsh contrast of black and white. She elaborates on the song’s concept, sharing, “My grandma had two sisters and her parents would say 'Anita has the looks, Miriam has the books, and Gloria has the charm.' I used to think about which one I would want to be. I never questioned having to choose.” The song’s accompanying video, directed by Mia Duncan, features homespun footage of Beckerman and friend Madeline Leshner, who also plays keyboards in Daneshevskaya’s live band.
Watch Daneshevskaya’s “Somewhere In The Middle” Video
Music has never been a solitary pursuit for Beckerman. She grew up in New York state, the youngest child in a family that pursued music as both a profession and a personal obsession. Her father was a pianist and musicologist, her mother an opera singer. Similarly, her grandmother, a poet, encouraged her literary pursuits. Beckerman began writing songs in her bedroom as a teenager and kept writing after she moved to Brooklyn, finding inspiration in artists like Patsy Cline, who sings sad songs with gusto. It took a while before she realized that other people might actually want to hear her compositions. “I had no goals with music at all. My friend Maddy was one of the first people I ever showed my songs to. We would get together and play music all night, just the two of us, not even recording it. We were just doing this fun thing together as friends.” When Beckerman decided to post music on Bandcamp, she used her Russian-Jewish middle name — Daneshevskaya — as a tribute to her family.
While writing and playing with friends, Beckerman developed a very idiosyncratic lyrical style that drew on the poetry of her grandmother but filtered through her own particular perspective — her own heartaches, her own jokes, her own observations about life, and the wonder of children. Trained as a social worker, Beckerman works at a preschool in Brooklyn where she interacts with children every day. The children’s sense of creativity and wide-eyed outlook has undoubtedly influenced the songs of Daneshevskaya.
Stream “Somewhere In The Middle”
Daneshevskaya Tour Dates:
Fri. Aug. 25 - Vancouver, BC @ Hollywood Theatre *
Sun. Aug. 27 - Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom *
Tue. Aug. 29 - San Francisco, CA @ Regency Ballroom *
Sat. Sept 02 - Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room *
Tue. Sep. 05 - Las Vegas, NV @ The Portal *
Wed. Sep. 06 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Soundwell *
Fri. Sep. 08 - Denver, CO @ Meow Wolf *
Sun. Sep. 10 - Lawrence, KS @ The Granada *
Mon. Sep. 11 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue *
Wed. Sep. 13 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall *
Thu. Sep. 14 - Detroit, MI @ MOCAD *
Fri. Sep. 15 - Toronto, ON @ The Concert Hall *
Sat. Sep. 16 - Montreal, QC @ le National *
Sun. Sep. 17 - Boston, MA @ The Sinclair (matinee) *
Sun. Sep. 17 - Boston, AM @ The Sinclair (evening)*
Tue. Sep. 19 - Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church Sanctuary *
Wed. Sep. 20 - Washington, DC @ Howard Theatre *
Thu. Sep. 21 - Queens, NY @ Knockdown Center *
* w/ Black Country, New Road
