After just two tracks, ‘Robbed Me’ and ’24’, Daniel Donskoy is earning acclaim for his take on electronic-infused R&B. Also renowned as an actor, most famously in the Netflix smash ‘The Crown’, he now shares the official video for his new single ‘Bring Me Back My Smile’.
Bring Me Back My Smile’ extends his sonic palette, by stirring modern alt-pop production and late ’90s harmonies into the mix. His voice is similarly eclectic as it progresses from an almost rapped introduction into a soaring soulful topline. Whereas last single ‘Robbed Me’ delved into the shock that comes after a relationship suddenly ends, ‘Bring Me Back My Smile’ focuses on moving on. How can you rise above the pain, establish what went wrong and look towards a brighter future?
Daniel says, “We spend so much time perfecting ourselves, trying to become the best and strongest version of ourselves. But we should do that for our own benefit, not to please others or to get the love we so desperately want. I found it so hard to go back to the version of myself that had self-respect and self-confidence after being treated badly in a relationship. This is a song about not letting go of yourself, whilst also being able to share your life with someone else.”
The video for the song was filmed by a small team (Daniel, co-director Fynn Freund and producer Nicole Sashnovsky) over the course of three days. It draws parallels between the song’s themes of self-improvement and the precarious balance of the elements water, wind, earth and fire: when one element is missing, the imbalance leads everything to collapse.
Daniel adds, “In the video, nature symbolises the mindset that I was striving to regain. Reconnecting with nature to replenish your strength is a way of looking for a solution outside of yourself. It asks, is leaving your problems behind an escape? Or are you regaining your own personal freedom? I wanted to leave that open for people to interpret.
Filming with a small team and a tiny budget was a lot of hard work, but it was very rewarding. There was no commercial objective in mind, just the desire to extend the story. It reminds me why I do this in the first place: to give a story a complete vision to inspire people who connect with it.”
A German talent with connections to Moscow, Berlin, Tel Aviv and London, Daniel’s lifelong passion for writing and recording music resulted in him launching a career as an entirely independent artist. He’s set to drop two more releases this year, which focus on the ideas of freedom and self-improvement.”
It adds to his eclectic creativity as he also works tirelessly as an actor. He landed the lead role in a successful German prime time show, which led to him becoming a household name in his homeland and amassing a loyal following on social media. In addition to ‘The Crown’, his international starring roles include the BBC’s ‘Detectorists’ and HBO’s ‘Strike Back’.
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