Meet Detzany, Salt Lake City's Up and Coming R&B Icon
Detzany is a force to be reckoned with in the Utah music scene. Her singing career began at just six years old, following her through personal highs and lows in life, and is currently breaking through Utah’s male-centric music community. Her sound — my favorite tracks being “Honestly” and “don’t want you around” — give hints of 2000s R&B and bedroom pop. She’s the perfect artist to turn up to in your LED-lit room, igniting your inner main character. Detzany sat down with another Utah local, Sunstroke Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief Birdy Francis, to discuss her journey and plans for the future.
Sunstroke Magazine: Tell us about your journey of becoming a musical artist. Who influenced you the most in your beginning stages?
Detzany: Well, my journey started when I was about 6 years old. In school, I really didn’t talk at all. I was super shy since I grew up in a Spanish-speaking household and went to an English-speaking school. My teachers thought I had a speaking disability because I just didn’t talk at all and I remember this one day I was watching this video of this little girl singing and thought to myself “Why don’t I just learn this song?” [It was] Somewhere Over The Rainbow. I sang it to my mom and never looked back. I started performing at events when I was about 12 years old and later evolved to performing at big company events, traveling as a solo artist in China with a performance group, and many more. I started really taking songwriting seriously when I was about 16, then I decided to graduate early from high school and pursue my education in music. I started at UVU in Vocal Performance and Music Recording. [I] finished in January of 2020 and started releasing songs monthly. Once the pandemic happened, that really forced me to hustle more on my music and put myself out there. My family has been super supportive on my journey and I feel so grateful. I’ve gone through a lot at a very young age and my sister Itzel really influenced me in my life to this day. She got diagnosed with Lymphoma cancer in 2012 and passed away in 2013 when she was only 17. Her death made such a big impact on my life. I [never knew] I could make it this far in my life but she always believed in my dream to become a musical artist. She is my anchor. Music is a different type of connection for me to communicate on a different level and it’s such a beautiful thing to see myself evolve as a woman with my music.
SM: What is it like being a musical artist in Utah? Have you come across any challenges?
D: It’s really interesting being a musical artist in Utah, especially as a Latina woman, but I definitely feel like the music scene has evolved over time. I feel like it’s a lot more open. Before the pandemic, I would go to a lot of local music events to connect with other local artists and it was so great. I feel like it’s slowly diversifying over time and there is a lot of great talent out here. With challenges, I feel like the genre definitely needs some work. The Utah scene is definitely known for that indie folk music scene, but I really feel like, with the pandemic, more music artists have found ways to collaborate and diversify.
SM: How would you describe the music you typically create?
D: I would say it is a mix of contemporary R&B/soul with Latin and pop elements
SM: What do you hope people take from the music you produce? Who would you say your target audience is?
D: I hope people really get inspired by listening to my music. I would say it’s a very cinematic, nostalgic experience. I want people to experience this other type of world when they listen. My target audience is mostly young adults from 18-22 mostly in the US, Australia, UK, and I definitely want to branch out to Latin America/South America.
SM: Is there a specific song you've released that is most important to you?
D: A specific song that is the most important to me would be “Way Out”. I wrote this about my hardships of losing loved ones at a very young age. I actually had a very hard time writing this song, so I co-wrote it with local artists, Jay-Warren and Talin Everrett. The beautiful thing about collaborating with other songwriters is they are like a mirror and help you put those emotions to words. It actually got featured on the mix to Spotify editorial playlist. It was such a rewarding experience.
SM: Do you have any upcoming releases or projects you're excited about you'd be willing to share?
D: I just released a song called “don’t want you around” and am really excited to release the music video with amazing talented female filmmakers I worked on with. I am currently working on a mini-documentary for people to know me more as a music artist and my story so I am super pumped for that as well.
SM: What's the most rewarding part about being a musical artist?
D: The most rewarding part of being a musical artist is when I get a message from a random fan/ follower telling me that my music and presence really helped them. It's the best feeling ever.
SM: Who would your dream collab be with?
D: Honestly, my dream collaboration would be SZA or Frank Ocean. Also, with the fact that they are both Scorpios, I know that I would vibe with them a lot.
SM: How do you feel the digital world has impacted your career?
D: I feel like the digital world and social media have really made a big impact for me and a lot of other independent artists. Some might say it’s very saturated, but I really believe there is space for everyone. The power of social media is mind-boggling and how other people on the other side of the world can connect with artists is astonishing.
SM: Tell us about your process of creating! What are your favorite parts?
D: I’m very hands-on with my music and super specific with my sound. I especially love co-producing and starting an idea with a sample or chords that evolves to this mass production. It’s super cool. I definitely love songwriting and freewriting as well as coming up with melodies. I always come up with these mood boards that I would love to gain inspiration from for album covers and topics/emotions for a project. ◆
Keep up with Detzany on Instagram and listen to her on Spotify.