For those who have been with dvsn since the beginning, you know what they’re capable of musically. Whether it’s the debut album SEPT. 5th from back in 2016 or the 2017 follow-up Morning After, the duo made up of vocalist Daniel Daley and producer Nineteen85 puts together exceptional work. And the lucky people who have made their way to a live show have especially been treated to a moving R&B experience.
Daley decided to grab his divine feminine trio of backup singers and his instrumentalists to stop by NPR for his own Tiny Desk Concert. dvsn is big on the vibes, and the lighting was just right for this 12-minute performance. It started off with a blueish-purple, reminiscent of their first album cover and contributing to the atmosphere created along with his selected opener, the ever so popular “Too Deep.” The accuracy of the live performance to the studio record was haunting, especially background vocals.
They then moved into “Body Smile,” a B-Side record off Morning After but certainly one of the more powerful vocal performances for the OVO signee, which says a lot. They opted to do this track in its entirety, rightfully so given the song’s build-up and climax. The lighting moved into a definite purple and the falsetto here was especially on point. If there’s any song of the discography Daley really feels, it’s this one.
In a surprising change of pace, he announced they’d be ending with “Mood.” Most likely expected “The Line” or “Conversations in a Diner” but it appears we’re switching things up to end 2018. No bother, the lighting changed to reddish orange and the piano kicked things off before the drums joined in.
Daley called for the crowd to help out, but it appears no one wanted to ruin his falsetto here because no one could be heard singing along. Shoutout to the guitar and bass for that ending though. The harmonies with the gospel choir-sounding trio and Daley were easily the best of the day. The gospel-sounding element is especially salient given one of the backup singers, Amoy Levy, is actually a career gospel singer.
If you’re looking to get to know the other backup singers, they’re named Camille Harrison and Shantel May. May has a single out titled “Back N Forth.” and the fact dvsn brings her along for their live shows might be reason enough to check it out. Once we happen upon Harrison’s work, we will share it with you all.
This overall great performance certainly does not come as a shock, however, it does make one thing clear – we are ready for new dvsn music. There were rumors of a collaborative mixtape between the two and songstress H.E.R. However, with no confirmation from the two parties we will just have to enjoy the Tiny Desk concert for now. Check it out by following the link here.
We’ll drop the embed in once it goes live on YouTube.
