New York City artist Danny Blu pushes dark pop into confrontational territory with Faithless, a club-ready call for rebellion built on industrial textures, pulsing bass and sharply theatrical vocals.
Produced by Brand0 and executive produced by Moris Blak, the track confronts organised religion, political oppression and the fear of “the other”, while its horror-driven visual transforms Blu into a murderous deep-sea Siren. It also expands the queer mythology behind his forthcoming multi-part album, with every video set to reimagine a different supernatural being.
In this FM PRO Quickfire 5, Blu discusses humour as resistance, the power of queer mythology and the production decisions that gave Faithless its aggressive but controlled impact.
The song is sharp and aggressive without being overbearing, and can exist live or in the club.
Q1. Faithless challenges organised religion and political oppression. Which specific hypocrisies did you most want to confront through the track?
I think any organization that prioritizes certain people over others is inherently evil. Every single organized religion is built upon fear of anyone who believes differently and the current administration operates almost exclusively on the premise that “the other is the enemy.”
The song is really about an uprising of a generation of humans who live and let live, love and let love. I want to see a world we believe in each other as opposed to a false god or wannabe king.
Q2. You call the song “satanic politics turned into a club banger.” How important is humour when communicating anger and resistance through your music?
I ultimately approach everything in my life with humor. Grief, fear, stress…these things pale in comparison to the power of laughter. Now, that is not to say that I don’t take my music and my believes seriously, but it points more to the idea that you cannot take life as a whole too seriously.
We have to laugh at the things that threaten us because it takes their power away. Satanism, to me anyway, is more a political ideology than it is a religion. It is trolling the powers-that-be in order to challenge them.
Q3. The video reimagines you as a murderous deep-sea Siren. Why did that creature feel like the right symbol for resistance?
I’m using supernatural beings as the visual representations for the songs on this album because I believe queer people are inherently supernatural. We must be able to understand and trust ourselves enough to go against everything that society says we should be.
The siren felt most right for this particular song because it is a beautiful yet fatal being. Sometimes we have to destroy what is, in order to become what we are meant to be, and that is beautiful to me.
Q4. Every video in this era will explore a different mythical being. How are you keeping that wider visual narrative connected across the project?
With a very, very talented team. It really does take a village to bring these visions to life. I really love exploring music visually, it’s a challenge and that excites me. The fine line between “explaining the song” (which shouldn’t be the point) and “deepening a connection to the song” is a tough one to toe.
In terms of keeping a through line, I try not to put too much pressure on that. I want to let each song reveal itself to me when it comes time to make the video. With guardrails of course.
Q5. FM PRO TECH: How did Brand0, Moris Blak and the wider production team shape the track’s vocal intensity, bass impact and final club-ready sound?
I can’t speak highly enough of this team. It is such a joy to work with people who are as dedicated to the vision as I am. Brand0, the main producer on this one, worked tirelessly to finesse the track until we were satisfied with the production. We changed the key around 4 times until it sat perfectly.
Moris Blak then came in to add some key elements that cemented it into the larger body of work. Vocally, Ryan Schumer helped me to dig into the intensity necessary to deliver the song authentically.
The whole thing really came to life with Thomas Warren’s mix, though. I think the song is sharp and aggressive without being overbearing and can exist live onstage or in a seedy club.
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