Singer-songwriter Dasha Logan, soaring with the success of her first single overseas, talks to Aref Omar about her source of inspiration
SEATED cosily on a sofa at the executive lounge on the 25th floor of the Pullman Kuala Lumpur in Bangsar, Dasha Logan is all smiles. Glancing out at the breathtaking panoramic view, the petite Penangite is understandably feeling on top of the world — her first single, Cleverly, recently peaked at No. 1 on the United Kingdom Soul Chart.
“It was totally unexpected and I was just blown away,” she says enthusiastically about the funky soul song, released under London-based record label Area Boy Music. It features British singer Paul Johnson.
The bubbly 26-year-old singer-songwriter reveals that the song was recorded in 2012 but her label was waiting for the right time to release it. And the idea of pairing her with soulful London singer Johnson was pitched by her label executives, and it eventually paid off.
“The release of the single and its success is the best Christmas present this year,” says Dasha, whose real name is Priyadashini Loganathan.
The talented artiste is the daughter of Datuk Loganathan Arumugam, the popular vocalist of the Alleycats who died of lung cancer in 2007. “Christmas was always a time when we made sure we were together,” she says. According to Dasha, the family used to celebrate in either Kuala Lumpur or Penang, depending on where her late father was performing.
“But the past three years have been tough on my mum from a lung problem and she was spending time in Australia with her family while my brother has also been travelling,” she says, adding that she was in London during Christmas last year.
“So it’s good that all three of us will get to spend Christmas this year together in Penang,” says Dasha, who currently lives in Petaling Jaya. She recalls growing up in a tolerant household with her mother, Susan Lovie, who is Catholic while her father was a Hindu. Dasha says he was a very curious and universal person.
“We were brought up to believe in God,” she says.
Christmas and Deepavali were happy events for Dasha as her parents’ respective families would pop by the house to celebrate together.
FATHERLY INSPIRATION
Dasha lovingly credits her father, fondly known by fans and friends as Loga, as her source of inspiration. “If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t know what I’d be doing with my life, I’d be lost,” she says with a twinkle in her eye.
Singing has been part of her lifestyle since she was 4 and she recalls trying to reach his congas to tap on them. “He made me realise I wanted to be onstage, and ever since I was young, I always felt at home behind the microphone and under the spotlight,” she says.
The fact that Loga made people happy through his songs and performances rubbed off on her. Although Alleycats was a household name around the country, Dasha says that she just saw him as her loving parent and a homely individual as she grew up.
“I was daddy’s little girl and I knew I had to go through him to get things, since my mum was the strict one.”
She adds: “But they worked well together in bringing me up and wanted me to pursue something that I was passionate about.”
Having been in the business for a long time and seeing the difficult parts of it, she explained that her father was a little worried for her and made sure she would get an education first. “He saw me through Form 6 and then he was gone,” says Dasha, who later completed her studies in mass communications.
But while he was around, there were times when he’d put his foot down. “I was 17 at the time and was offered a deal to sing in Bahrain and he quickly said no, so that was cancelled,” she says with a smile. “When a nightclub wanted me to do happy hour, he said no as well.”
Dasha says that her father always knew the best way to make her see things and was a very logical thinker. “Ask any of his friends or fans, he was so philosophical and liked to read a lot,” she says, adding that her father was the pillar of stability in the family. “So if I ever had a problem and I talked to him about it, he would think about it and then whatever he said, even if it was a one liner, just made so much sense.”
And he was funny too. “I remember when I had my heart broken for the first time and he came to my room to talk to me.
“He wasn’t like other fathers — he just said, ‘now you know how to sing a sad song’,” Dasha says with a laugh. It comes as no surprise that she dedicates her career and success to her beloved father.
BORN TO PERFORM
Dasha has been singing professionally for the past eight years and admits to being drawn to jazz. “My father had his rock and old school rock and roll music while my mum listened to the likes of Kenny G, and my brother was into Nirvana, so I was just listening to their music while growing up,” she says.
Jazz became her go to music when she blossomed as a singer and performer. “This was something to call my own,” she says.
After completing her national service, she worked in a restaurant in Penang that required her to sing dinner music. “Jazz suited the ambience of the place so I learnt to sing all the well-known standards,” says Dasha, who also collaborates with local jazz maestro Michael Veerapen on the harder complexities of the genre.
“I like jazz, it sounds and looks easy but it’s so challenging and there’s so much to do in a song,” says the versatile singer who also digs funk, soul, RnB and rock.
A regular performer at No Black Tie in KL, she also performs in multiple venues in private and public shows around the Klang Valley and in Penang. No stranger to the music festival scene, Dasha has taken part in the Penang Island Jazz Festival, the Jarasum Jazz Festival in Korea in 2010 and the Rock and Roots festival in Singapore in 2012.
“Singing is such a big part of my life and I always feel like something is missing when I’m not singing,” she says, adding that she feels blessed to have had a lot of work come her way.
“Almost all of my weekends are taken up with shows, there’s just a lot to do, and as I get more recognised, more doors slowly open.”
LONDON CALLING
A self-confessed beach lover, and island girl at heart, Dasha admits that she left for London to find herself and to step out of the shadow of her famous father.
“London was easy to go to and I had a few friends there already so I saved up and bought a ticket with AirAsia and planned everything before I even told my mum,” says Dasha of her first trip in 2011.
She says she connected with the place and, after spending six weeks there on her most recent stay, now considers it almost like home.
“In Malaysia, everybody associated me with the Alleycats,” says Dasha, who also performed with the chart-topping band at Istana Budaya in 2011. “I always wondered what strangers or random people would think of me as a performer and singer,” says the artiste of Indian and Eurasian descent.
Being old enough to travel alone Dasha adds that she felt she needed a change and to see and learn something new. “The experience humbled me, I felt like a complete nobody and no one hired me to sing,” she says.
So it was a great feeling of validation for Dasha when the team at Area Boy Music were very excited to work with her. She also made more friends in London, which included the late Amy Winehouse’s guitarist, Robin Banerjee. “The music scene there is vibrant and constantly evolving with lots of talented musicians.”
Dasha soon got invitations to jam in various venues, the highlight being her performance at London’s famous Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club.
“That was a big confidence booster, it was just exhilarating and crazy,” she says, adding that another crazy moment was hearing Cleverly on the radio there.
MORE TUNES TO COME
The lyrics to her first single were inspired by a friend who found out that her boyfriend was married. She says that it’s basically about cheating and how girls are smart enough to know when something is not right.
“I had the melody down first but I wrote the lyrics much later at an ice rink cafe in London in 10 minutes.”
Dasha will be releasing five new singles with accompanying music videos next year with the first being a more up-tempo and catchy number, titled Leave Your Man.
The song, to be released in the early part of 2015 on iTunes, is about a girl who sticks to her boyfriend who ill-treats her.
“All this time I’ve had friends telling me of their experiences in getting into horrible relationships.
“I wrote this song so that the next time someone opens up to me about their heartbreak, I can say ‘here, listen to this’,” she says of the girl power song which is intended to wake people up and get them to leave toxic relationships.
Dasha confesses that she was cooking lunch when she started thinking about her friend and was inspired to write out the lyrics in five minutes.
“Yeah, I tend to work in the most random of places, like in my car. And eventually, I’ll also write a love song for people who are happy in their relationships,” she says with a laugh.
ALLEYCATS LEGACY
Although she wants to make it on her own, Dasha is also proud to know that the Alleycats name still lives on.
“I don’t want the Alleycats name to ever be forgotten,” she says, adding that the band members are more like family, having grown up with their children.
She admits that early on in her career, she was always labelled as Loga’s daughter. “Nowadays I’ve done shows where people only realise I’m Loga’s daughter after they’ve hired me, so that’s good since it means I got selected based on talent,” she says.
There were also times in the past where people would think of hiring her as the next best thing if they couldn’t afford the Alleycats. “I don’t mind the association but if they want the Alleycats name then I’d have to configure the prices I charge accordingly because I have to make sure they (the band) look good,” she says.
When asked whether she would collaborate with the Alleycats again for shows, she says: “The Alleycats are busy doing private functions and I’m usually busy with gigs as well, so we usually see each other during non-work gatherings.
“We sometimes have informal jam sessions but if we’re going to put on a public performance together, I’ll make sure it’s a big event,” she says of the band, which also includes her uncle Datuk David Arumugam.
Whatever the case, Dasha is proud to continue the musical tradition in her family. “My grandmother was a singer in Penang and my father was a singer in Malaysia, so if I can just take that to the next step with my career, then I can die happy when the time comes,” she says gleefully.
A BUSY NEW YEAR
Dasha, who is learning to play the piano, will be taking a short break before diving full on into music once more next year.
London beckons again and she’ll be working closely with her producer, Ozzie Tripleo, for the other tracks. “It’s still too early to say what they’re going to sound like and be about but we’ll be giving special attention to them individually,” says Dasha, adding that if everything goes well next year, there will be an album in the works as well.
Whatever the case, she will be a very busy bee come 2015. “I already have bookings for shows lined up right till November here in Malaysia, so it’s pretty intense,” she says, adding that she’ll be performing at a foreign music festival as well.
As for her newfound fame, she says that everyone here has been very supportive and encouraging.
Dasha is very grateful to both her teams in London and Malaysia, as well as to her caring family and friends. “A lot of people are excited which makes me excited as well and I feel motivated to do and excel more,” she says, admitting that she can’t believe how lucky she is.
“Coming from the jazz underground scene here, I know of many other talented local musicians who are struggling to break out, so I feel very grateful for what I have.”
In terms of pressure she explains that there’s no pressure that she feels from other people. “It’s more the pressure that I put on myself to deliver the best. I want to constantly make my father and my country proud,” she says.
And although the great feedback is also laced with some negativity, Dasha remains unfazed.
“Haters will hate and that’s fine since you’re not somebody until someone hates you as well,” she says with a smile, adding that it’s nothing new since she has had to deal with people putting her down for being Loga’s daughter from back then.
As for 2015, she says: “I believe in making it a good year no matter what.” aref@nst.com.my
Dasha Logan’s music video of Cleverly on www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBrcLHeqQ6E