Daffo Talks About The Ethereal Sound and Storytelling in “Poor Madeline” and “Good God”

Daffo is an upcoming indie band known for their guitar-heavy, alternative sound paired with their haunting vocals. Their songs are light and airy, blending multiple genres, and bringing a beautiful sound. Singer, Gabi Gamberg discusses how they pull inspiration from different parts of their life – highlighting their childhood and transition to fame– to bring an authentic feel to each of their songs. Their most recent songs “Poor Madeline” and “Good God”, which features Porches, highlights these changes in their life with Gamberg’s beautiful storytelling.

Both songs pull inspiration from Big Thief and Adrianne Lenker who both have the same guitar-heavy sound paired with enchanting vocals. It is clear that Daffo has true talent and will continue to grow their influence as a musician.

---

ORB: The sound of your song “Poor Madeline” feels very reminiscent of Adrianne Lenker, Big Thief, and other artists within that folksy genre. What was the process of developing the single?

Daffo: I worked with Philip Weinrobe to produce the song. Before we went into the studio, we didn’t really say too much about what we were going to do. We just figured out what instruments we wanted. The people who played on the song hadn’t heard the song before, so we all came into the studio and I taught them the song. Once they had the song down, we just recorded a few takes and we used one of the live takes.

ORB: What was the process of originally creating the song? 

Daffo: So I was 17 in high school. My parents just got divorced and sold my childhood home. I hadn’t lived in one spot for more than like a couple months a time for like a whole year. I was not grounded in anything and I didn’t really know what was going on. I felt bad for myself and I was going through a tough time, so I just wrote that song. 

ORB: I love how the song builds up.  It first starts off with very minimalist instrumentals and at the end, it just kind of feels like this wave of music. What were the artistic decisions behind choosing the sound and approach to the song? 

Daffo: We originally wanted to make an acoustic version, and then we were like actually like screw that – let’s just make a new version and bring a whole new life to it. We wanted it to be a little bit more tender than the original recording and a bit more raw. We wanted the choruses to have a soaring feel but we wanted to still have a sense of loss in there. So the verses are less heavy and instrumental but eventually swells up with emotion as you. We thought a lot about the arrangement.

ORB What are your musical inspirations? 

Daffo: Well, I definitely love Adrianne Lenker and Big Thief. It’s no mistake that you hear pieces of that in the music. I love Elliot Smith and Nick Drake, Liz Phair, Alex G, Angel Olsen. I’m really into guitar music. Like, a person with a guitar singing songs. For sure, yeah. I mean, I’m a really big fan of Big Thief and Adrienne Lenker….I, like, wrote a 10-page paper about Adrienne Lenker in high school.

ORB: Oh, what was it about? 

Daffo: It was about the way her songwriting is accessible. It was meant to just be about her life, but also about how she articulates things [in her music] that can’t be articulated in regular conversations. She does that not just with her lyrics, but, like, with her musicianship and, like, her guitar playing and whatever. 

ORB: Your latest song, “Get a Life”, is absolutely beautiful. It feels almost as if you’re talking to someone and kind of giving them a warning message. What exactly inspired you to write this song? 

Daffo: I am talking to myself, but also everyone. I wrote it at a Buddhist monastery in upstate New York. I was on a meditation retreat with my mom. With my meditation group at the retreat we had this kind of talent show where every group kind of performs something. My group said to me, “Gabby, you’re a songwriter, you have to write us a song for us to sing”. So I ended up writing this really nice riff for this cute little song that we wrote together. Afterwards, I was like I can turn this into something. It’s kind of about my frustration with myself, and not being present and not enjoying what’s in front of me, which is the most important thing in life.

ORB: Your “Good God” remix has a very contrasting feel from the rest of your music. What exactly was the process of working with Porches to remix the song?

Daffo: So I’ve been a fan of Porches for a very long time. My label approached me about making new versions of some of the songs on Pest and asked me about what I wanted. And I was like it would be so cool if Porches did a remix with “Good God”. And then a few weeks later, I hear back that he’s down. And I’m like, what, that’s crazy. You talked to him? 

I was just down for him to do whatever. I’m just super stoked that he worked on it, and I think it’s really fun. It’s definitely a big departure from my sound, but it was never meant to be a standalone thing.

ORB: How did you begin working in music? What has your career looked like?

Daffo: In terms of my career, I started playing DIY shows when I was 15 in New Jersey. I just kept playing shows, meeting people, and started recording demos. I just was doing what I liked to do and booking as many shows as possible and making friends then working with my friends. I’m very lucky that I get to do that for a living. “Get a Life” helped me break through a little bit and allow myself to remember that I don’t do this to make money. I do it for myself and for other people to enjoy. But at its core, I write songs because of the way that I feel, and whether or not people like it is secondary.