CHICAGO DUO DRAMA
SHARE BITTERSWEET NEW SINGLE
‘FEEL THE SAME’
Indie R&B/dance pop duo DRAMA, the multicultural collaboration between producer Na’el Shehade and vocalist Via Rosa, release their new single ‘Feel The Same’. The single explores the duality of love from the intense passion of new relationships to the heartbreak of breakups. While love can be a wonderful, powerful feeling, it can also be confusing and painful. The vulnerable lyrics discuss the highs and lows of love.
Speaking on the meaning behind the single DRAMA explain; ‘This record was written during a time when I (Via) was truly learning the difference between loving someone and being in love with someone. It’s about declining a marriage proposal from someone you care deeply about but have no interest in spending forever with. The first verse is in the perspective of the individual speaking to the partner they’re waiting to find, while the 2nd verse & chorus, they’re speaking to the person that’s in front of them. We wanted to paint an abstract picture of a person having to make the heart-tearing decision between settling for something familiar or choosing the unknown in hopes of finding something deeper that could last a true lifetime.’
‘Feel The Same’ follows the recent release of the new edit of their latest single ‘Tighten It Up (Barney Bones – DRAMA Edit)’. The edit was accompanied by an official video, directed by Noyz of Gravitii Films, that follows Na’el and Via acting as motivational high school coaches. The original version of ‘Tighten It Up’ was featured as Rolling Stone’s Song You Need To Know. The fun and playful song was inspired by how it feels meeting someone on the dance floor and sharing a moment of feisty, confident energy.
Last month, the duo made their Coachella debut with stand out performances on the Gobi Stage. DRAMA performed fan favorites including ‘3 AM’ – watch their performance from weekend 1 here. DRAMA is continuing the momentum as they head into their performance at Lighting In A Bottle Festival Buena Vista, CA next Sunday, May 28th. Other upcoming live shows include a hometown play at Thalia Hall in Chicago, IL, Summerfest in Milwaukee, WI and Capitol Hill Block Party in Seattle, WA. For tickets and more information, visit their website at thedramaduo.com.
About DRAMA
DRAMA is the multicultural collaboration between producer Na’el Shehade’s chic Chicago house-infused production style, and vocalist Via Rosa whose soulful delivery is inspired by the improvisational nature of jazz and playful patterns of hip-hop and bossa nova. The duo play to the complementary dynamics of their unlikely pairing by blurring the lines between R&B and dance-pop, heartbreak and bliss.
Rosa grew up in a musical household; her parents played in a reggae band and toured as a family, homeschooling Rosa into her early teens and limiting her listening primarily to Sade, oldies, Brazilian and Afrobeat music. She kept poetry journals and by high school started writing songs and making beats. After moving to Chicago in 2010, Rosa connected with THEMPeople, a collective at the center of the city’s sprawling hip-hop scene.
Meanwhile, Shehade inherited a strong work ethic from his immigrant parents. Born in Chicago, he fell in love with DJ culture as a kid and took up music production and engineering; his interest eventually led to professional opportunities, including early studio work with Chance the Rapper, Kanye West, and music projects for MTV and Bravo. Other musical collaborations have included Flight Facilities, Poolside, Jamila Woods, Tensnake and with Gorgon City for their global dance hit, ‘You’ve Done Enough’. Since a chance meeting nearly 10 years ago led to the creation of DRAMA, the duo has bootstrapped a subtle rise on their own terms, self-releasing several EPs and mapping multiple tours and playing some of the biggest festivals including Lollapalooza, Life Is Beautiful, Outside Lands and more with Midwestern grit.
In early jam sessions the chemistry was clear; Rosa’s soulful delivery interlocked with Shehade’s chic Chicago house-infused production style. A lovesick sound emerged over two EPs, Gallows in 2016 and Lies After Love in 2018, and continued on to their debut album Dance Without Me in January 2020. DRAMA released another EP, Don’t Wait Up in 2022 which includes 3 songs that continuously stream in their top 10 tracks, including a fan favourite, ‘3 AM’.
DRAMA continue to pave their own path in 2023 as the duo prepares to release more new music throughout the year and head to the desert for their debut at Coachella in April.
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Photographer and Editor/Founder of AllMusicMagazine.com. My love of live music has taken me to incredible experiences with the top bands of all time in stadium shows to the smallest venues with equally inspiring musicians. Using the medium of photography and my publication, these memories will last forever.
