We recently connected with Dana Rexx and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Dana thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

For me the most meaningful thing was definitely being able to open the show for the legendary Anastacia earlier this year and to tour across Europe with her. It was my first real tour, travelling in a van with my band, on the road full time and on stage in a different city nearly every night for two and a half weeks.

I had been working on my live show for months and when it was finally ready, back in February 2020, Covid hit and the dream that 2020 was going to be my first touring year went down the drain. The music business got hit very hard and all of us already knew it would take longer than other industries to catch up, so now finally, 3 years down the line, I am touring! And I love it! I’ve always felt at home on stage, but during this tour it became clear very quickly that it truly is where I belong.

You can release songs and jump on the social media train as much as you want. There is nothing out there that is as strong as being amongst fans in person, where you can interact and touch them with your music in a way that is just impossible via a screen. I met so many wonderful people, who didn’t just come to the show to be entertained, but to be carried away into an experience that makes them stronger and more resilient. They heard the empowering messages in my lyrics and made them their own. They stood in line to meet me after the show and to share their experiences of not being heard or understood, just like I have in my life. I met so many likeminded and cool people who I am very proud to be able to call my Warrior fans now and they made this journey the best thing I have ever done so far. I have always made music to be able to give back the one thing that it did for me. It saved me when I was the misfit and the outcast, and I am so happy that they can listen to my music when they need it and feel accepted in the Warrior Community.

Dana, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Dana Rexx and I am based in Belgium. It’s a tiny country in Europe, between the UK, France and the Netherlands. I was born here but raised in Greece under the warm sun of the Mediterranean that I still call home.

I make electronic music that explores the boundaries between tribal rhythms and electronic power pop with a dark edge… Dark Pop for short. I write my own songs and as an independent artist, I am very involved in all aspects of the creative process from the production of the music, to styling my whole brand on the socials, as well as making all my own visuals from the artwork to the music videos. I also write songs for the Eurovision Song Contest, and I host a feminist podcast called “Unboxing Women” that explores the gender gap in the music and entertainment industry.

My goal is to nurture a community where people, who have not felt accepted anywhere, can belong. This was me for a long time and people still manage to make me feel like a freak very often, so what better than to surround myself with all the other freaks in this world. The Warrior Community is somewhere where I can belong and just be myself without anyone judging me for my weirdness.

This past year has been the best so far with a successful appearance on “I Can See Your Voice” on Belgian national television and the Anastacia Tour of course, along with the release of my favourite song so far “Rebel” that was embraced by a lot of people on the tour…. Now it’s time to release my new song “Beautiful and Broken Down” that I am super proud of. It will be out on 7 July 2023.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

How many times have you heard a song that said exactly how you felt inside, while you could not explain it yourself? That is why I make music and write songs. It’s a way to communicate and reach out to people who are in the same situation as you. Music is the medium I chose to do my part and it is my mission to challenge inequality and encourage fans around the globe to embrace their individuality through my music and art.

“Beautiful and Broken Down” is a song that has been brewing inside me for years and it was finally the time to finish it, because now more than ever, there is a need for our society to let go of the outdated norms inherited from previous millennia and embrace a new age of acceptance and community. The revolution is here, it is already happening. It is an inevitable transformation that our world is going through and with this shift of power comes fear from the privileged who are against anything that will take away their advantage. I hope this song can inspire us to heal, unite and emerge with strength and fearlessness, reminding ourselves that we ALL can come together, with the resolve to be the best we can be.

The accompanying visuals, shot in the breath-taking Namibian desert, will be released on my YouTube channel by mid-July. The story is set years after the collapse of our civilisation and was directed and edited by me. I’ve been making my own music videos ever since “Time Flies” that I released back in 2019. Bit by bit I build my dystopian world around each release, creating a place for the Warrior Community to escape into, with a bigger impact than the music alone.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I keep having to remind myself to stop doubting my own decisions and to stop asking others for approval. I have been in the music industry nearly my whole life and I am experienced enough as an independent artist now to know what the next step should be in my career or what I should be aiming for. I make the decisions and whatever I decide is the right choice, because I have weighed all possibilities and this one is the best one in this moment.

This behaviour is something that comes from growing up in a patriarchy where women are not taken seriously to the point where we ourselves start questioning our own sanity. So, if I would be able to say something to my younger self it would be this: there is no regret, there is only growing and getting to know yourself and what you want. And by the way, knowing what you don’t want is a big part of that. It doesn’t get easier because it’s a lot of work but keep doing what you love and that’s the most important thing.     

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.danarexx.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/danarexx
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/danarexxofficial
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danarexx/
• Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/danarexx_
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/danarexx
• Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@danarexxofficial
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4Lg4zmbYBtkzrdmajL8LIt?si=gil31F7IQEuzJqC5_tWlgA

Image Credits
All live show pictures, Anastacia picture and picture with bird credited to Thomas Gunst. Picture with visor and sword credited to Jurgen Rogiers.