Bonnie Dymond with guitar
Bonnie Dymond

Bonnie Dymond, who solely wrote all of the songs, produced and engineered the EP, constructing a sonic evolution as she takes the listener on an emotional journey through the phases of love and relationships.

Following the release of her single “Where Do You Go? (The Fighter)”, receiving “New Music Friday” feature and amassing nearly 100,000 streams as well as key editorial placements as a featured artist on “TIDAL Rising”, Bonnie Dymond is finally debuting her first collection of songs in her upcoming EP, “#nofilter.”

Centered in an Acoustic-Pop/Adult Contemporary genre, Bonnie begins the EP with an urban-acoustic, upbeat bop themed around pining over a love interest before moving into the phases of desire, love loss, and nostalgic reminiscing before closing the collection with a piano ballad, titled “Where Do You Go?”, about the strenuous difficulties of the expectations that society enforces while secretly betting on and rooting for one’s failure.

Recorded at 6 am, after a 13-hour studio day, Bonnie’s vocals are raw and just right to convey the desperation that the lyrics and melody call for— she’s proud to say it was a “one-shot” take!

Throughout her journey in music, she’s found a defining inspiration from artists such as Ed Sheeran, James Arthur, Sia, and Adele and it conveys in each song instrumentally, vocally, and in production and arrangement style.

Bonnie always says first and foremost she’s a songwriter and storyteller and has proven so with her latest songwriting success, co-writing with former Van Halen member and rock legend Sammy Hagar’s son, Andrew Hagar on his latest single “Judgement Day.” Bonnie will be involved with every song on his upcoming EP and future singles.

Similarly, Bonnie has had a few great syncs in US ad campaigns that will be airing throughout the coming year. Bonnie is perhaps your next exciting music discovery of 2020.

When writing about women, what influence drives you to replace the pronoun “you”  for “she” and “her”?

A few years ago, I wrote my first song “Nobody’s There”, which was very blatantly about another woman. It was stock full of “she” and “her”, and when I sang it for a group of people for the first time, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. Reactions like this are always a victory in my book, plus I realized that I really didn’t have to hide it.

Some of my biggest influences are Ed Sheeran, James Arthur and Dermot Kennedy and they all use “she” and “her”,  so why can’t I? I also think in certain songs the use of “she/her” adds a level of intimacy and vulnerability that can’t be achieved with the generic “you”.  Once you see me, it’s pretty obvious that I’m as gay as they come, so I might as well embrace who I am. Besides, when a woman sings “she” in a song, it’s ear-catching and further entices the listener’s attention which is a songwriter’s ultimate goal. 

When did you first know that you were gay, and when did you start incorporating it into your music? 

From as early as five years old, my family knew I was gay because I wanted to wear boy’s clothes and cut my hair short. It’s so crazy to me how just 15 years ago being gay was completely unaccepted by kids in the school I personally attended. I had my fair share of crushes on girls throughout middle and high school but because of the lack of acceptance, I didn’t come out until my senior year of high school when I had my first girlfriend. When I officially came out, my family said “we always knew but thanks for telling us!”

I never wanted to let my sexuality define me — I am gay but gay is not who I am. At the same time, I wanted to just be myself which means singing songs about my truth and my relationships — and my relationships are with women. I’m not going to beat around the bush and make people wonder considering the first thing people see when they look at me is a lesbian, so I figured I might as well own it.. I’d honestly love to be the Ellen DeGenerous of the music industry.

Your last song on your EP, “Where Do You Go?” is clearly about facing hardships. What was this song’s inspiration?

So, this song could be interpreted in many ways. For someone faced with issues about their sexuality or identity, it’s an anthem. [do you like how this song can hit home for others through different perspectives]

For me, this song actually erupted after my last year in college when I was ostracized and isolated. A few rumours went flying around and suddenly I went from being me to becoming the dark shadow that was painted over me. People literally avoided me in hallways and I was being shamed by my peers and even professors for something that wasn’t true. It’s interesting how quick lies and rumours can spread and how destructive they are, but from the ashes rises the phoenix. Thus, “Where Do You Go?” became the story of my life until I graduated, changed the narrative, and decided that nobody would ever have a say in my story ever again.

What are you doing when you’re not creating music?

I’m quite a gym rat. I love working out and being conscious and considerate of myself in terms of my physical health. I also tend to just jump in the car with Sparrow, my golden retriever, and go to the beach to decompress. And then, of course, any chance that I get I’m at a Disney park. 

Which song do you feel most connected to/you are your most vulnerable and why?

It may come as a surprise because I think that “Where Do You Go?” is definitely the most vulnerable sounding song on the EP, but “More Than a Mistake” is probably the song that I feel most connected to.

It was one of those songs that wrote itself and I feel like it’s something everyone has experienced where they’ve met that one person, that one love who left you forever wondering “what if?” 

Would it have been explosively magical, would it have been what all of the movies and songs are all about or would it have been completely destructive? I try to live my life completely regret-free. I take chances whenever I can and I’m not reckless but I never want to be victim to “what if”, but then there’s that one person, that one love who you never had a fair shot with, and the “what if” becomes inevitable.

What can we expect from you next?

I have a lot of fun things in the works that I’m so so excited about! I will be releasing a few collaborations and have a  follow-up single dropping in August called “The River”, which is debatably my favourite song that I’ve created. I’m also planning on releasing another EP or even my first LP next summer. Most of its songs are already written, but I’ve been on a roll to the point that almost every day there’s a new song, and I have no intention of stopping anytime soon.