How to Be a Dance Music Vocalist

With dance music now a permanent fixture in the mainstream musical conscious, it can be an exciting world for vocalists, producers and songwriters to work within. 

With this in mind, we caught up with ICMP's Industry Mentor Carla Monroe and alumna Dakota Sixx and Salena Mastroianni to find out more about their various achievements and musical releases.

Get to know them and their music in these profiles below... 

Carla Monroe

How do you approach a collaboration with an electronic producer? 

There's no real set way. Sometimes producers hit me up on Instagram, equally as writers and vocalists, we can do the same. I also make use of my own relationships that I’ve been fortunate enough to nurture over the years - sometimes I will reach out to my songwriter friends who’ll then bring me into sessions they feel my style would be best suited to. I also have a team made up of my management company and publisher who also put me forward for opportunities. The wonderful world of social media definitely makes this process much easier than it was previously as everyone is so much more accessible these days!

Are there any particular ways you think about this kind of collaboration differently to other genres?

To be honest, I don't. I think maybe the only thing I might consider is that as a dance track, the DJ might decide they want to use my vocal - so then I'll try to present my vocals as close to the finished product as possible. That being said, I always try to do this even if it's not a dance collaboration. For example with pop collaborations, it’s important to present your vocals as best as possible not only to maintain your own credibility, but it also gives A&Rs a great idea of how the finished track will likely sound if they pitch it to another artist.  

What would be your top tip for vocalists wanting to work in dance music?

My top tip for vocalists would be to perfect your craft. No one can argue with something that's undeniable.

I would urge vocalists to widen their skills where possible, so, for example, learning how to write your own songs will give you the edge on someone that can sing a cover song really well."

You'll have more to bring to the table and producers might not only like you for your vocal tone, but the stories you tell and how you're able to tell them. In the longterm, this approach can also help in securing your future financially.

Also if you have new releases/projects I can reference that would be great. 

I wrote and featured on another single with MK called '2AM' which came out towards the end of last year, we were really fortunate to get the support of both Kiss FM and Capital FM as well which was amazing! I also got a sync on FIFA 2021 which was a great as well as singing my first record deal - when I come to think of it, 2020 lockdown really wasn't all that bad for me!

I have a current single out with Nervo at the moment called 'Gotta Be You' and it has been such a great experience to work with female DJs this time round too!

Follow Carla on Instagram and Spotify.

Salena Mastroianni

How do you approach a collaboration with an electronic producer? 

It’s all about finding the right producer with the right song for you, so you initially start in sessions with different writers and build up from there - I’d say most importantly that networking is key! 

Are there any particular ways you think about this kind of collaboration differently to other genres? 

I would say dance music is so varied these days. It allows you to be super creative and there’s room to be as ‘crazy’ as you like with adlibs etc as they can be made in to hooks! But then there’s always very simple dance tunes that are equally just as impactive!

What would be your top tip for vocalists wanting to work in dance music? 

I wouldn’t just say this applies to just dance music - I'd say this to any vocalist wanting to write or feature -  be open to anything!

Don’t get fixated on how ‘pretty’ your voice sounds or how high or low you can sing! Be prepared to push yourself to so many different sounds - therefore prepare yourself in your learning to be able to sing absolutely anything!"

Yes keep your favourite and unique inflections close to you as that is ‘you’ .. but if you want to stand out, make sure u can stand out! 

Follow Salena on Spotify and Instagram.

Dakota Sixx

How do you approach a collaboration with an electronic producer? 

After spending so many years within the dance genre, I have built up great connections and generally find that people recommend me to their fellow producer friends etc. So usually, collaborations tend to fall into place by people reaching out with a track and the rest is history. I would advise somebody who is starting out to join producer forums of their chosen genre and/or scour Soundcloud for upcoming artists that will more than likely be up for a collaboration. I use both of these avenues when I'm looking to collaborate!

Are there any particular ways you think about this kind of collaboration differently to other genres? 

Yes. I find it difficult as a vocalist in the dance genre as it's pretty much one of the only genres that champion the producer over the vocalist. This is why most of my tracks are features. With r'n'b for example, you rarely see 'producer ft. vocalist' as the producer is usually not mentioned in the title at all. However with dance music, the vocalist is 99 percent of the time a feature rather than the main artist on the track. 

What would be your top tip for vocalists wanting to work in dance music? 

When you find a producer that you want to collaborate with; try and agree on creating two tracks with that producer. One that you will be a feature on, and one that you can release as your own project! 

Follow Dakota Sixx on Spotify and Instagram.