Meet your friend juniper
Meet Danielle Moreland-Ochoa, better known by her stage name your friend uniper, an indie singer and songwriter based in Nashville. With roots stemming from her time at Berklee College of Music in Boston, your friend juniper has forged a path in the music industry that's both versatile and impassioned. From co-founding a music collective in Los Angeles to her current endeavors touring new music in London, your friend juniper's journey is marked by creativity and determination. Influenced by the likes of Madison Cunningham and Regina Spektor, her music resonates with evocative lyricism and a deep emotional connection. One her latest singles, "This Season," amassed over twenty thousand streams within its first two weeks followed by another genre-blending release, "i made you weep." Your friend juniper is currently preparing for a full band performance at this year's Next Fest LA on May 3rd and plans for a new music release in April!
This April, The MIC Mag is celebrating your friend juniper, as our Musician of the Month!
Genre: Indie Singer-songwriter
Artist Name: your friend juniper
Fun Facts: "I'm a certified open water scuba diver. Until I went to college, I was exclusively a musical theater performer and had never written an original song. If I see an earthworm stranded on the sidewalk or road, I will stop everything to bring it safely to a nice patch of soil. I am an experienced dog trainer."
What Makes your friend juniper Stand Out?
"I care deeply about how my music affects my listeners and audience. It's all well and good to write a song for people to dance to but I feel a responsibility to use my gift to enact change in people's hearts and minds. Music is such a powerful force and I want to make people cry and laugh and want to treat themselves and others with nothing but love. I want my music to be a refuge for those in need or the track that makes someone's walk to work magical. I believe my songs stand out amongst a flood of love songs and breakup songs."
What is your friend juniper most known for?
"Now, I think I am most known for the diversity of my sound from song to song. I want to write songs that are synonymous with hope and love. When I was in a general psychology class in college, the teacher asked us to write down the first five things that come to mind when we hear the word love. Pretty much everyone in the class had John Lennon on their list. How beautiful it would be to be on people's list when they hear the word hope."
What has your friend juniper working on?
New single "talk" coming out May 3rd!
"This is a song about being forgiving, especially after realizing everyone has the potential to be ugly in their actions and words; it's a part of being human. No one is perfect and every monster has a monster of their own. I learned to love people even at their lowest knowing I would want the same in return."
your friend juniper On The MIC
"We are the soundtrack of every life that has ever been lived." - your friend juniper
Do you have any advice for other aspiring independent musicians?:
"If you let the music in, the rest is easy. Don't overthink it and let your gift do the work. Make a ton of friends, a lot of music and live! Music is life. If you don't truly live and have experiences, you won't have anything to write about. Don't write what you think other people want to hear, it won't work. Trust what is shown and given to you. "
Listen to your friend juniper