The second single from St. Davids native Danny Lamb’s upcoming EP furthers the singer-songwriter’s quest to make the world a better place for all.
Unique 2 Yourself is an anthemic blast of pure positivity, a reminder to follow your heart, to stay true to yourself and to be patient with the process that it takes to discover your true, best self. It follows in the footsteps of Bigger Than Me, another inspirational anthem released last November.
Credited to Danny Lamb and the Association, the song was written by Lamb and produced, mixed and mastered by Toronto-
based guitarist Tal Vaisman. It’s a big-sounding, inspirational message to believe in yourself, pursue your dreams and fall in love with the process of getting there.
“From the day that we’re born, the world tells us who to be,” Lamb says. “It can be tough, especially as you get older, to hold onto that childlike wonder and the optimism that lives inside of having big dreams, goals and ambitions.”
The self-described “shameless idealist” has never let anyone tell him what he can’t do. He was born with a spinal cord condition known as spina bifida occulta, and diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a brain condition, at three years old.
“I was raised to believe that anything is possible,” he says. “Dad always told us ‘attitude is everything’ and ‘dream, believe, achieve’. Those attitudes were embedded into the fabric of how we were raised in our house.”
Most locals know his story by now. When he was about 18 years old, Lamb became an ambassador for Hydrocephalus Canada. While attending a global conference in Sweden, he developed the idea for a project called A Song, A City. That initiative took him and a friend from Dublin, Ireland, to Peterborough, England, then on to Glasgow and Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Brussels and finally, Izmir, Turkey, writing a song in each of the seven locations.
Since then, he has continued his advocacy work for spina bifida and hydrocephalus associations, hosting the PUSH (People United for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus) podcast as well as two PUSH worldwide livestreams.
And A Song, A City continues to work alongside people around the world, using the power of music to tell a story, build confidence, communicate a message, and amplify voices through the power of music and art.
Now living in Niagara Falls, Lamb teaches music from his home to younger students, such as his former St. Davids neighbour Austin Dill. In January, Lamb helped arrange a combination trivia night/song launch event that raised funds for A Song, A City as well as for his 18-year-old friend’s charity of choice, Cerebral Palsy Ontario.
On Unique 2 Yourself, a catchy electronic beat leads into Lamb’s motivational lyrics.
“I started to forget, growing up doesn’t mean you’re done dreaming yet,” he sings. “Cuz like wine gets better with age, can’t be rushed, so stay inspired, in time, the world gets lighter.”
He admits the wine reference came quite naturally to him during the writing process.
“Growing up in wine country, I worked a lot of jobs around wine and tourism,” says Lamb. “I learned a lot about the process of wine, and the time that it can take for wine to develop into its fullest potential. The song was inspired by the beauty, patience and journey that a single bottle of wine takes to be ready for the world to embrace.”
The mid-tempo pop song builds and builds to its climax with a bright-
sounding mix of keyboards and guitars. Lamb’s lead vocals are accompanied by his own voice multi-tracked in the background, encouraging you to sing along with him.
“Don’t lose your love in the face of a pressure,” he continues on the song, “to be like everyone else. Be unique to yourself. Just believe you’re enough, and don’t ever stop seeing a world full of possibilities.”
It’s catchy, it’s positive and it’s something we all need to be reminded of from time to time.
Lamb expects to release the rest of his EP later this spring or in the summer. And he’s hoping to follow that up with a collection of songs from many of the artists he’s been working with around the world through PUSH.
For now, you can hear Unique 2 Yourself and Better Than Me on all streaming services.
As he sings in Unique 2 Yourself, “Just believe you’re enough/ And don’t ever stop/ Seeing a world full of possibilities.”