I am literally appalled that Dosey only has 7k monthly listeners on Spotify at the time of this article. LA-based Dylan Cunniffe, or Dosey, released his first official track in early 2021, but has been making music for as long as he can remember. His songs are dark and mysterious, and sit somewhere in the realms of pop and folk. With soft-spoken vocals and laid-back instrumentals, it’s the type of music you listen to alone in your bedroom or on a solo night drive.

23-year-old Dosey has always been creative, and he spent years in the influencer scene and videography after moving from his native Bay Area to Los Angeles. It was only after a quarantine breakup that he went all in on music. With this experience still fresh, Dosey got to work, writing personal, specific songs almost as a form of therapy. He continues to write music alone, in what I like to think of as ‘sad boy mode’. This lowkey recording environment is reflected in his music, which is slow, mellow, and makes you feel something.

I jumped on a call with Dosey to talk about his latest single, “Monsters Under the Bed”, and learn more about him. The new release is a hit and showcases both his songwriting and singing abilities. Minimalist production from Joshua Apple and trippy backing vocals make it feel like you’re floating. The track was developed around the line “I don’t want to be your lover, if i can’t even be your friend”, and those lyrics alone are enough to send me into my own sad boy mode.

I don’t usually listen to slower, acoustic music, so the fact that I can’t take this song off repeat is truly saying something. Get to know Dosey below:

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Where does the name Dosey come from?

As long as I can remember my mom and grandma used to call me Dosey. My grandma passed away in high school and my mom still carried the nickname for me, which I later found out my uncle was also called as a kid. I never thought about using it as an artist name until I put music onto Spotify in 2021 and felt like taking that opportunity to create an artist project to separate my real life from my music and build this character out. I always thought it was cool to have an artist name given to you by your mum after I learned lil peep got his name from his mother so for many reasons it felt right.

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Who are your biggest inspirations?

Friends and family all day. Right off the bat my sister Vivian comes to mind. Just cause we’ve spent so much time together and she’s always been my #1 supporter without question. Watching her start a brand and chase her dreams has been mad inspiring for me the last 2 years. All my friends from my hometown mean the world to me and have always shown love which has made all the difference for me as well. My parents, who are both rockstars in the music, art, and film scene have kept me motivated and inspired to make music since I was born. Shout out to them for obvious reasons. Then everyone I've met in LA the last 5 years including Blake Dalessio, Martez House and hundreds more have been impactful on not only the music and social media part of growing but also just developing into my person. My roommate Keegan (who directed and filmed both the “Love Myself” and “Only You” music videos) who I've grown up with since elementary school and all the amazing people I make music with everyday like Joshua Apple (who has produced/mixed every song in my discography) and Arden Jones. But that's where the majority of it all comes from. Friends and family.

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What do you want fans to get from listening to your music?

On a personal level, a better understanding of who I am as an artist and a person. I want people to digest the lyrics and hopefully feel less alone when dealing with anything from heartbreak to death, being in love, scared, excited, and all things in between when experiencing life. I mainly want people to have something versatile to listen to in any situation. Being put in a box is a fear most artists share and by being authentic and experimental in the craft is one way to avoid that.

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How do you escape music?

Skateboarding has always been a massive passion of mine since I was 3 years old, although I don't get out and skate the streets like I used to anymore, the joy of being on a board still hits the same and keeps me human outside of music. Other than that I love to travel and eat food. A new dish in a new place is always an ideal situation for me. I’ve gotten a lot more into reading over the last few years, more so than I ever was when I was in school and creating visualizers and shooting content has been a huge part of my life since I moved to LA as well. Although it’s impossible to escape music, I think it’s important to take breaks and take advantage of the millions of cool and fun hobbies there are in the world. Oh and It would be remiss of me not to mention my gaming addiction add me on XBOX @xdoseyx haha.

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What’s next?

The last quarter of the year is pretty busy honestly. I have a few shows and for the first time publicly I'll share with y'all that I'm dropping my debut project after a long run of singles. Expect that in the next few months with some new visuals so getting all of that sorted, finalized and submitted will keep me up. Continuing to work with amazing people and grow the team is on the agenda starting with Atherlace and Ty Donovan my manager and kick ass friend / supporter of the music and vision. I think staying busy and pushing the boundaries with music and content will be the biggest thing for me this year. Make sure to stop by the socials to check in and see what’s in the works in the meantime.

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