Producer / Songwriter Dominique on being a Perfectionist and Juggling a Part-Time Job with a Music Career // Slashie Series

This interview originally appeared in the Slashie newsletter, which highlights creative 'slashies': people with multiple careers or a side-hustle.

With millions of views on both Spotify and Tiktok, and a recent shout out on Annie Mac's Future Sounds show, Dominique is set to go far. We can't get enough of this electro-pop artist, so we were thrilled to get the chance to sit down with her and throw some burning questions her way...

Q: How did you know you wanted to pursue music as a career?

A: I dabbled in music as a teenager, my dad's a musician so I grew up in that environment. But for a while I kind of gave it up because I got a little discouraged and scared, and so I went to study biology in college.

I had a realisation when I was about 20 years old, that I had such a passion for music, and that if I don't start doing it now, I'm gonna have some serious regrets when I'm older. The thought of waking up one day when it's too late to start doing music, that terrified me. I realised that—no matter how scared I am of failing—I need to try.

Q: You recorded and wrote your music well before your first live gig, is there a reason for that?

A: I felt really scared to put on a show and it not be perfect, so it's taken me a long time to get it together! Also, I feel like it's important to build up your following. You can do that through playing live shows, but you can also reach a large audience by focusing on your recorded music and releasing it online. That's been my main focus.

Q: It sounds like you're a perfectionist!

Definitely! And also, just nervous to play live! There's so many shows that I go to where I'm... a little bored. I don't want to fall into that category. I'm trying to make my live show as interesting as possible, so it leaves a mark on people.

Q: To help fund your passion you worked as a hostess at a restaurant for a while. How did you make time for music while juggling that?

A: There's a positive to working a side-job: it gives you structure every day. When I was not working at the restaurant I knew I could work on my music. Something about that structure made it easier to be creative. Pretty much all my time off was reserved for music.

At the same time, it can be hard. If I knew I had to be at work at 2pm, I'd only have a certain amount of time to work on a song. That time constraint felt limiting.

Q: We see everyone's highlight reel on social media. Do you compare yourself?

A: Definitely, especially with other artists. You see people thriving in their career, and they don't usually show the struggles they went through to get there. It seems like it happened magically or overnight, and then you compare yourself to that. You think, oh, look at what I'm going through, there must be something wrong with what I'm doing because I don't have it that good. Everyone goes through that struggle. But I've realised that not everyone's life is as perfect as they portray on social media!

Q: What's the biggest lesson you've learnt as you've been pursuing music?

A: I've learnt to shamelessly ask for help! Reach out to as many people as you can and ask questions. A lot of people are willing to share their advice.

Follow Dominique on Instagram, @dominiquemusic_. Interview by Claire Petersen, @byclairep.