Everyone remembers their first album, record or in some cases, cassette tape that took their sonic virginity. For Chicago-based singer Daphne Willis, it was Ace of Base. “I still listen to ‘I Saw the Sign,'” Willis said.

But despite this pop/rock start, Willis just finished her sophomore album, Because I Can, where she found a more sensitive sound akin to the smooth, mellow acoustic guitar music of Jason Mraz. 

“I am not really going for any sound in particular, I guess. I certainly admire Jason Mraz, cause I listen to him, so I can see why people would hear him in my music,” Willis said in a recent interview with The Badger Herald. “What I have done with this record and will be doing with the next one is crossing into different genres. Certainty the pop element is always going to be there.”

Willis’s new album has taken a lot more risks than her debut album What to Say, but she is happy with the outcome.

“There is a lot more flow to this record,” Willis said. “I guess it has an overall shade to it, where as the other one jumped around more from color to color.”

One reason for the changes could be due to her new contract with Vanguard Records and her new producer, Tim Lauer, who pushes her to go outside of her comfort zone. 

“He likes to try new things, and I do, too. We just like to play with it. It is not something that is so serious all the time,” Willis said. “We tried new vocals, and he tried to get different tones out of my voice and to breathe different ways. It was a combination of him pushing me and me pushing myself.”

Unique circumstances brought Vanguard Records knocking at Willis’ door. Vanguard Records president Kevin Welk was riding on an American Airlines flight when his iPod died. He plugged his headphones into the airline’s music and was blown away by Willis’ emotional voice. He immediately tracked her down to sign a contract. It couldn’t have been more serendipitous.

And since the initial first listen, Willis has ceased to disappoint her new record label.

“A tremendous amount of work went into [this record]. I wrote for a year and half for this record,” Willis said. “I wrote over 50 songs that we narrowed down. We made demos and talked about everything from tempos to instrumentation.”

Even though Willis personally works on writing her songs, she also gets help form a small, selective group of friends.

“I have a friend who writes more quirky stuff. And then I have a couple of friends that write serious, more personal content song,” Willis said. 

It’s this wide variety of sources Willis gets help from that explains the different feeling of each song. She can be sad and emotional one minute and then upbeat the next.

But at the end of the day Willis only has one goal for her music.

“I really just want to inspire people. When I listen to music I always want to feel kind of uplifted. I want to feel positive, liberated and empowered,” Willis said. “I call it Because I Can just to drive that sense that if you really want to do something you can.”

Daphne Willis will be performing at The Brink Lounge on Monday, April 18 at 9 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at The Brink Lounge website.