A Musician Springs From West Haven High School

Photo Courtesy Daniel Sai Velez.

A fade from darkness opens on the fingers of a young musician, pressing down on a keyboard with precision. The sun filters through his window shades, covering his hands in its rays. A slow, synthy melody fills the silence. There are different shots of the keyboard, then a close-up pan of his microphone. Then the musician himself finally comes into focus.

It’s the beginning of “I’ll Stick Around,” a work from 16-year-old musician and rising West Haven High School (WHHS) senior Daniel Sai Velez. Velez, who acts and sings both inside and outside of school, is using his platform to spread a message of emotional healing through music.

His work, which is self-published, is available on the streaming platforms Spotify, Apple Music, SoundCloud and YouTube among others. Learn more here. 

“There are times where, when I’m writing music, depending on the song, if it’s good I’ll vibe with it.” Velez said. “Honestly, the feeling that I get is like, ‘Oh my gosh! What can I do to make it sound better?’”

Born and raised in New Haven—he eventually moved to West Haven in 2019—Velez didn’t discover his love of music-making until he put on his first impromptu performance.

The stage was a classroom at Fair Haven School, where a friend overheard Velez singing and asked him to perform in front of their peers. Velez agreed and sang “7 Years” by Lukas Graham, earning praise from some of his classmates.

After discovering that he enjoyed the experience of singing for others, Velez decided to give writing his own songs a try, which led to the start of his music-producing journey.

Velez’s earliest recorded song was a piece called “Darkened Sky”, which remains a private post on his Instagram page. When he listens, he said, the first thing he still notices is its room for improvement. And yet, he he still appreciates it to this day. 

“It was great, actually.” Velez said. “I was thinking about remaking it.” 

Over time, Velez found that he made significant progress in his musical journey, developing skills that were previously difficult for him to manage.

“I definitely grew over time,” he said. “I still have recordings of me singing certain songs, trying to hit the falsetto and not being able to, but now it’s super, super easy for me to do that.”

In 2022, Velez released his first album, Out Of Place, a full-length work that has preceded a few new 2023 releases. “I’ll Stick Around” is just one of the songs on the album, which primarily consists of slow songs that describe the pain and difficulty of heartbreak.

“When I dropped Out Of Place, my whole goal was to just make an album that was like a rollercoaster of just emotion.” Velez said. “I feel like, personally, that I’m very good at making music that is sad.”

Velez described a lot of his music as the product of gathering firsthand accounts from his friends, who have been through breakups and hard times before. He also doesn’t shy away from writing about his own experiences.

“There definitely have been songs that’s a lot of problems that I went through, and those people that know it, will know it,” Velez said. “They know it, for sure.”

Velez draws his inspiration from artists such as Charlie Puth, Justin Bieber, and Shawn Mendes. This inspiration mostly contributes to the way he produces and mixes his music, giving his songs a mainstream pop sound.

Velez in "You Can’t Take it With You." Todd Dandelske Photo.

Some of his singing experience prior to his album release came from his participation in West Haven High School’s chorus class with the school’s former chorus teacher, Phyllis Silver. Early in high school, he landed a position in the school’s Bel Canto chorus.

“He is a great musician and a good kid,” Silver said.

Velez has also grown his sonic footprint through musical theater at the school. Through the WHHS Theatre Department, he played Anthony Kirby Jr. in George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart’s “You Can’t Take it With You” last fall, and Danny Zuko in the spring musical “Grease.”

“Before I wanted to do music I wanted to act.” Velez said. “It didn’t really work out and I started just doing music, but I think, nowadays it’s starting to seem like acting is definitely something I wanna do in the future.”

Tracy Stratton, the WHHS Theatre Department director, scouted Velez for “Grease” while he was still in Bel Canto. After she convinced him to watch the movie, he instantly gravitated towards the male lead, Danny Zuko. He began learning Zuko’s songs before audition dates were even announced.

Todd Dandelske Photo.

Stratton noticed that he made positive impressions on the people backstage as well as on those in the audience. She was especially surprised at how talented he was and how well he worked with others.

“He’s humble and talented,” She said. “Which is a combination you don’t see very often. I don’t think he knows exactly how talented he is, but he’s quite a team player.”

Stratton is also aware of the music he makes outside of school, commending him for his style of singing. She said that he has a voice that’s very “now,” which would “play on broadcast media so well”.

Another thing she noticed about Velez was his level of commitment, which he made very apparent in his performances.

“When Danny commits to something, he’s all in,” she said. “Which means he becomes the character. He embodies whatever character is given to him.”

This sentiment was echoed by Velez himself on the topic of his music-making process. Once his creative flow starts, it doesn’t slow until he makes significant progress.

He revealed that he could work on multiple songs in a single day. Though he doesn’t finish multiple songs in a day, he said he could finish the mixes of songs in a day.

“When I get into it, I’m into it.” Velez said. “My gears are rolling, you know?”

If you want to see Daniel Sai Velez’s music for yourself, visit his pages on Deezer, iHeart, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, or Pandora. This article comes from the 2023 Cohort of the Youth Arts Journalism Initiative. Nevaeh Lugo is a recent graduate of West Haven High School. To read more about the YAJI 2023 cohort and read more from students and alumni, click here.