Dana Gavanski was born with a desire to sing. Growing up in Vancouver to a Serbian family, she was immersed in the culture of kafana music and began to root her vividly emotional expression in vocal resonance. In her final year of university in Montreal, she picked up the guitar left by her ex-partner and decided to re-learn. Gavanski prefers to focus on the simple, organic tones the guitar has to offer and keep the main focus on her unique sound.

love affair with music began with her voice. Born to a Serbian family,  Given this gateway into her guitar-playing, it’s not surprising Gavanski prefers to shun the hyper-technical aspects of the instrument and instead focuses on its simple, organic tones.

Dana released her first EP Spring Demos in September 2017, which Dana describes as ‘whatever was coming out of me. A flood.’  Following Spring Demos, YESTERDAY IS GONE reflects Dana’s aim ‘to make something bigger, more thought through’. Steeped in determination and uncertainty in equal measure – ‘I just wanted to write a good song’ – the album took shape after she returned from a writing residency in Banff, Alberta. Rooted in the intimacy of folk songwriting, it explores a different sonic texture and as a full band, Dana co-produced her record with Toronto-based musician Sam Gleason and Mike Lindsay. Yesterday Is Gone is Dana’s attempt to ‘learn to say what I feel and feel what I say’ through her own beguiling sound, with each component meticulously placed and yielding a deeply sincere response to the chaos of human emotion.

https://www.facebook.com/danagavanski/photos/a.778231759005376/1412889622206250/

“Yesterday is Gone, my debut album, came into the world at a strange time,” says Dana, “I never expected to be unable to tour it until at least a year after its release but I’ve silently accepted it. I’m happy to hear of the ways it is reaching people. To read beautiful and thoughtful comments from friends and strangers. Also, in many ways, not being able to do so many things I was used to has shown me how excited I was about getting on the road and in turn, has helped me realise I should work on not taking things for granted.”