54+1

Danny Ocean decided to take control of his life so he could get ahead. The Caracas, Venezuela, singer-songwriter found fast success after his 2016 single “Me Rehúso.” “That changed my life overnight,” he tells Apple Music. Since then, Ocean’s public profile has significantly grown, even if his creative process hasn’t changed much on his debut full-length. “All the songs were made in my room next to my bed,” he says. “This is how this album was born. It represents everything that has to do with my room. This is me in my intimacy.” Ocean shares the inspirations behind his songs in this track-by-track guide.

“Cuando Me Acerco a Ti”
“It’s a very special song for me. It’s very symphonic with a splash of reggaetón. I wrote it about two or three years ago. The song also has a story—I wrote it for all those people who have an impossible love in their lives.”

“Babylon Girl”
“This was inspired by a recurring dream I had. I don’t know if it’s ever happened to you, when you have a dream for two consecutive nights. I repeat the phrase 'Babylon girl' throughout because’s it’s like a lucky charm. It’s also about having the girl of your dreams—and you tell her not to come into your life because she may harm you.”

“Me Rehúso”
“It’s the story about how I had to leave a loved one behind when I emigrated from Venezuela to Miami. It’s also about a new generation of immigrants who are leaving their homeland—not just Venezuelans, but many other people all over the world. It touches them. They really don’t have a choice. It’s a necessity.”

“Veneno”
“I wanted to write a little reggaetón track. The song is about liking a girl you know is not the best for you. But it’s also about having an understanding about where you both stand. The apple I describe in the song represents Eve’s forbidden fruit. It’s like when you’re out in the club and there’s a seductive back-and-forth—nothing good is going to come out of it. It may go smoothly at the time, but it may not last very long.”

“Báilame”
“It’s the oldest track on the album, about five or six years old. I recorded it in Venezuela and I didn’t make any changes to it. My friend kept insisting on me finishing it. As I wrote it, I thought about a classic '60s/'70s era—you’re at this elegant bar with a sharply dressed woman, and there’s that approach between two people who are getting to know each other. It reminded me of the film Meet Joe Black.”

“Muérdago”
“The song is based on the legend of the mistletoe. The legend says that if you stand under mistletoe you have to kiss the person you are with. It’s about not wanting to tell a girl how you feel because if you say too much, you may lose it all. It’s about how you never want that feeling to ever die.”

“Gime”
“It’s like dancehall but more upbeat. This one couldn’t be more obvious, actually—it’s about all the secrets a woman can reveal when they moan during an orgasm.”

“Dembow”
“I wanted to write a song about when men find excuses not to talk to a lady when they’re in public. It can be at the club or in the bar, anyplace, and they find any excuse not to approach them when they simply want to dance.”

“Tuyo Mía”
“It’s about when there’s that special connection—I am yours as much as you are mine—when you have genuine feelings toward someone else, which is the complete opposite of a fling. Musically, I wanted to write a trap song but I failed. It sounds more like a 'popcito.'”

“Kizombita para Ti”
“The kizomba is a genre similar to reggaetón but very downbeat. I actually came up with this while I was on Facebook. That’s something I do all the time—I grab ideas while I’m doing a thousand things, whether it’s watching TV or going through Facebook or chatting to my friends. One of those times I stumbled upon a video of a couple dancing to kizomba. It’s a very, very sensual dance.”

“Tel Aviv”
“I wanted to give one of my songs a fresh, Mediterranean feel. Honestly, I’ve always wanted to go to Tel Aviv.”

“Vuelve”
“I wrote this about five years ago. I wanted to make a song that was more R&B. It came during a time when I was yearning for someone to come back into my life. She’s someone from the past.”

“Swing”
“I wrote that song with my friend in Miami. 'Swing' is the only song that I co-wrote with someone on 54+1—it represents the '+1.' Fifty-four is the number of the street in Caracas where I was born and raised. It’s the place where my sound was born, where I kicked, screamed, danced, yelled in frustration, and cried with excitement. It was all done in my room—he started playing the keyboard and I instantly came out with the chords to the song. It’s also about how women like to play hard to get, at least in Venezuela. Ultimately, men also know that women love that they play hard to get, too.”