Legend has it that
at this point in time Ricky Gervais offered to be Playground's manager,
but fortunately for everyone concerned he chose a career in comedy instead.
After a first UK tour of rave reviews and general adulation, "life
differences" and "fear of flying" were cited as the causes
of Playground's split, and so Dan decided to move to Edinburgh, where
he studied physics.
Inspired by Nick
Drake and John Martyn, and with Julian Cope as prescriber of pearls
of nonsense and wisdom, Dan gravitated towards acoustic guitar and started
to adopt Drake's more complex guitar techniques. Influenced by the sweet
melodies, simple structure and heavenly harmonies of Glasgow's Teenage
Fanclub, the songs soon began to flow and Dan began to evolve his unique
style, playing clubs and venues throughout the UK.
Signed exclusively
to London label, Just Music, Dan's first album 'Around in Circles' was
released in 2006 to rave reviews, having been produced by the "blissfully
ambient" (Independent) Jon Hopkins and mastered by Simon Heyworth,
who remastered all of Nick Drake's seminal recordings.
Dan has been touring
nationwide since then, including supporting Thea Gilmore on her recent
national tour and going down a storm at Ullapool Guitar Festival.
Dan is Artist of
the Month in October and November for Caffe Nero, who are promoting
his music throughout their 285 retail outlets. 'Around Circles' recently
reached No 2 in Mike Harding's Top Ten Folk Albums on BBC Radio Two.
Dan's tender and
haunting voice is the perfect match for his evocative and rhythmic guitar-picking.
Expect unusual open tunings, songs that develop into instrumentals,
and instrumentals that grow into songs, and a beautiful acoustic guitar
sound that is frequently transformed but never compromised by some amazing
electronic guitar effects. His recent performances have been making
a real impact in folk clubs, acoustic music venues and arts centres
throughout the UK, including Brampton Live Festival, Lewes Guitar Festival,
Green Man Festival, Borderline Club, 12 Bar Club, Half Moon Putney,
Edinburgh Fringe Festival, String Jam Club, Glasgow's West End Festival
and the Musician in Leicester, to name but a few. Maverick magazine
has written of Dan: "Through a quartet of fragile and haunting
songs he captured and captivated an audience who had come to hear him…..
Definitely one to watch out for….."
"John Martyn meets Nick Drake for the 21st century." IN
THE MIX
"A seriously talented musician." MAVERICK
"Dan's silvery melodies elevated the crowd to an entirely different
level. He didn't get far before being called for an encore and we were
treated to one more mellifluous track before the waft of crowd dissipated
contentedly into the cold night air."PEMBROKESHIRE TV
