Daniel Land
If you are out and about in the land up north, you may well run into quite a sociable character named Daniel Land. Daniel; Danny or Dan to his many friends; is making a mark for himself as one of the areas’ prominent musicians. Besides being a musician, Daniel has even had the pleasure to host a very small concert by Jane Siberry right in his very own living room! Though Daniel is originally from way down south in Exeter, Devon; that land up north that he now calls home is Manchester, England.
As if you haven’t figured it out already, Daniel is the main man who fronts the band, Daniel Land & The Modern Painters. The other members of the band are Graeme Meikle, Oisin Scarlett, Andrew Galpin and Jason Magee.
When The Painters aren’t around, Daniel spends some of his time with a much more Ambient personal project he calls Riverrun on Saint Cecilia Records. Imagine relaxing by the side of a babbling brook on a warm and sunny day with nothing to do but watch the grass grow and the frogs jump about. That’s the sort of soothing feeling you get while listening to the gentle Ambient tones and rhythms of Riverrun. Oh, did I just say that listening to Riverrun was like watching grass grow!? Oh, my! Believe me, it’s all good and just what the doctor ordered to relax all those tethered nerves from all of the manic frustrations of everyday life. Don’t believe me? Give it a good spin and feel your stress wash away into the ether. Think Brian Eno when he decided to chill out a bit and create all that wonderful Ambient background music, ala his Music For Airports series. Daniel’s admiration for one of his mentors is quite evident with his Riverrun project. You can find Riverrun’s Pentimento at Daniel Land’s Big Cartel shop along with several releases from Daniel Land & The Modern Painters. There is also a very limited 2nd album on it’s way at this very moment called La Mer, again on Saint Cecelia Records. Finally, for Riverrun’s devoted fans, there’s also a digital single release of “Hamworthy Common (Parts I & II)” distributed as a free download on the BFW Recordings website.
Daniel Land puts his guitar down and goes to it on synth
Daniel Land & The Modern Painters’ first release was an EP in 2007 they called Voss. From my understanding, it’s long sold out but you can still purchase a digital copy from CD Baby. In 2008, it was followed up with another EP called Imagining October which was later rereleased to satisfy further demand. The Sonic Cathedral label released the band’s 7″ vinyl single of “Within The Boundaries” (Schnauss/Peters Mix), originally from the Voss EP, backed with “Benjamin’s Room” (Schnauss/Peters Mix). Next they came along in 2009 with what is considered the band’s debut full length album, Love Songs For The Chemical Generation, a glorious journey through the enchanted land of Daniel Land & The Modern Painters. Yet another sold out item*. Are you sensing a trend here? Never fear! You can purchase a digital copy at the band’s Bandcamp shop.
* (Editing Note: Just got word that there are still a few copies of Love Songs For The Chemical Generation left at the band’s Big Cartel shop. Get them now before they too are sold out!)
A busy man, that Daniel! He’s also a contributor to a local band called The Steals among other projects that he’s involved in. Too many, I suspect, for even he to keep track of!
But wait, there’s more. When the up and coming critically acclaimed Engineers went through a shake up and needed to replace two of it’s members, Daniel Land stepped up to the plate with his trusty bass guitar to help beef up the band after Mark Peters moved over to take the lead on guitar. Still in need of another member, Ulrich Schnauss was right by his side ready to fill in with his magical keyboard and technical skills. Here, at the time, we fans feared that Engineers were breaking up. Little did we know what they had up their musical sleeves to tantalize the masses. You can hear Daniel’s contributions on the Engineers latest 2010 album on Kscope Records called In Praise Of More.
All of this, combined with all of the touring that he does with his various musical endeavors, leads me to one conclusion: Daniel never sleeps. He can’t. How would he ever find the time? Truly one of this generation’s musical wonders.
~ Stream or download for free Riverrun’s “Hamworthy Common (Parts I & II)” at the BFW Recordings website:
Daniel Land’s Big Cartel Shop
Daniel Land & The Modern Painters on Facebook
Daniel Land & The Modern Painters on MySpace
Riverrun on Facebook
Engineers
Engineers on Facebook
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