Written by Emma Barnett
Dan Croll’s first track on his new album ‘Sweet Disarray’ is titled ‘From Nowhere’, which in essence probably describes most people’s opinion of him. Where did he come from, and how long has he been hiding in the woodwork?
Dan Croll emerged in 2012 with the release of ‘From Nowhere’ as a single, yet no other songs on his album were available to purchase at that point. From just that one song, Dan worked his way into opening tours for emerging artists such as himself who were also experimenting with a new type of sound. These electronic infused bands include; Bastille, Imagine Dragons and London Grammar.
Surprisingly, Dan Croll’s career did not originally start out as being music based. Dan sought a career in rugby, yet an unfortunate injury enforced an early retirement in that field, and it was no longer looking like an attainable goal. These series of events led Dan to music, and after studying at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, and subsequently meeting Paul McCartney, Dan has a solid foundation.
His five-piece band is all about the electronic, however Croll isn’t hiding behind software, as you can see in many of his live acoustic sets. Croll’s inventive sound has roots in folk music, a genre that is often seen as ageing. However, Dan has subverted stereotypes of the folk genre of music, and has revitalized and brought it back to life by combining this traditional sound with electronic infusions.
Dan’s music is endorsing a newfound sub-genre emerging from the previously ‘Alternative’, vague and indefinable field. His refreshing creation of electronic folk music is breaking apart the obscure genre and defining this new space. Dan Croll’s album is completely original, and when you consider that this is also his first album, that is an amazing feat. The term ‘Electronic’ may turn some people off his music without even listening to it, assuming it to be generic and all on one level, however the natural rhythms that it uncover are so smooth that they almost take you back to the 60s with songs such as ‘Sweet Disarray’. Blending these silky tracks with Folk is what really makes his work, a hybrid of genres stand out.
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