Give These Songs A Life
This month 50K MUSIC MAG is talking to one of the most active live playing Sellaband artists - Daniel Ward-Murphy. It's almost one year since he released his debut album.
I asked him about his experiences, the new band line-up and his plans for the future.
Q: It's almost one year since you released "Until the Morning Light" ... how time flies. What happened till now - could you tell us something about your experiences and impressions during the last 12 months?
A: Well after the release I concentrated on getting as much internet, press and radio coverage as I could and I played as many live gigs as possible to get the material heard and my name known. It was a ‘soft launch’ in the purest sense of the word as aside from some agency work there was no coordinated campaign behind it and new audiences are still getting to hear it as I promote it – so I genuinely still feel like it is in its release stage.
It has been a very good journey with many challenges and frustrations along the way. The highlight for me is always when people take the time to contact me and let me know that the album is special to them, as at the end of the day that is my modus operandi. I never planned to write music, it was kind of an accident, but once it happened I have worked hard to give these songs a life outside of my living room.
Q: I've read your blog post announcing that Milo has left the band in August this year. How do you cope without him?
A: Well Milo was an extremely rare talent. There are many people who can play their instrument excellently but when you add to that the ability to give a song what it needs, an egoless personality that can take direction and an almost virtuoso way of playing – then you have a special talent indeed. I could not replace him like-for-like and it sparked a slight change of direction I had been considering for a while. In addition to Milo leaving, I had to take the difficult decision to lose Helen Twomey on the violin as well. Helen was a big part of what has happened to date and I hope there is an opportunity to share a stage or recording studio with both of them again....
But time moves on and it has given me an opportunity to make a distinction between the first album and future material. From a writing perspective, I am a bit of a chameleon and I tend to write music for those around me. I am extremely pleased to bring in Henry Gilbert who, aside from being a nice guy, is a tremendous player of both the double bass and the bass guitar. He gives me the scope to write a wider range of material and alongside Jennifer and Pravin the band is sounding great as a 4-piece. I plan to add one more band member as soon as I find the right player but it is not an incomplete band at present and I am excited about the sound we are creating.
Q: Looking ahead, what are your plans for the near future - new songs, maybe a new album?
A: Well creatively I am really pleased with what is happening. I have introduced ‘The Liberation of the Female Kind’, ‘So Simple’ and ‘All In A Memory’ into the live set, I have ‘I Just Want to Be a Somebody’ and ‘The Prettiest Girl at The Dance’ pretty much good to go, I have about 4 ideas I am working on, I have the option of recording ‘Heart On My Sleeve’, ‘Soldier’s Song’ and ‘White Decay’ amongst others and I’m reworking some older material I love. So yes, I believe I am writing some of my best material and I have enough material of the calibre I would want in order to record a new album. I constantly consider how and if I can make that happen (we are approaching labels and other companies regarding a second album deal) but having been able to properly record a debut album I am reluctant to go down any budget route.
In addition to this, over the coming months I plan to digitally release ‘Songs from Soho’ – a live album that I recorded with Milo, Helen and Jen at Dean Street Studios on a special night a while back. Watch this space...
Q: What were your experiences with SellaBand, would you go for a second run to fund your next album?
A: Like most people, my experience with Sellaband ...
Read the full article in issue # 09/2009 of 50K MUSIC MAG - pages 7/8.
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