Dan Michaelson releases his new album on 24th July via Village Green Recordings. Following the release of 'Colourfield Prelude', his first instrumental work on the label, which received support from Elizabeth Alker on BBC3 and Gilles Peterson on 6 Music and Worldwide FM, Dan has now shared 'Colourfield II', the lead track from the album.
Opening with a sharp intake of breath from the musicians before launching into a full scale wall of orchestral sound, 'Colourfield II' utilises every element of the forthcoming album’s palette with force. Inspired by the repetitive cycles of east coast minimalism, the sweeping melancholia of Etta James, and with a nod to the classic film scores of John Williams, brass and strings fight for attention, melting into a field of flutes and piano before returning for a fanfare close.
LISTEN TO 'COLOURFIELD II' HERE
On making the decision to step back from singing and lyric writing, the thinking was simple, “everyone gets tired of the sound of their own voice sometimes...” said Dan.
Though better known for his solo albums of dark, Americana tinged reflection, Dan is no stranger to instrumental music, having spent the past few years creating score for film (Blowin'Up 2018) and television (Detectorists Series 1,2 &3. 2016-2018), and gradually building confidence with orchestra through his trilogy of albums 'Distance', 'Memory' and 'First Light', his 2017 album for voice and strings.
“Whilst working on the tone of those records, Dan says, I fell in love with the likes of John Adams, Steve Reich, Anna Thorvaldsdottir and Caroline Shaw with the same force that I had fallen for The Velvet Underground, Leonard Cohen and Jonathan Richman many years before, and with the same outcome.. the inspiration to investigate a new direction”.
Working closely with violist and conductor Robert Ames and violinist Galya Bisengalieva to complete the record, Dan found their way of working to be “very similar to being in a band, just with less wrong notes”.
PRE-ORDER ALBUM HERE