There’s nothing like quite sunshine to get those sagging spirits bloomin’ again. If you agree, then come bathe in some warm amber Sunglow.
Daniel Lynch is an artist from Savannah, Georgia, who makes experimental electronic music. Daniel’s musical voyage began when he started dabbling in percussion which he confesses to be his primary love, at the tender age of nine. Besides fooling around with amateur computer software, he continued writing music and in 2009 Sunglow burst into existence.
Human music, made with machines. An experimental meeting between sound and button mashing. This is Sunglow.
He did a number of shows, around the same time he purchased a drum machine, which altered his process of music making. Now he loads in raw tracks and then records on the go. His live acts follow a similar pattern, wherein he shapes the music as he’s playing. A freestyler of sorts… floating in his space of melodies. When he wants to record a track, he plays his improvisations and works on the track…on stage, show after show, until he feels the song’s perfect. In a way, his live acts and the stage doubles up as the recording studio…a genius move and saves on renting studio space too.
His influences include the likes of Breather Resist, Young Widows, Ian Mackaye and for a period of time he got hung up on The Residents. He’s a devoted fan of J Dilla, saying “I became a huge fan of J Dilla when I bought the drum machine as he recorded beats unquantized, giving them an unmistakably human touch.” He brings up a valid point there; as music passes over to the machines, it’s vital to retain the ‘humanness’ that gives music its ethereal beauty.
So far, he’s mostly done shows in South East of the US, and has released an AID demo, a couple of B Sides and two full length albums… one back in 2012 and the second of which was released in May. The latter is titled Nothing Doing (2014), for twin reasons. It was both a phrase that haunted the air of his southern childhood and it is also a tribute to the two years dead zone between his instrumental EP and the time of its release.
Although the mood of this album appears to be upbeat, funky and completely danceable at the same time it is grimy and dark…you feel as though you are wading though murky waters and dissolving in and out of the blacker spectrum of the emotional rainbow. For instance LackLust is a song screaming about frustration but the groove will get you hoppin…it is a fine example of using music to channel emotions. Vox Coup, sounds like a thick python curling around your spine and you are the hypnotized deer…it’s not necessarily a bad sensation.
The ten-track album’s got brilliant beats and beautiful lyrics which have subtexts that speak volumes. If you’re one of those who care to dig in deeper, I suggest you bring along a shovel. Hot off the oven comes these precious bunnies…bite into them and they will leave you sated. He plans to release more work that he’s created independent of a computer and he hopes to a do a full US tour in ‘Oh-fifteen’
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