Blending his early influences of motown and soul with a dash of dance and a touch of hip hop, meet Danny McLauchlan.
The singer/songwriter and producer is working on his EP release, treating fans to new tracks via his YouTube and SoundCloud as a taster of things to come.
Ahead of his debut London show on September 9th, we caught up with Danny McLauchlan to find out more about his inspirations, musical blend and EP release.
Can you tell us more about how you got into music?
I think the first ever instrument I started to learn was violin when I was about 9 and that’s when I discovered that I enjoyed playing music. After that, it was saxophone and then guitar when I was about 12. I started playing in local punk bands in the town I grew up in which is how my obsession with songwriting started then I started to listen to dance and hip hop that my brothers would show me and that got me in to production more.
Are there any artists/bands in particular that inspire you?
When I was growing up my parents listened to a lot of Motown and Soul so I’m heavily influenced by all the old classics. I do find it hard pinpoint specific artists because I change my mind almost daily, there is so much music out there! I did see Roger Waters play ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ live once, that was life changing. An artist that is really inspiring me at the moment are a band called Polyenso. You should check them out they have just released three tracks on Soundcloud that are incredible.
How would you describe your music to those who haven’t heard your tracks?
Someone said to me once that it sounds like James Blake meets Billie Holiday, I like that comparison! Other than that I say British soul pop with drum machines.
How does it feel to have the first tracks from your new EP out?
It feels great! I have been working on this material for over almost two years so it’s nice to be able to finally show it to the world.
How did you go about the recording process for the EP?
Well, I’m still recording it now! My studio is in my bedroom so I get 90% of my work done at home. This is great because it feels so natural and I can really spend a lot of time perfecting things. I wanted to release a song every month until the release of the EP so I got all the writing done last year and now I am just polishing off the recording side of things every month and finish things off pretty much the day before I release it online. I like the pressure, it helps me to get things done.
Why did you decide to wait until 2016 for its release?
Mainly because I am still recording it. I am also still looking for a label to help me release the record, so the date is still up in the air to be honest. I hope to have everything ready and for it to be physically and digitally released by Spring 2016.
What are your plans for the rest of 2015?
Lots of rehearsing for live shows! Ive been spending so much time in the studio and now I have to translate all these songs to a live setup. Some of them are becoming quite difficult to work out, but it’s all part of the fun. It’s going to be a one man band type thing where I will be using a lot of samples and various instruments to try and create something unique but still live. I hate going to see artists now that just hit play on Ableton and sing along. Other than that, I’ll be releasing a new song every month and a few other surprises along the way too!
Anything else you wish to add?
That’s it, thanks for having me!
You can watch the video for Danny’s latest single below:
Keep up-to-date with Danny McLauchlan:
Twitter
Facebook
Soundcloud