The Quiet Outlaw is the pseudonym for singer-songwriter Dan Paton. As a drummer, Dan trained in jazz workshops with Ian Carr, Tim Whitehead and Jonny Phillips at North London's legendary Weekend Arts College (WAC). Dan has played for Hot Chip, Adrian Roye, Unit, and The London Fusion Orchestra amongst numerous other projects. He is currently working with serene jazz group ArkLove and Brendan Pickett's Space Race.
Dan is currently working on 'Smoke and Mirrors', a work in progress collaborative project with producer Brendan Pickett. Feeling bored with the predictable mundanities of over-exposed British strum and chug guitar music, Dan decided to veer far away from his comfort zone for this project in writing some pure pop music. From foot-tapping party rhythms to languid melancholy, 'Smoke and Mirrors' represents an attempt to capture a range of moods through intricately home studio-produced music and highly personal lyrics.
The songs featured here are sketchy demos - a number of guest musicians will be involved in fleshing them out for the completed album.
'The First and The Last' is a tribute to the language of the blues, combining images of the apocalypse with a dissection of failed relationships. 'I Don't Mambo' is a silly, camp Latin-flavoured pop song about awkward dancing. 'The Recidivist' was written as an answer song to R.E.M.'s 'The Apologist'. Initially about habitual criminality, it eventually took on a more personal dimension. 'Sex Hex' is a song about the aspects of sex people never write about - anxiety, frustration, tension, the unfortunate corruption of strong platonic friendships and the loss of novelty. It is, however, meant to be more funny than sanctimonious or self-pitying, so you can still dance to it if you like.