Born on the distant island of Borneo to adventuring Polish parents, Dan Arborise arrived on our green isle resting en-route in Nigeria …. Settling in wild South London, Dan was taught at classically in piano and guitar whilst he gazed fenestratically…
Brief spells in a Mediaeval Quartet, a Pink-Floyd tribute and a tap-dancing marathonicon ensued before being headhunted for semi-legendary pop-punk combo ‘Playground’… Infamy beckoned, but Playground splintered and Dan was on the move again, this time heading North to Edinburgh… Dan sneaked a place studying Physics at the university, and used this time wisely, seeking a new musical path…
Inspired by the music of Nick Drake, Dan gravitated towards acoustic guitar and started to adopt Drake's more complex guitar techniques. Influenced by the sweet melodies, simple structure and heavenly harmonies of Glasgow's Teenage Fanclub, the songs soon began to flow and Dan began to evolve his unique style, playing the dungeonous venues and caverns of Edinburgh…
Now with fine lady and faithful hound in tow, Dan moved out south-east to the Scottish Borders, where for two years they lived in an old cottage on a hill, growing vegetables for sustenance and collecting wood for heat…Here the album ‘Around In Circles’ was written overlooking the Cheviots and Dan signed to London-based label Just Music…
Time to move once more, this time to Devon, the next two years being spent in a yurt on a wooded hillside, with water from a well, a trusty woodburner for heat and cooking and the sound of the sea echoing down the valley.…
Paradoxically Dan spent half this time underground in Bow, East London recording ‘Around In Circles’ at fabled studio, Café Music. This he did with the help of producer and label-mate Jon Hopkins (Eno, Heap, Creosote producer/collaborator extraordinaire) and engineer Mark Sutherland, an array of vintage mics constantly at his side… Some finishing touches from Leo Abrahams, Lisa Lindley-Jones and Raphael Saib and the album was complete…
‘Around In Circles’ was released on august 7th 2006 to a mild press frenzy (see below) and Dan hit the road lulling audiences into trancey slumbers up, down and across the UK, playing festivals such as The Green Man, Brampton Live, End Of The Road, Lewes, Ullapool and International Guitar Festivals, Big Green Gathering and Celtic Connections, playing venues such as GIGOGRAPHY
, and supporting artists including John Martyn, Thea Gilmore, Sid Griffin and the Coal Porters, Aberfeldy and numerous others…
Live, Dan's tender and haunting voice is the perfect match for his evocative and rhythmic guitar-picking. Expect unusual open tunings, songs that develop into instrumentals, instrumentals that grow into songs and a beautiful acoustic guitar sound that is frequently transformed but never compromised by some amazing electronic guitar effects...
Dan currently lives in North Devon, inside for now, as a new album must be written…although every opportunity to walk the cliffs, be windlashed on the beaches or lurk in the lunary shadows is taken, decamping to the Ship Aground of a Friday to drink ale and play music…see you there…CURRENT MOON lunar phase
ALBUM
'John Martyn meets Nick Drake for the 21st century.' THE FLY
'Acoustic guitar hymns to truth and beauty....beguiling.' UNCUT
'But what else marks Devonshire lad Dan Arborise out from a hundred other Nick Drake disciples? Is it his immaculate guitar, setting up shop somewhere between the fearsome playing of folk titan Nic Jones and the freeflowing style of Madagascan picker D'Gary? Is it the perceptive songs, all delivered in a voice that shares Drake's lower register but is noticeably less guarded? Or is it Around In Circles' luminescent production, courtesy of Eno-endorsed Jon Hopkins, that piles slices of guitar high and lets them sparkle and glow like a starry, moon-filled night? Whatever it is, this is a debut album that instantly allows Dan Arborise to pull up a chair alongside the likes of Jose Gonzalez and James Yorkston.' THE WORD
' A masterpiece...A gloriously fine album for the romantic optimists amongst us' BACKLASH
' Hypnotic 21st-century take on John Martyn....The spell that's cast lingers on throughout an impressive debut' GUITARIST
'Delightful,cobbled street acoustics and shoreline melancholy....cast against a canvas of ambient atmospherics....a name for the masses to look for in 2007 for sure' MUSIC WEEK
' Around In Circles weaves a similar enchantment to Five Leaves Left' METRO
' Looking as though he has just stepped out from an early nineties warehouse rave, Mr Arborise is clearly a man of disguise. But never judge a book by its cover, because this novel is well worth a read and has been researched to its fullest, looking at the book of olde, his finger picking styles and lush vocal harmonies make this a modern folk classic...This will make both artist and producer stand out from the rest of the folk ditties knocking around these days' HOODLUM TRIBE
'Ponderous beauty and rich, intimate folky textures..' TUNETRIBE.COM
'Gorgeous, acoustic music.....breathtaking.' ROCK SOUND
' Expert in creating whole new levels of "sombre"' ACOUSTIC
' Arborise has combined intricate guitar playing with songs memorable enough to sing around a campfire' RECORD COLLECTOR
' Around In Circles is awash with sublime melodies delivered by not-as-simple-as-you-think acoustic guitar playing' GUITAR
'Simplicity, delicacy and strong melodies' NEW-NOISE.NET
'Mood and atmosphere are built up over the course of the CD. Around in Circles is perfect Sunday morning music.' SHINDIG!
' Gorgeous, picturesque songs' SWELL MUSIC
LIVE
'Through a quartet of fragile and haunting songs he captured and captivated an audience who had come to hear him. A seriously talented musician. Definitely one to watch out for.' MAVERICK
' This is music to hush the soul and slow the heartbeat' NORTH DEVON JOURNAL
' One of the Finest new artists i have ever heard ' THE POKEY HOLE
'Arborise wills himself into reverie blending the cadences of voice and silvery guitar.' METRO
'He's dead good.' THE FOREST
'This is beautiful music, beautifully performed.' ASHCROFT ARTS CENTRE
' There's talent here.' THE HERALD
'Dan's silvery melodies elevated the crowd to an entirely different level. He didn't get far before being called for an encore and we were treated to one more mellifluous track before the waft of crowd dissipated contentedly into the cold night air.' PEMBROKESHIRE TV
'Arborise has found a unique voice. Slipping into extended instrumental work-outs, his solos evoke the pastoral sublime or flamenco fire. Conjuring visions of gentle love and nature’s beauty is a hard call on a Glasgow Tuesday, but his personal vision is received with respect tonight. Both technical virtuosity and lyrical sensitivity set him apart from the majority of folk performers. Dan Arborise is a remarkable treat.'
THE SKINNY
' Recommended' TIME OUT
' Hotly tipped' LEWES GUITAR FESTIVAL
VEGETABLES
' Arborise...lives in a barn and grows his own vegetables' SUNDAY TIMES CULTURE
IN SUMMARY
' I didnt like this, the picture inside the album cover didnt help ' QUERRRRRRANG
' I couldnt stand it. I just didnt think there were any songs there at all. Certainly not enough tweed. ' TWEED
' Self-satisfied.' THE HERALD GIGOGRAPHY BUYTHEALBUM
Dan Arborise - official blog site
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