After a year or so of recording a wealth of material at Squarehead studios with the polymath Rob Wilks, Kent-based singer and songwriter Daniel McDonagh has now unveiled his sublime debut EP 'Toward Winter'.
Channelling the dark and atmospheric aesthetic of acts like Radiohead, 'Toward Winter' makes for a truly rich and captivating listen. Filled with sweeping melodies and his own solemn vocal performance, this four-track collection cements the frontman as a true talent on the emerging new music scene.
So with his new release doing the rounds right now, we sat down with him to find out more about his origins and what has inspired him most over the years.
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What was the first instrument you fell in love with?
Electric guitar. Seeing Tim Nice but Dim gyrate to 'Sultans of Swing' with a tennis racket awakened the air-guitarist in me. This developed more seriously into emulating Nick McCabe from The Verve but this childhood dream eventually gave way to the songwriters tool - the craft and graft of the acoustic guitar.
What has been the most prominent inspiration behind your music so far?
Difficult to answer. I am receptive, or try to be receptive, to everyday minutia. The dew on an oak leaf. The curve of a woman's mouth. A nephew's blossoming. Poetry has been a constant. The musicality of words and the power of image. The Irish poet John O'Donohue said poetry was a way of drawing up beside the mystery as it unfolded, and then tried to bring it into presence. How wonderful. That's the aim. And of course the desire to write songs as a cathartic ritual. A good old greek word - Catharsis. It may sound pretentious and perhaps even cliche to term it as such, but writing a song is no different to a painter trying to resolve the way light falls on the side of the building. It is trying to articulate something through melody and word. I apologise for not answering the question.
What kind of music did you love as a teenager?
The Manic's, Oasis, The Verve, Stereophonics, Travis, Coldplay, and lots and lots of utter shit.
Can you remember the first song that made you want to pursue a life in music?
I was playing Wilco's 'Sky Blue Sky' one day on guitar and I realised perhaps I could do this. Not in an egotistical way - I admire Jeff's writing immensely. It was rather an urge to do what Jeff Tweedy excels at. His intimate acoustic shows are wondrous events of intimacy and crowd interaction and of course some of the best songwriting I have ever heard. One must strive for excellence.
When you wake up in the morning, what kind of music do you like to listen to?
Neil Young's 'Homegrown' has been a favourite recently. Weirdly I used to enjoy Can's 'Tago Mago' on a Saturday morning but haven't in a while. Something mellow & slowly unfolding such as late Talk Talk, which flows and permeates the room and allows you to enter into a certain headspace without asking too much from one in a lucid state (with the proviso you later honour Mark Hollis' suggestion you give it your full attention with headphones!).
How many of your songs have you written about people in your life?
Of the forty odd songs of mine that I consider worth singing - a large number of them either feature directly or were indirectly influenced by somebody in my life. I have written songs about my brother, a late friend, numerous failed romances and my nephews. They are the stuff of life and when images and words correlate in that mysterious way an idea can form and one hopes this resolves itself into a chord progression, a melody - a song. This is rare. This is why one must turn up and do the bloody work.
What has been the most memorable moment in your career so far?
Meeting Rob Wilks at Squarehead Studio in Kent and having him guide me through the studio process. I recorded around 25 songs with him, four of which comprise my debut EP -'Toward Winter'. I learned a lot and it inspired in me a newfound confidence. The other demos are the bare bones of an album I'd eventually like to record and release. Getting played by Abbie McCarthy on BBC Kent Introducing was also very grand. She said some very kind things.
Outside of music, what is your biggest passion?
The English landscape, Art, Reading, Poetry, My relationship to Christ, Blue Cheese, Red Wine.
If you weren’t a musician, what other path do you think you might have taken?
I am a scaffolder by trade, and play and write music for the love and need at the moment. But I am open to offers and will sell out at a moment's notice. Gosh - I would love to be a poet. A botanist, a painter! And to own and manage land like Roger Deakins did at Walnut Tree Farm. To know it's acres by heart and to labor over it. To note down new moth species, or a rare orchid. Then retire to the studio to paint and read and drink tea.
And what advice would you give to other musicians looking to start a career in music?
I am in no position to offer advice; but I would say learn your craft, and take that seriously. Also to study the greats (go further back than 5 years - try 100) and to never take yourself too seriously.
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Daniel McDonagh's new EP 'Toward Winter' is available to stream and download now. Have a listen to it in the player below.