Rhythm Section

Why did The Servant star go solo?

Dan admits he just wants his own way

By Kevin Bridges

Dan Black has been having a lot of sleepless nights lately. 

Reason? Well it’s probably related to the fact that the hotly-tipped artist is set to release his new single Symphonies tomorrow, with his debut album Un coming out next week.

Symphonies is his favourite piece of work yet but it very nearly didn’t see the light of day. “It’s been an absolute nightmare,” he confided when I spoke to him.

‘Mash-up’

The problem was that the song was originally a slightly different track called Hypntz which featured the drum beat from Rihanna’s Umbrella, some strings from the soundtrack to the Starman movie and more importantly the words of a Notorious B.I.G. song sung to a different tune. The ‘mash-up’ was one of the first things Dan did and added to his MySpace page before he was signed up by a label.

“It was me trying to emulate the music I loved — putting disparate pieces together. I’d always been interested in mash-ups by bands like Massive Attack and De La Soul who used samples. 

“Sometimes you just put lots of things together and it’s a sort of Frankenstein’s monster that’s fascinating but doesn’t particularly work, but with some tracks there was something there that was more than just novelty value and Hypntz was one of those. 

“I thought it was the best of the things I’d done and explained to everyone exactly what I was about. 

Nightmare

I didn’t think it would ever be released officially as I thought it would be a nightmare to get the clearances for the samples.”

However, the track started to get big attention and soon he had a record deal and it was decided to release it as a single. But a very big spanner was about to enter the works, from the most unexpected source.

“Everything was ready and we’d paid to make a video, then the night before we were due to film it we were told we couldn’t use any of the lyrics as the estate of the late Biggie Smalls has a policy of a 100 per cent veto on any adaptations of his work.”

Dan was particularly shocked that the block should come from that quarter and wrote a heartfelt letter to Biggie’s mother, who controls the estate.

“I said that I was a massive fan of his and I was in no way wanting to be disrespectful — if anything it was meant as a tribute to him. I was shocked because in a way I think it’s a bit hypocritical when so many hip hop acts use samples a lot. It’s ironic they should be protective over the use of their work.”

Re-recorded

That left Dan with a problem. In the end he wrote new lyrics and re-recorded the whole thing in two weeks.

“It was soul-destroying to have to go back to it but I’m really proud of the end result.”

Dan was formerly in an indie band called The Servant but decided to leave while they were still enjoying considerable success in Europe. He explained why.

“I wanted to see what I could achieve on my own. I was just young enough and dumb enough to feel like having another shot. 

“I think it was a bit selfish too. I’d accrued a lot of skills in the band and wanted to try them out all on my own and so everything was 100 per cent my idea, even down to what the T-shirts looked like.”

Dan has also decided to base himself at his home in Paris rather than the UK.

“I don’t know too many people in Paris and I’m not great at the language so in a way it’s made me live in a bubble and given me the freedom to really focus on the music. In London I’d be too distracted. 

“I just thought ‘Why not?’ Also, because The Servant were popular on the continent rather than in the UK it was like putting two fingers up to the UK,” he laughed.

Eurostar

Living in Paris but working with a UK label means Dan has become something of an expert on the Eurostar. 

“They’ve given me a special pass so I can use the posh lounges even though I usually travel in the cheapest seats,” he boasted. The French connection’s also given him a play on words for the album title.

“Un is the perfect prefix. I wanted this album to be un-rock, un-hip hop, un-everything, and of course ‘Un’ is French for ‘one’, which works for a debut album. We’ve jokingly said the second album should be a silly party record called Duh! (as in deux).”

Dan’s enjoyment of mixing different styles of music means whenever he hears songs he tends to start thinking about what he can do with them.

“It’s a bit like when a builder walks into your new house. A part of him will be seeing how the electrics were put in,” he laughed.

Symphonies should cement Dan’s place as one of Britain’s brightest new stars.

For more about Dan, go to his official website at www.danblacksound.com

Blast back to the past with 
Jackie Summer Special CDs

At its peak Jackie magazine, which D.C. Thomson published from 1964 till 1993, sold a million copies a week and was the teen bible of its time.

It signalled the start of the teenybop phenomenon with its popular mix of pin-ups, make-up, music and romance.

Jackie Summer Special is a three-CD collection of pure nostalgia.

Following on from the massive success of the previous two albums the Jackie team have worked tirelessly to uncover some fantastic forgotten and classic gems, so this time the tracks come courtesy of some of the biggest stars of the ’70s (all of whom graced the magazine at some point) including summer favourites from ABBA, Cat Stevens, David Cassidy, Rod Stewart, Elton John and The Beach Boys.

Great tunes

The set really is packed full of great tunes and some that are hard to get hold of.

Disc 1 features the Jackson 5’s brilliant ABC as well as Mississippi by Pussycat and McGuinness Flint’s When I’m Dead And Gone.

Disc 2’s standout tracks include Diana Ross with Remember Me and George McCrae’s Rock Your Baby.

The third disc features Roxy Music’s classic Virginia Plain and the great Boz Scaggs with Lido Shuffle.

With other tracks from Wings, Suzi Quatro and Slade this is sure to bring back loads of memories and will have you merrily singing along in minutes.

I have 10 copies of this great new compilation to give away this week.

How to enter

To have a chance of being one of the lucky winners to receive a copy, send in the answer to this question —

To have a chance of being one of the lucky winners, send in the answer to the question on page 35 of the June 28 edition of The Sunday Post. For info on subscribing to the paper, click here. 

Just email your answer to rhythm@sundaypost.com with the subject as “Jackie Summer Special Competition” by clicking on the above link and adding your answer, name, address and daytime phone number to the email it should create.

First 10 correct entries drawn on Friday, July 3, win a copy each.

Employees of D.C.Thomson & Co. Ltd, and their close relatives, may not enter. The Editor’s decision is final. This is a joint promotion between The Sunday Post and Virgin Records.

Pop news

Madonna’s big goodbye

News is beginning to filter out about what the record companies have lined up for the second half of the year. It’s still early days but two major releases for the autumn leap out from the list. 

Firstly there’s the career retrospective from Madonna. It’s her farewell present to Warners and will be one of the biggest releases of the year but there’s no firm date for its release yet.

Similarly an important release for all rock fans is the new album from Muse. Their last really pushed them into the big league and this new one is guaranteed to be huge. So far the date and even the title are still under wraps. 

There’ll also be new albums in September from David Gray and Mark Knopfler while the Arctic Monkeys will continue their chart-conquering ways with a brand new collection of songs on August 24. 

It’s a fact that chart statistics can bring on the sweats for some music fans.

For example, Mariah Carey is rapidly closing in on The Beatles as the artist with the most US Number One singles. She’s currently on 18, just two behind the Fab Four. 

Don’t place any bets that she won’t get closer when her next single, Obsessed, is released later in the year. Word is that it has all the hallmarks of another global hit.

Albums of the Month	June 2009
Passion Pit Manners (Columbia) This is a truly scintillating debut from yet another up-and-coming US act featuring fantastic upbeat electro-pop with great melodic strength and rhythmic inventiveness.  Thanks to catchy tunes and bags of synthesizers, this is in many ways reminiscent of last year’s breakthrough act, MGMT. If their album was the sound of last summer then this collection should be this year’s.  Guaranteed to put a smile on the face of even the most jaded music fan.
Ciara Fantasy Ride (Jive) The huge success of Rihanna and Beyonce has made the other R&B divas raise their game a notch. So this isn’t an album with a few great tracks and a lot of fillers.  Instead it’s packed with high-quality choice cuts in a variety of styles from the funky and dancey to the sultry ballad and Ciara shows she’s adept at them all. With some great guest artists in Justin Timberlake and Ludacris, it’s obvious she also has friends in high places. Ciara has come up with what’s likely to be one of the best R&B albums of the year.
Green Day 21st Century Breakdown (Reprise) ThIS follow-up to their all-conquering American Idiot has been a long time coming. The rumour was they were determined to create an epic and in a way they have.  It’s a full-blown concept album split into acts — a rock opera, if you like. With a lengthy running time and lots of tracks, it’s a dense listen at one sitting, especially as there are few varied musical arrangements.  Whatever their grandiose aims, when it comes to the lyrics this is quite simplistic pop-rock, albeit played with a feverish intensity. There are plenty of singalong moments and the production is flawless.  Instead of a major artistic statement they’ve made an above-average pop-rock album.
Gary Go Gary Go (Polydor) If someone played you the opening track Open Arms and said it was the new Coldplay single you’d believe them. However there’s a lot more to this debut as Gary has a songwriting talent which saw him chosen to support Take That on tour.  This is warm, uplifting music with a polished, uncluttered production that really lets the songs shine. Great melodies and heartfelt lyrics all add up to a strong package.
Paolo Nutini Sunny Side Up (Atlantic) PAOLO made a huge impact with his debut album and on this follow-up he decided to change his sound — adding a rootsier feel.  So much so that, on listening to the opening reggae track 10/10 (one of the album highlights) you may wonder if you have the right disc as it sounds so different to what you’d expect. If fine songwriting and good singing is your cup of tea, you won’t go wrong with this. Tori Amos Abnormally Attracted To Sin (Island) You never quite know what you’re going to get with a Tori Amos album but this is one of the better ones.  She’s held some of her more quirky tendencies at bay here, relying on simple piano-led arrangements, often with little else added to the mix. Her voice is in fine fettle and the songs are more instantly accessible than some of her past output.  Tori’s said she wanted this to be an album her fans would treasure and in that she’s undoubtedly succeeded. New York Dolls Coz I Sez So (Rhino) The legendary US punk band’s fourth studio album in more than 30 years is hugely entertaining, with lots of variety and played with an unexpected exuberance and confidence.  Whether it’s the rifftastic rock of the opening track, the tender bluesy ballads or the foot-tapping country rock, you’ll be hooked.  Laura Izibor Let The Truth Be Told (Atlantic) IRISH SINGER Laura Izibor has come up with a debut collection of traditional R&B that oozes class.  Gimmick-free production allows her excellent voice to shine on her great soul songs with a gospel tinge. Four years in the making, this worthy album may struggle to find a niche in a hugely crowded marketplace.

© All copyright D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd., 2009