!!ALBUM RELEASED AUGUST 7th!!

preview tracks here & up to date gig list : http://www.myspace.com/arborise

Well Hello once again, it’s been a while, well 6 months pretty much to the day since I put fingers to plastic… that’s ok - a blog half-sabbatical…..

I have no excuses to proffer, perhaps the cold, cold winter and the fact my computer resided in a cold, cold cellar masquerading as a kitchen, living room and music studio, which then drove me outside at any hint of warmth and sunlight, and led me to spend as little time as humanely possibly by the screen….

But now things are different, it’s so hot eggs cook on my windowsill and the chugging internet machine is upstairs, with skylights open, natural light illuminates the world and a gulf breeze floats warmly by….


So what happened in the last six months? That’s a great ‘what’, as my memory is of questionable use at the best of times……

Well of course the album got finished – we went back in the studio after listening to the first draft of the whole thing……… re-recorded ‘let me be’ as the first version was a damp squib, had another ‘wrap party’ and ended up at Simon Heyworth’s on snowy Dartmoor mastering it…….An amazing experience - mysterious boxes lying around with ‘Nick Drake’ written on the side, the whole studio in an old stone roundhouse, Mr Heyworth recounting tales of recording Gong albums…..was a privilege to be there, many thanks again…… Thanks also to Jon Hopkins and Mike Studio for giving up almost everything make folky music…

The art got done, eventually, after a few false starts……Outdoor shoots with myself and myself only, setting up a tripod and then sprinting up a muddy slope to ‘pose cool’ before the shutter snapped, amazing wintry light filtering through the trees, and the fresh cold air…..then endless hours at the screen in the cellar, feet going mouldy and fingers freezing…. But we got there in the end, and produced something visually which I think matches the music…. Many thanks to Mr Tim Lattimore for sorting the thing out at the end and of course doing to typography……

There’s been some gigs, of course big love to all who came and enjoyed/left…..more strange adventures round the nooks and crannies of the country, meeting the people of the land and all that….thanks for all who put me on and looked after me…All the way up to Kirkcaldy and back again like a yoyo….good to be back in Scotland for a few days……..Really looking forward to the summer dates and doing it all again, the weird nomadic rocknroll thang….any offers for free chauffeur service will be entertained…..

Friday nights at the Ship Aground have been a treat, ale and music staving the dark eves….the moon helped too….walking the cliff path in the silvery light after the Ilfracombe gig…….

I think I emerged from the cold coma in May somehow, we had a week of sun, two weeks of damp drizzle and torrential, and since then its been positively tropical innit….First swim was palpitating, sea is warm enough now to stay in, and strangely the East Lyn River was warmer before…... Llama festival was great fun, busking ‘to the sea’ through a little amp by the sea wall, then Bert Jansch turning up to judge! Didn’t win though, must have forgotten his spectacles…

Everything has bloomed in top quick time after cold May, and now we are are blanketed in the greenest leaves and the headiest pollen….

Hooe’s and Exit Kernow festivals, wicked weather and top folk…..did a little duet with Jon Hopkins at Kernow, and promptly hit the Skinner’s and 7.5% cider……

We disappeared to the West Penwith Peninsula for solstice time, place of magick…..9 basking sharks in Porthcurno bay……wow…. Trurorian Wooden Hand beer…..

So what looms? Well August 7th is the date for the album…..I think a digital ep is out the week before…..Looking forward to the festivals for music in the countryside under the heavenly roof….meeting the loons up and down the country… going to Scotland for September and October….going for a swim here in North Devon and then a Tribute after….

So it’s all gogogo, see you out on the road or lurking the lunary shadows….i may add more if I remember…do remind me of anything I may have……

For now and till then, enjoy the sun….

Dan x

GREETINGS IN THE NEW-YEAR

Hope everyone did whatever they would have liked to do in the holiday season .... peace and surprises for the coming year!

WINTER GIGS

got a trio of support slots in January:

11th January @ Club Phoenix, The Queen's Head, Ilfracombe, N Devon 8pm £8-10 approx

27th January @ Begin With Simplicity, The Alma ,95 Church Road,Crystal Palace ,London SE19 7pm £FREE

28th January @ Colourhouse Theatre, Merton Abbey Mills, London SW19 7pm £7 approx
only 100 tickets available - info at www.surreystrings.co.uk / 020 8542 2277

ok more on everything soon.....

Blizzard'd in Wales

So, standing at Morte Point and gazing out onto South Wales, and then off down the A361 to circumnavigate the Channel to actually get there. Off to visit our oceanic neighbours and partners in coastal dwelling, the Pembrokeshire folk...

Easy travelling there and arrived at the Queen's Hall Narberth, an up-and-coming venue, run by fine fellow Ashley with help from Jo... gobsmacked was I, as a home-cooked Indian feast was served up in the performers' honour. Lesser promoters take note...this was artist relations at their most shining.

So it was no.2 of the new Queen's Hall acoustic night, and as the promise of snow and high winds gusted outdoors the hardy SouthWaleans filled the now cosy hall, congenial calm atmosphere pervaded and some local talent took the stage. All impressive stuff and special mention to Lowri Evans whose Welsh-sung songs were magical..

So off to the stage for me, and string break after the first song...bah...and forgot about the spares.... luckily a spare guitar from Robbie Price was offered, but the bugger had tuned it to some dyslexic monstrosity (only kidding mate) and spun me out so Lowri's guitar player, Lee, offered me his posh Taylor (which i pranged and almost flung off the stage) and then changed my string on my trusty Yammie....what a gent you are, i owe you a string!

The set was great though for that, lots of fun and we got some got some good shit going too...

here's a review :

http://www.pembrokeshiretv.com/content/templates/nContent1.aspx?articleid=890&zoneid=32

Many thanks to all the amazing Pembrokshire denizens who made me feel like part of the flock, especially Ashley and Jo, but special mentions to sound-soundman Bruce and Doylie + pals for your gift which I have been enjoying! :)

What a chilled and sound lot you all are, must be the water....

Anyway, the next day, leaving Pembroke, the wind blew hard, but no snow... leaving the coast, heading north to meet the A40 (one road in/one road out), cars appeared from t'other direction , ominously with thick snow flying atop their roofs. The sky darkened, the A477 was closed.. Snow fell , gently at first, then blizz'rdds, reducing once mobile automobiles to skidding goons. A40 closed now too, so I tried to reach Narberth and safety. A 5 minute journey took 45 minutes, and finally managed to park the car safely and took to my heels, avoiding marauding local snowball assassins, skidding and sliding to the local hosteliery... where many more strandees congregated. The Last room was mine, and there i stayed till the next day....snowed in in Narberth...

Album Update

Crumbs, it's getting there! almost done, myself , Jon Hopkins and Myke Studio shadows of men... but we're almost done.....
look out next Spring!

Swiss Pigeon

The first 'The Pigeon Hole' night at the sweaty dive of the St Moritz club....totally rammed, temperatures and oxygen soaring and disappearing... but what a blast, cheers to Team Pigeon for putting us on, cheers to all that came down.....and cheers to Champignon and Raph for accompanying melee...

Was a privilege to be involved in the first one, hopefully not the last...

I hear some 'big stars' are coming to Pigeon next year...look out! and look out for Phil Cosby, meanest mouth trumpet in Mithrashire..

GIG NEWS

Tuesday 15th November @ The Pigeon Hole,St Moritz Club, 159 Wardour Street, London W1V 3TA
£5 on door 7pm

www.pidgehole.blogspot.com

Thursday 24th November @ The Queen's Hall, Narberth , South Wales
£5 8pm
http://www.thequeenshall.org.uk/content/whatson/november-05.html

It's blowing a gale here in Devon, the autumnal winds seem to know the appropriate time to arrive and have stripped the trees of their leaves, perhaps even before they are quite ready to go...

More ferocious rain too, which has been pleasantly rattling our skylights, and generally providing plentiful water, which is a good thing. Although when the stream not twenty metres from the house started to burst its banks, I ventured into the torrential to the spate, wellies ankle-deep in water trying to convince myself that the house isn't below stream level...

Went to the local promontorial village t'other night to see some local music. Peter Bruntnell, a Mortehoeian, played a rocking alt-country set with spellbinding guitar from James Walbourne, wow. A impressive set of songs from Pete, and they finished on a Gorky's-esque droney jam, which was good.

Also Jim Jones of Small Town Mentality played some beautiful, melodic acoustic tunes. Oh how superb it is to go and see some top music in your local.

Vague plans for a regular acousticky-openmic type thing in the pub were hatched, which would be great...A pint or two and everyone playing songs on a dark windy eve in the cosy environs of your local tavern. ahhh, reminds me of Edinburgh days...

danseizure vs dan arborise

lo an behold, the jam of myself and danseizure post-greenman is up yonder :

http://www.theforest.org.uk/music/Danseizure/

'electronica played on wineglasses' as someone once somewhere might have said..

hello all...so I've travelled east back into the smoke and am in the studio once more with the inimitable Jon Hopkins and the irrefutable Mike Studio... both men purveyors of personality, fun and musical knowledge....

so we proceed ever onwards towards the completion of the album and the end is in sight!!

rather unbelievably sometimes i think, as it hasn't always been an easy road, but it sounds exactly as it should, it does itself justice, and no-one can ask for anymore than that.

So we are looking at a Spring release next year, 2006 , hopefully lots of gigs , parties, projecting my face onto the white cliffs of Dover , that kind of thing...

I hope people are enjoying the photos, they're of roundabouts where I live in North Devon, a beautiful spot if there ever was one, and one where i feel lucky to be able to lay my hat for the time being.

They are also comforting to look at when i'm feeling homesick in the basement in Bow, although Cafe Music has become a home from home, its always good to see 260 miles away too.

Had a interesting jam with my psychedelic cohorts Champignon and Raphael t'other day, and good it was....we recorded it and upon listening turned out to be a 20 min droney/flutey/groovey thang....I hope we shall do more soon, to release where who knows, will be enough for people to hear it.....maybe on the net?

Got some gigs on the near horizon in November, will post up details soon, bring a firework...

ok, thas all for now, see youse soon... x

Vegetable Udpate

We've been revelling in the jungle that is the garden, and our collecting bowls are full to the brim...

have we been eating kale, courgettes, broad,french and runner beans .... calabrese, onions and garlic ..... lettuce,peas and rocket ..... rasberries, gooseberries and apples ... potatoes,leeks and spinach .....

the food on the plate is there for the picking! but you must grow it!

Arborise Update

After a hectic and surreal summer, time to knuckle down and finish the album..... hopefully back in the studio by end of september.... and release it next year...
Get focused and demo the new songs....
and play live always, which is what music is about? any gig suggestions out there?
ok, roll on autumn once more ...
happiness and fun for all...
dan x

Greenmen and Greenvans

ok fellow fellows....
so off to the greenman, wending our way around and over the bristol channel and up through the black mountains, to Baskerville Hall near Hay-on-Wye ....

its an interesting festival this one, lots of music played for music fans and musicians by music fans and musicians..... everyone listens and everyone is nice to each other....

its heartening that we have lots of talent coming through, and doing things off/on their own steam rather that falling into traditional record industry traps...we hope anyway....

we saw much to please the ear, Joanna Newsom is very good and i liked Euros Childs (from Gorky's) solo set, skewed and beautiful.....

well the 'danseizure' set was wholeheartedly successful, was dan on laptop and harmonica, myself on delayguitar and ma.cheney of 'arctic circle' on juno... we ended up playing for 50mins and the audience was happy and clapping instead of afraid ... what did it sound like? well funnily enough, we just did a studio version here in devon and should be released when we can yes? good... watch out for 'dan vs dan' ..... 'heavy ambient' perhaps a description?

nice moon above the main stage at night, magic....