An artist needs to exist in their own space.
It's no use simply copying what's been done before – does the world really need more cover artists? – a songwriter simply has to find their own voice.
Which is exactly what Dan Croll has done. The London based artist caught our attention at the tail end of last year, placing a number of tracks online. Humble mp3s with a idiosyncratic twist, debut release 'From Nowhere' bristled with a rare promise.
Croll himself admitted that he wasn't quite sure where his music slotted in. "Whatever is on around me makes it into my head. I always like to say it’s a balance between acoustic, folk and digital. I’m between two points. I don’t know what you’d call that, a genre that hasn’t got a name".
He's got a point. New track 'Compliment Your Soul' opens with rolling piano chords, like some chopped up, spewed out version of honky tonk. Stripped back to reveal an acoustic guitar, Dan Croll's voice is one part angelic and one part rough hewn Americana – throw in some programmed beats and you have an intoxicating little mystery.
Rousing, stirring stuff 'Compliment Your Soul' is the sound of a true believer, brushing past genre boundaries as if they were strangers on Oxford Street.
Listen to it below.
