David Karsten Daniels

David Karsten Daniels is/was one of the members of Go Machine, the subject of yesterday's post. When you listen to his solo music, it becomes pretty easy to pick out his contribution to Go Machine -- the sparse, delicate guitar and tenor voice that often convey an echo of Iron & Wine. (And his beard is nearly as impressive as Sam Beam's. He must hate that comparison -- sorry!)

He has recorded three solo albums, and there are selections from these below. He's also maintaining a blog and posting demos of music he's in the progress of writing. This is fascinating, as you can hear, for instance, the progression of a song from its bare bones to a more fully developed version.

MP3: "Twin Peaks II" [128 kbps/1.6MB]
-- piano and violin, very cinematic
MP3: "Jesus and the Devil" [128 kbps/3.8 MB]
MP3: "What the Bleep Do We Know" [128 kpbs/3.1 MB]
(demos)


MP3: "Goodbye" [128 kbps/3.4 MB]
-- this is an album about a breakup, and this is the sound of heartbreak
MP3: "Siamese Hearts" [128 kbps/1.1 MB]
-- this is, maybe, some hope for the future
(from Angles, Bu Hanan 2004. Buy it here.)

MP3: "Honda '85" [128 kbps/6.8 MB]
-- still sparse, but sounds lush by comparison to the rest, with a wider instrumentation that includes strings and marimba
(from Out From Under Ligne 4, Bu Hanan 2001. Buy it here.)

MP3: "L'Evolution Rien" [128 kbps/4.9 MB]
-- very delicate guitar and vocals
(from The Mayflower, Bu Hanan 2000. Sold out.)

Tomorrow: another direction away from Go Machine.