Danielson | |
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Background information | |
Origin | Clarksboro, New Jersey, U.S. |
Genres | |
Years active | 1994–present |
Labels | |
Members | Daniel Smith Andrew Smith David Smith Megan Slaboda Rachel Galloway Elin Smith Christiaan Palladino Melissa Palladino Sufjan Stevens Lenny Smith Lilly Smith Ida Smith Jedidiah Slaboda Elyse O'Grady Paul McGuigan |
Website | soundsfamilyre |
Danielson is an American rock band from Clarksboro, New Jersey, that plays indie pop gospel music. The group consists of frontman Daniel Smith and a number of various artists with whom he collaborates. Smith has also released solo work as Brother Danielson.
When joined by his family the band is known as Danielson Famile or Danielson Family, whose members have included Smith; his "siblings Andrew, David, Megan, and Rachel; wife Elin; friends Christiaan & Melissa Palladino; [and] daughters Lilly and Ida". [1] Sufjan Stevens has also recorded and performed with the group.
The band is known for Smith's squeaky, falsetto vocals, innovative musical arrangements, and matching uniforms "that act, according to Daniel, as 'visual reminders of the spiritual and emotional healing taking place' within audience members." [2] During some performances Smith has "worn a nine-foot tall, hand-made nine-fruit tree to 'bear the good fruit,'" [3] in reference to the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
In 1993, while attending Rutgers University as a senior, Daniel Smith experienced a spiritual reawakening:
"This was the year I stopped running away from home, picked up my acoustic guitar again and changed from being Dan back to Daniel. I woke up to the fact that I have an amazing family, an amazing childhood and I began to relate everything I was thinking and doing with this in mind... I began reading the Bible and praying again and songs and art started flowing. I would meet with my dad and talk philosophy and theology and I became a child again." [4]
Smith has cited the major influence his musician father had on him growing up and the importance of lyrical content. [5] Smith began recording songs that would later compose the album A Prayer for Every Hour: "some from my solo 4-track, some with my friends Jason Faunce and Missy Forsyth backing and some with my brothers and sisters backing. Danielson became the name of the songs that I write. I had become "Daniel" and realized that I am a son." [4] He submitted the album as his final thesis (and received an 'A' grade) and performed, joined by his siblings, at the senior art show. Smith then sent the album out to several indie labels but only received a response from Tooth & Nail in California, who picked up the album and released it in 1994. [4]
Daniel Smith, his siblings, and friend Chris Palladino began to perform in New York City, New Jersey, and Philadelphia as the "Danielson Famile." The group released Tri-Danielson!!! (Alpha) and Tri-Danielson!!! (Omega) in 1998 and 1999 respectively, earning them further college radio play and broadening their indie audience. Both LP's were recorded and produced by Kramer. The band became known for their onstage costumes (initially nurse uniforms with large red hearts sewn on) as well as their homemade T-shirts and other merchandise. While the lyrical content was unabashedly Christian, Danielson Famile nevertheless received strong press and support from secular audiences due to their musical inventiveness.
Danielson signed to Secretly Canadian Records in 2001 and released Fetch the Compass Kids , which was recorded by Steve Albini. Smith then released a solo record in 2004 ( Brother Is to Son ) as Brother Danielson. It was followed in May 2006 by the ambitious Ships , which featured contributions from a total of 20 musicians, including Deerhoof, Sufjan Stevens, Why?, Serena Maneesh, and Half-handed Cloud.
The band was chosen by Matt Groening to perform at the edition of the All Tomorrow's Parties festival he curated in May 2010 in Minehead, England.
In 2011, Smith released Best of Gloucester County , the first Danielson album released solely through his Sounds Familyre Records label. [6]
In June 2014, Danielson and Jad Fair (of Half Japanese) released a collaborative album "Solid Gold Heart". The album came about as part of Jad Fair's Artist In Residence project with Indianapolis label Joyful Noise Recordings. [7]
Daniel Smith has cited his musical influences as including "T.Rex, Rapeman, B.A.L.L., Syd Barrett, Bob Dylan, Bongwater, My Bloody Valentine, Beat Happening, Cypress Hill, Ween, Donovan, Sonic Youth, Royal Trux, Beatles, Half Japanese, A Tribe Called Quest, [David] Bowie, Can, Pixies, Minutemen, James Brown, Tom Waits, Daniel Johnston, Brian Eno, Larry Norman, Captain Beefheart and more." [4]
In addition to Danielson's music, Smith has recorded and produced albums by Sufjan Stevens, The Welcome Wagon, The Chairman Dances, Half-handed Cloud and others. [8]
Tooth & Nail Records is a record label founded by Brandon Ebel in California in November 1993. The label later moved to Seattle where it is today. Tooth & Nail has an imprint Solid State Records. BECRecordings is Christian rock record label that is an imprint of Tooth & Nail Records. The label was formed in 1997 in partnership with EMI Christian Music Group.
Sufjan Stevens is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has released ten solo studio albums and multiple collaborative albums with other artists. Stevens has received Grammy and Academy Award nominations.
Michigan is a concept album by American indie folk songwriter Sufjan Stevens, released on July 1, 2003, on Sounds Familyre, Asthmatic Kitty and Secretly Canadian in the US, and on Rough Trade in Europe. It is Stevens' third studio album and features songs referencing places, events, and persons related to the U.S. state of Michigan.
Damien Troy Jurado is an American singer-songwriter from Seattle, Washington, United States. Over the years, he has released albums on Sub Pop, Secretly Canadian, Loose, and is currently on his own label Maraqopa Records.
Seven Swans is an indie folk album by Sufjan Stevens, released on March 16, 2004 on Sounds Familyre Records. It is Stevens' fourth studio album and features songs about Christian spiritual themes, figures such as Abraham, and Christ's Transfiguration. The songs are primarily "lush acoustic compositions" with Stevens' banjo. It was recorded and produced by Daniel C. Smith, Sufjan's close friend. The album was released on compact disc by Sounds Familyre Records and vinyl LP; the vinyl was released by Burnt Toast Vinyl.
Illinois is a 2005 concept album by American singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens. His fifth studio album, it features songs referencing places, events, and persons related to the U.S. state of Illinois. Illinois is Stevens' second based on a U.S. state—part of a planned series of fifty that began with the 2003 album Michigan and that Stevens has since acknowledged was a joke. It was adapted into a musical, Illinoise, in 2023 and, after playing smaller venues, opened at the St. James Theatre on Broadway in April 2024.
Norman Blake is a Scottish singer, instrumentalist and songwriter in the Glasgow-based band Teenage Fanclub.
Mark Kramer known professionally as Kramer, is a musician, composer, record producer and founder of the New York City record label Shimmy-Disc. He was a full-time member of the bands New York Gong, Shockabilly, Bongwater, has played on tour with bands such as Butthole Surfers, B.A.L.L., Ween, Half Japanese and The Fugs, and has also performed regularly with John Zorn and other improvising musicians of New York City's so-called "downtown scene" of the 1980s.
Jadwin B. Fair is an American singer, guitarist, graphic artist, and founding member of lo-fi alternative rock group Half Japanese.
Soul-Junk is an experimental genre-hopping Christian rock and hip hop group from San Diego, California.
Half-handed Cloud is an American recording project, based in Helsinki, Finland since 2015. It was started in 1999 as a one-man band by John Ringhofer, who created the band name based on an occurrence in the Old Testament. The majority of Half-handed Cloud's albums have been released on Asthmatic Kitty Records. His previous band was Wookieback with Matthew Vollmer and Brandon Buckner. Ringhofer, a vegetarian, lived rent free in return for his custodial services at a church in Berkeley, CA for a decade. John Ringhofer has collaborated with Sufjan Stevens on Half-handed Cloud's What's The Remedy? 7-inch, among other works such as Thy Is A Word And Feet Need Lamps, and 2014's Flying Scroll Flight Control. Daniel Smith of Danielson and Sounds Familyre is credited for helping to establish Half-handed Cloud's early days, and has been a frequent collaborator with John Ringhofer.
Serena Maneesh is the debut album by Serena Maneesh. The album was partly recorded in Steve Albini's respected Electrical Audio Recordings studio in Chicago as well as in various facilities in New York City and Oslo. Contributors to the album include Sufjan Stevens, Martin Bisi and co-producer Daniel Smith of Danielson Famile.
The Avalanche is a 2006 compilation album by indie rock singer/songwriter Sufjan Stevens, consisting of outtakes and other recordings from the sessions for his album Illinois, released the previous year. The title song "The Avalanche" was also a bonus track on the Illinois vinyl and iTunes release.
Ships is the seventh full-length album by New Jersey indie rock band Danielson. The album was a massive collaboration among Daniel Smith and various other musicians.
Joyful Noise Recordings is an independent record label with headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana. The label was founded in 2003 in Bloomington, Indiana by Karl Hofstetter, who also played drums on several of the label's first releases. Joyful Noise maintains an active roster of over 30 bands playing various musical styles, though according to the label, each artist "in one way or another bridges the gap between pop and noise."
It's Spooky is a collaborative album by musicians Jad Fair and Daniel Johnston. It was first released in 1989 on 50 Skidillion Watts Records, under the title Jad Fair and Daniel Johnston. Although receiving praise from critics and fans alike, the record was commercially overlooked. Both Johnston and Fair play the majority of instruments, including vocals, guitars, piano, keyboards and drums.
Racebannon was an American noise punk band from Bloomington, Indiana. The band, formed in September 1996, have cited influence ranging from Antioch Arrow to the Melvins, and have also stated that they're heavily influenced by hardcore, hip-hop, heavy metal, jazz, and the blues. The band's sound is noted for being odd and experimental, and the group has been dubbed as "noise rock" or "noise metal" by critics. Since their formation, the band has released numerous albums, extended plays, and splits through a variety of labels, such as Secretly Canadian and Level Plane.
June Panic is an American singer-songwriter from Grand Forks, North Dakota. He has collaborated with musicians such as Heidi Gluck and LonPaul Ellrich.
Sounds Familyre Records is an independent record label based in Clarksboro, New Jersey, started and managed by Danielson founder Daniel Smith, who created the label in 1999.
Wow to the Deadness is an EP by Steve Taylor & The Danielson Foil, a temporary collaboration between the supergroup Steve Taylor & The Perfect Foil and Daniel Smith of Danielson. Recorded in 2015 at Electrical Audio in Chicago, Illinois, and produced by Steve Albini, the EP was released on February 5, 2016, through Steve Taylor's Splint Entertainment and Smith's Sounds Familyre Records.