Introducing: Dan Black

Hmmm.... I must be losing my touch. It seems that I should have posted about Dan's lovely mix of electro and pop sensibility about.... two months ago? But after semi-forgetting his first single "Yours" I simply could not overlook him as soon as "Alone" came out. Firstly because "Alone" is a far superior single and more grown-up in a strange little way but also because it reminded me of how catchy and intoxicating his material was in the first place.

But alas, Dan was left to gather dust on the shelf while life took me by the reins and told me not to associate with the blog until I'd got my act together (although nothing bad happened - just a busy period). But now I'm sitting having a good blog day and I'm here to say something along the lines of: Dan Black is the next big thing, and if he's not then something has gone seriously wrong down the line.

Okay, so here's the lowdown: Dan lives in Paris and has done so for quite some time. He used to be part of a band but admits that he was the cause of their break-up, specifically that his perfectionism drove the other members to the insane asylum. So I assume that our Dan is a bit of a bedroom boffin who tweaks his controls in an attempt to get his own perect sound. And perhaps he has. Dan has mixed together some different styles, added some bass guitar and his own strangely affecting voice (okay so maybe it's more aggressive in "Yours" but its certinaly meek at points in "Alone") to create something quite magical.

Despite being undoubtedly mainstream material, there is something to his songs that screams underground and rough-around-the-edges. There is a slighty rustic feel to his approach to electro that gives it the edge over others - if Hot Chip are the polished princes of the genre, then surely Dan is like the aspirational squire. It's modern and entirely danceable. And he's just brilliant. That was the summary: I adore Dan Black.

Video to "Alone":