Last year we featured former Death to the Strange singer Daniel Clarke's re-emergence as he debuted new material as part of Boat Sessions. The set captured Daniel in good spirits after DTTS sadly came to a premature halt. The new songs were upbeat and highlighted the talent and likeability of the singer/songwriter. The material also hinted at a change of direction with the former frontman morphing into a solo troubadour (see previous Salford Star article - click here).
The quality of the material didn't go unnoticed, and Daniel has now signed a deal with Salford label German Shepherd Records... "I have known the guys from German Shepherd for many years and there has always been some interest there from them, and vice versa in the way that I've always followed what they are doing" he explains.
"They are great people and they release a lot of material which I'm fond of" he adds "The deal came about when I put on Facebook that I had a new single, and then me and the label started chatting and it went from there really; things progressed really quickly."
It looks like a good fit for both parties with German Shepherd boasting a great line-up, including some of the region's best and most interesting acts like Poppycock, Monkeys in Love and Four Candles.
Trampin' Stampin' is the first Daniel Clarke solo release; it's an off-the-wall acoustic anthem that channels the early brilliance of James and is inspired by Tom Waits. It's a quirky acoustic track that may surprise fans of Death to the Strange.
"I think the songwriting is constantly changing due to different experiences and changes that happen in your life" says Daniel "Also there were always ideas that I had when I was in the band that I'd never suggest and we wouldn't use because the style may be different and not fitting to the setup that we had.
"It was great being in a band and I wouldn't rule that out in the future but it's also nice to have 100% artistic control over what I'm doing and freedom to explore different styles and genres, and work with many other musicians" he adds "For example I recently featured on a Drum n Bass track which I wrote the words for and sang on. The track is called Jump in Deep and is produced by my brother Ablaze."
Daniel says that more releases will follow after Trampin' Stampin'... "I am working hard and keeping myself busy on the creative side at the moment, so there will be more recordings and an EP, and a launch to come as soon as I can really depending on how quickly things come together."
Trampin' Stampin' by Daniel Clarke is out on German Shepherd Records February 9th
For more details see the German Shepherd Records Facebook page - click here
Words by Ian Leslie
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