Public Servant Lifestyle

Ships by Danielson

Danielson's summer blockbuster-in-the-making is out this month as the band set out on a mammoth US tour. It’s another ship-shape musical voyage from those bods at Secretly Canadian.

What's in a name? After eldest Smith sibling finished his senior art school project and released it in 1995 under the moniker, ‘Danielson’, he brought his four younger siblings and a few friends from childhood into the mix for the critically-acclaimed, Tell Another Joke At the Ol' Choppin' Block, calling the group, ‘Danielson Famile’. This was followed by the back-to-back concept albums, Alpha and Omega, in 1998 and 1999 under the name, ‘Tri-Danielson’.

It was a long and confusing study in the three sides of music-making: Famile, Brother, and Ship. The follow-up release was Danielson Famile's Fetch the Compass Kids, celebrating family. Then came Br. Danielson's Brother Is To Son, celebrating personal identity and community. Now emerges the new long-player Ships, in many ways the resolution of that musical voyage.

Opening arms wider than ever, Daniel made a long list of artists who have worked with Danielson over the years and other folks who planned to work together at some point. This list led to working with family, making new friends, and keeping the old. All joined together - both the well-known (Deerhoof, Sufjan Stevens, Why?) and not as well-known artists (Sereena Maneesh, Leopulde, Half-handed Cloud) - each bringing his or her own skills and ideas to Daniel's songs and voice, resulting in this crowning achievement.

This massive project has spilled over into an ongoing 7" series of working with the friends for whom there wasn't any more room on the full length. It has brought Danielson back from whence it came, by returning to the eponymous ‘Danielson’ moniker and reuniting old friends and collaborators.

Mythology

There's no avoiding that what began as a senior thesis project a decade ago has evolved into a musical world so rich with musicality and merry-making that the first six albums and ten years of touring pomp alone could nourish the most scrutinizing of thrill-seekers. Mythology-hounds have found in Danielson the full package - tuning into their frequency (whether on headphones or at a party) can be as deeply rewarding in a literary-visual-musical way as with canonical acts such as Sun Ra, Parliament and the thin white duke himself, Mr. David Bowie.

The full tracklisting for Ship shapes up like:

Ship The Majestic Suffix
Cast It At The Setting Sail
Bloodbook On The Halfshell
Did I Step On Your Trumpet
When It Comes To You
Lazy
Two Sitting Ducks
My Lion Sleeps Tonight
Kids Pushing Kids
Time That Bald Sexton
He Who Flattened Your Flame Is Getting Torched
Five Stars and TwoThumbs Up

(Click on the link on track Did I Step On Your Trumpet to listen to the MP3 of the track for free on the Secretly Canadian website).

With Danielson, there's no hard distinction between the visuals (costumes and graphics) and the music from this group from suburban Clarksboro, New Jersey. "One enters your heart through your eyes, one through your ears," says Daniel. In the past they have sported hand-made, old-fashioned doctors' and nurses' uniforms while performing as a "visual reminder of the healing taking place."

Daniel has worn a nine-foot tall, hand-made nine-fruit tree to 'bear the good fruit'. And now Danielson will perform live in new hand-made uniforms, still wearing their trademark 'hearts-on-sleeves', with their names on their chests. This new uniform is inspired by the drawings and colors from the Ships artwork and the album's inspiration of creative community.

Danielson’s extensive back catalogue is available from their label (six albums, three of them double CD sets) and the band are touring North America throughout May, June and July. Ships is released on CD and vinyl long-player 9 May, on Secretly Canadian.

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