Daniel Amedee is living proof that a musician can be from New Orleans, but not necessarily be of New Orleans, a distinction that courses through his quirky, eccentric songwriting style, informed by a haunting bluesy vocalese that scratches the soul somewhere between Tom Waits and Captain Beefheart, and certainly belies Daniel’s 29 years.
In fact, he’s been at it – writing and producing his own music (and getting by with a little help from his friends) since age 14. Which prompts the question: How and where did this unassuming bundle of talent come to be inhabited by the avant garde spirits of progressive rock and guerilla classical that suffuse his debut CD, Themes From (ExPat Records, 2011) and it’s follow-up Climbing (Arabella Music, 2013)? Which led to his EP Everything Will Change (2016).
After the release of Climbing in 2013, Daniel spent two years touring the United States and Canada. He’s performed from LA to New York, from Vancouver to Montreal, and everywhere in between. When the time came to record a new record, Daniel settled in at a new studio in New Orleans, Record Office Records, built by his long time friend Michael O’Keefe in an old law office around the same 1978 Trident board Herb Alpert had with A&M Records in LA. The result was Everything Will Change, released on Feb. 2nd 2016 through Planetary Music Group.
Daniel’s second EP Life, also recorded at Record Office Records with O’Keefe, is set for release this August through Planetary Music Group and Record Office Records / Saguna Records. Daniel will also be touring the US and Canada through the end of this year with his band Daniel Amedee & Gold Light.
In this interview, we chat with Daniel about his newest single “The Only God Is You” as well as his influences and more.
Full Q&A, links, and streams below.
Let’s dive a little deeper into You, the artist and your music. What attracted you to this genre(s) or style(s)?
I think I evolved into my current style of acoustic driven indie rock kind of just by default. I played bass and toured in rock bands for about 8 years and eventually the lifestyle just got old and I wanted something different so I started touring on my own, doing the ambient folk/rock thing because of how enjoyable it was overall.
How long have you been creating and sharing your music with the public?
For a bit over a decade now. I saw a bit of success when I was living in Cork City, Ireland playing in a band called Remma from 08-11 and before that I think my punk band out of New Orleans started playing in 03 or 04 and that was a lot of fun but never really went anywhere minus some small tours around the states.
Who or what influences your playing and/or writing? Also, what motivates you to keep going?
Life and people and being human in general has been my biggest inspiration as of late. I’ve been asking myself the what keep’s me going question a lot lately actually, ha! I think my reasons for motivation are shifting. I used to do it because I loved the lifestyle and I was a bit hell bent on being on the road all the time but now I’m starting to look at music differently, maybe it’s because I’m almost 30, ha!
Were you trying to accomplish anything specific on this new project? Creatively or otherwise?
I don’t think I had a specific goal with this record other than taking five of the songs I had written that fit with the theme and feeling of life and making a cohesive EP out of them. I write a lot based on the feeling of the music and kind of less in terms of content. I like to feel my way through writing and with this EP I put together 5 tracks that had the same overall vibe.
What was the last song you listened to?
Lately I’ve been listening to an Indonesian Gamelan record by Sekar Anjar called The Exotic Sounds of Bali, so probably the last song off of that record but I don’t remember the name of it. It’s crazy. It’s this beautiful gamelan music and then out of nowhere they go into crazy breakdowns and what I can only describe as blast beats on mallet percussion.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
All of it honestly. I love vinyl because it feels like a complete artistic package but I spend most of my life on the road in a van so CD’s and Mp3’s are pretty perfect.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
I’ve actually never used Spotify or Apple Music. I usually just pull something up on YouTube, force of habit. But I really like SoundCloud as an artist platform and ReverbNation has a great EPK format.
Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what are one or two of the biggest challenges you face when trying to attract listeners to your music?
I have no idea, I try not to think about it. I really love what I do and I work hard to do it so I hope the rest falls into place. There’s too many variables to try and control anything.
Do you gig, tour or perform? Do you ever live stream? Where can music lovers see you live?
I’ve been touring full time for the last few years. Right now I’ve been focusing on the US and Canada. I haven’t had the opportunity to get back over to Europe in 5 years or so. All my dates are listed on www.danielamedee.com.
Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more of your music?
Any last thoughts? Shout outs? Words of wisdom?
Thanks for doing the interview with me! I really appreciate it. My new EP “Life” comes out on August 16th on all the major platforms and you can buy hand made packages off my BandCamp page.
