Despite the fact that Canon Blue is a Nashville artist, I heard about the project rather indirectly, via another music blog (and one that wasn't actually located in Nashville). In fact, I didn't even realize that Daniel James (the man behind Canon Blue) was local until I had already fallen in love with his debut album, Colonies. It's atmospheric, dreamy, electronic laptop pop - James actually dubs his music "electro-billy" in this interview - and it's strikingly different than most of what's coming out of Nashville right now.
Canon Blue is on one of the most "experimental" bills of Next Big Nashville - tomorrow (Thursday) night at The Anchor along with Hollow Ox, Timbre and The Ascent of Everest. Definitely a great example of some of the different styles NBN and Nashville have to offer. Daniel agreed to answer a few questions so we can learn more about Canon Blue.
Can you tell me a little bit about your background? How long have you been performing, and if you're not originally from Nashville, how did you end up here?
I grew up in Virginia in between the James and York rivers. My grandmother taught me how to play piano and then I taught myself guitar a few years later. I started my first band in middle school (in Virginia) with Gavin Mcdonald, who now plays drums for Paper Route. I ended up in Nashville, because I got tired of driving.
Please describe your music in five words or less.
Electro-billy
You released your (wonderful) debut album, Colonies, last year - are you already planning a follow-up?
Thanks. I've started working on a few new ideas. I'm trying to be a little more intentional this time as Colonies was more of a bedroom/laptop record, and was more about trying to turn sound experiments into songs. Now I'm trying to start by writing songs first and then coloring them in later with more interesting tones and instruments.
What can we expect from your show at Next Big Nashville?
I have about 3 different versions of the show depending on who's around or in town. So I probably won't know until the day before the show what's going to happen. So it may be really good or it may be disaster, but hopefully it will be entertaining on some level.
I see you're heading to Sweden and Denmark just a week after the festival - what's taking you overseas, and what do you miss about Nashville when you're away?
My label, Rumraket, is based in Copenhagen, so this tour is with a bunch of Rumraket artists. Most everyone else on the label lives in Denmark and Sweden so it makes more sense to play shows there than to get everyone to come to the US. When I'm away from Nashville I mainly miss my friends and Baja Burrito.
Are there any albums you can't live without when you're out on the road?
It changes every time but Nick Cave is always around. Scott Walker, Cristian Vogel, Radiohead, et al.
Canon Blue will be playing Next Big Nashville on Thursday, September 11 at 8:45 p.m. at The Anchor. Daniel also has a DJ set at the festival on Friday, September 11 at 8:30 p.m. at 12th and Porter. Visit http://nbn08.sched.org to view the full festival schedule, or create an account to plan and share your own schedule.
Check out more of Out the Other's Guide to Next Big Nashville 2008.
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