is a musician’s musician. A multi-talented figure, the songwriter’s work has expanded over the years, taking on orchestral flourishes in the process. New album ‘Winning Streak’ is his most ambitious to date – a sonorous song suite, he blends guitar and keys with vibraphone, flute, flugelhorn, and then piano and strings to name a few.
Over on Instagram, Dan has been walking fans through his studio, pulling out different instruments and discussing their place in his music. With ‘Winning Streak’ , CLASH invited Dan Croll to go deep on his new album, and the sonic palette it draws on.
Maybe they lean more towards the wonderful than the weird, but there was definitely something strange and new for me in using these instruments during the songwriting process for this new album. Having spent so many early years chasing what was popular, I’ve finally found myself going back to what I love most: a mixture of country, jazz, and orchestral pop that got me into music in the first place.
Track refs: Franki Valli – ‘Take My Eyes Off You‘, Dionne Warwick – , Cal Tjader –
The first time I heard a vibraphone I was 10 years old, sat in the back of my mum’s car listening to the Bridget Jones soundtrack on CD. I remember loving Franki Valli’s ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’, and whilst the anthemic chorus is so well known and loved, for me it was the vibraphone chords in the verse that really made it.
From there I started noticing it more and more in songs by artists my mum played around the house, like Dionne Warwick, Dusty Springfield, and Frank Sinatra. I’d never thought of using it before. I guess it’s not something that’s readily available in most studios I’ve been through, but for this album I was determined. Good friend Alex Temple-Heald squeezed his into the coffin-sized studio I recorded the album in, and for me it’s made this album what it is. There’s such a delicate elegance to the instrument that I’m going to find it hard not to use it on every track moving forward.
Track refs: Burt Bacharach – ‘The Look Of Love’, Chet Baker – ‘I Wish You Love’, Freddie Hubbard – ‘Here’s That Rainy Day’
My first instrument was the trumpet, and I think early on you’re just blasting out whatever you can as loud and crisply as possible. Early high school orchestra performances left me somewhat scarred by the piercing big band brass songs, and it became an instrument I never really went back to.
It was only a little later in life that I started to notice how soft and intimate brass can be. I remember discovering the flugelhorn through artists like Burt Bacharach, who used it so playfully, and Chet Baker, who made it sound like velvet to your ears. I was so annoyed I’d never known about it sooner and picked that over the cornet.
I got James Copus in to play on the record and it just added an extra layer of warmth and personality to the songs.
Track refs: Charlie Rich – ‘Can’t Even Drink The Pain Away’, Gary Stewart – ‘She’s Actin’ Single (I’m Drinkin’ Doubles)’, Nanci Griffith – ‘Love At The Five And Dime’
If you’re into country music then it’s certainly not weird, it’s essentially the backbone of the genre, but if you’ve not been lucky enough to experience the amazing world of classic country, then it’s a very strange-looking and sounding instrument.
It can weep and cry, it can pad and ground, it can feel both intimate and celestial when put through effects, and I just love it so much. I really started bringing it into my music around my third album ‘Grand Plan’ after taking a trip out to Richmond, Virginia to record, where good friend Alan Parker played on it. Since then, it’s been on pretty much everything I’ve done, whether you can hear it or not, and I think that’s the beauty of it: it can be used texturally in so many ways.
On this new album, ‘Winning Streak’, it’s Harry Bohay playing on a few of the tunes. I kept it pretty dry and upfront, keeping it as close as possible to those classic country songs I grew up with.
Track refs: The Mamas & The Papas – ‘California Dreamin’, Leonard Cohen – ‘True Love Leaves No Traces’, Herbie Mann – ‘Amor Em Paz (Love In Peace)’
Another instrument that, through early life, I thought only existed in the classical world, quite rigid and regal. However, I remember hearing ‘California Dreamin’ for the first time, the flute coming in on the bridge, and realising there were completely different worlds for the instrument.
Through jazz, psychedelic, rock, folk, and traditional music, it’s a hugely versatile instrument and one I’ve wanted to use for so long. Thankfully this album was the perfect one for it. My friend Imogen Morrall came down and we used it as a lead instrument, layered it into chords, and even imitated bird sounds on one song. I love how upfront and breathy it sounds, and I love it even more once it’s put through some spring reverb and echo.
Track refs: Frank Sinatra – ‘California’, Burt Bacharach – ‘This Guy’s In Love With You’, Colin Blunstone – ‘Her Song’
Not so weird, but definitely wonderful. Strings have probably been the backbone of the majority of music I love and grew up on, most notably the soaring, silky strings of crooners like Sinatra.
I think it’s every artist’s dream to have strings on their songs or play live with a string section, it’s certainly mine, but I guess where it became weird for me was in the way they were recorded on this album. Due to financial and spatial restrictions, working with a full string section wasn’t possible, but I knew it had to be part of the record.
The incredible Millie Ashton and Edwin Ireland came down to play violin and cello. I set them up one at a time, recorded a take, then moved them or the mic a few inches and recorded another. We repeated that process over and over, layering single violins and cellos until it sounded like a room full of them. It was arduous and complicated at times, but the end result felt so special: a string section we’d built ourselves that complemented the songs perfectly.
Dan Croll will release new album ‘Winning Streak’ on October 8th, .