Daniel Pearson (born 2 July 1982) is an English musician and songwriter from

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east ...

, England. He has released two studio albums as a solo artist, and plays guitar, bass guitar, keyboards and percussion on his releases, which have been acclaimed by national and international press and radio. He is primarily known as an indie/folk rock artist.

Early career and bands (1997–2010)

Southall (1997–2001)

At the age of 16, Pearson formed his first band with school friends. They released a series of limited-run studio recordings and played their first live shows at local musical landmark,

The New Adelphi Club The New Adelphi Club is a popular local venue for alternative live music in the city of Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It has achieved notability outside its local area, having hosted such bands as The Stone Roses, Radiohead, Green ...

. The band also played various regional and University

music festivals A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or ho ...

in Kingston upon Hull and

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

and were reviewed by local media. The band split in 2001 due to University commitments.

First solo recordings (2001–2002)

In 2001 Pearson began making a series of self-produced home recordings on a four-track

portastudio The TASCAM Portastudio was the first four-track recorder based on a standard compact audio cassette tape. The term ''portastudio'' is exclusive to TASCAM, though it is generally used to describe all self-contained cassette-based multitrack rec ...

, citing

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

Elliott Smith Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), known professionally as Elliott Smith, was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of hi ...

and

Ryan Adams David Ryan Adams (born November 5, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, artist, and poet. He has released 23 albums, as well as three studio albums as a former member of alt-country band Whiskeytown. In 2000, Adams left ...

as key songwriting influences. These songs had a limited physical release, with Pearson selling CDs at live shows throughout 2001 and 2002. He also moved from East to West

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

(specifically to

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

) during this period.

The Signs (2004–2008)

By 2004, Pearson was again eager to explore a full band sound, and so formed a four-piece rock and roll act called Dakota. This band quickly changed their name to The Signs, with Pearson providing lead vocals and guitar. Other members of the band were Sean Hatherley, Scott Coutts and Adam Worthington. The Signs toured across the UK and soon signed a recording contract with Leeds-based indie record label Wardrobe Records, who released their double A-side single ''Circles/Something To Believe In'' in 2007. Despite offers from larger record labels, the band split in 2008 after playing support slots with

The Pigeon Detectives The Pigeon Detectives are an English indie rock band from Rothwell in Leeds, West Yorkshire, who formed in 2004. The band have released five albums from 2007 to present. They performed at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in 2006, where they we ...

The Rifles The Rifles is an infantry regiment of the British Army. Formed in 2007, it consists of four Regular battalions and three Reserve battalions, plus a number of companies in other Army Reserve battalions. Each battalion of The Rifles was formerly ...

and One Night Only on tour.

The Blueprint and free releases (2008)

Throughout 2008, Pearson used the social networking site MySpace to release a series of free solo recordings. He dubbed this project ''The Blueprint'' and released a newly written free song every week for six months. Some of the songs from his debut studio album ''Satellites'' were written during this period, and Pearson has claimed that this period of intensive creativity refined his songwriting skills as well as attuning him to the power of social media. No official physical release was given for these recordings, though CD copies were sold online to fans.

All Those Heroes (2008–2009)

Pearson also formed a power-trio with Leeds musicians Mike Quarry and Dan Newsome in 2008, showcasing a more

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

-driven

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

sound. He was lead vocalist and guitarist and was the main songwriter in the band. The band played live sporadically, including shows with The Glitterati and received airplay from

BBC 6Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available onl ...

for their studio recordings.

Solo work (2010–present)

Satellites (2010–2011)

In July 2010, Pearson recorded his first full studio album at The Soundmill in Leeds, with Ed Heaton as producer. It was released in January 2011 on Pearson's own Saint in the City record label. The album soon received press praise from

Uncut Magazine ''Uncut'' is a monthly magazine based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections. A DVD magazine under the ''Uncut'' brand was published quarterly from 2005 to 2006 ...

Drowned in Sound ''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums. History ''D ...

, Shout 4 Music, AllGigs and Leeds Music Scene.

Clint Boon Clinton David Boon (born 28 June 1959) is an English musician, DJ and radio presenter. Boon originally rose to fame as the keyboard player (and sometimes vocalist) of Inspiral Carpets. Music career Born in Oldham, Lancashire, Boon joined the Ins ...

at XFM and

Tom Robinson Thomas Giles Robinson (born 1 June 1950) is a British singer, bassist, radio presenter and long-time LGBT rights activist, best known for the hits "Glad to Be Gay", "2-4-6-8 Motorway", and "Don't Take No for an Answer", with his Tom Robinson ...

played songs from the album on their radio shows and

NME Radio NME Radio is a radio station operated under ''NME'' magazine branding, that broadcast an alternative music format. It first began broadcasting on 24 June 2008 and ceased on 25 March 2013. The station was then revived in 2018 on NME's website. Ther ...

and

Amazing Radio Amazing Radio is an international radio station first broadcast originally on digital radio in the United Kingdom. The station plays new music from a number of music genres including pop, rock, indie, hip hop, electronica and jazz. The stat ...

also gave airplay. With Pearson gaining press plaudits in the UK, US and Australian distribution for the album was also arranged in early 2012. Australian national radio station

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...

gave ''Satellites'' airplay and the album picked up a series of positive reviews from press in these territories. Pearson played select live shows in England to support the album, and also toured with

Michael Kiwanuka Michael Samuel Kiwanuka (born 3 May 1987) is a British singer-songwriter and record producer who is signed with Polydor Records. His 2012 debut album, '' Home Again'', went gold in the United Kingdom and his second album, '' Love & Hate'', debu ...

Willy Mason Willy Mason (born November 21, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter. Early life Mason was born in White Plains, New York, the son of Jemima James and Michael Mason, both songwriters. Mason is a direct descendant of the 19th-century phi ...

, Chris Helme and

Mark Morriss Mark James Morriss (born 18 October 1971) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the frontman for The Bluetones. He is the older brother of bandmate and bass player/illustrator Scott Morriss. He has released four solo albums, worked ...

during 2011/2012. Live dates in the USA also promoted the album, with Pearson playing shows in

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state's ...

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, Los Angeles,

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

, New York and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. He also self-produced and edited music videos for the songs ''Waves in the Sea'' and ''One For Conversation'' during this period.

Mercury State (2012–present)

In August 2012 Pearson recorded his second studio album with Jeremy Platt, a regular member of his live band, on production duties. Keen to explore and express both the effects of the financial

recession In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...

and a more stripped-back sound, recording and production of the album was completed in just five days. In advance of the album release, Pearson created a self-shot and edited video for the song ''Factory Floor''. ''Mercury State'' was released in January 2013 on Saint in the City Records and was again met with a series of positive reviews.

awarded it 8/10 with various UK and European magazines and websites praising the new social/political aspect to Pearson's skilled song writing. The album was also acclaimed by the USA-based

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

and No Depression sites upon North American release. The songs ''Medication'', ''Factory Floor'' and ''I Still Believe'' gained airplay on various regional and national radio stations in the UK, Europe and the USA.

References

External links

Official websiteStereofox.com

Members.theunsignedguide.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearson, Daniel 1982 births English male songwriters British folk rock musicians Living people