Daniel Lea: Vocals, Guitar and other instruments The Band: Pedro Vitor: Bass, Backing Vocals Drew Manley: Drums, Backing Vocals, Glockenspiel Jeanette Little: Violin, Keyboards, Sampler Matt Waters: Guitar, Keyboards, Sampler, Backing Vocals. On the Album: Matt Cousins: Co Producer, Vocals, Guitars, Organ, Drums Paul Cook: Drums Drew Manley: Drums Ebe Oke: Vocals Al Watts: Guitars, Mellotron, Keyboard Jeanette Little: Violin, Piano
Influences
The Circus, The Hartford Circus Fire, Clowns, Frank Stanford, Walt Whitman, Wallace Stevens, Robert Frost, Captain Beefheart, The Beatles, Daniel Johnston, Nick Drake, Anticon, Arvo Part, Neu!, Can, Debussy, Cluster, Earth, Stars of the Lid, Terrence Malick, Buster Keaton, Fellini, David Lynch, Night of The Hunter, In Cold Blood, Nightmare Alley, Moonrise, Out of the Past, Detour, Johnny Guitar, Paris Texas, Strozek, Spirit of the Beehive, Freaks, Kiss me Deadly, Gummo, Out of the Blue, Sunrise, Greed, Badlands, Days of Heaven, Cockfighter, 8andahalf, Night and the City, Henry Darger, C.T Mcklusky
Sounds Like
By The Fireside
The Great Hartford Fire
by: Ed Butler
Mon:19-Nov-07
Label: Rogue Records
Year: 2007
WB rating
79 out of 100
Review
There’s something about artists who, although performing solo, decide to operate under a moniker which would suggest they are, in fact, a band. Iron & Wine, Gotye, Bright Eyes and LCD Soundsystem all do it. It seems to lend a certain credibility, puts them in a league of distinguished and dignified arteests who are above selling out their creation and, perhaps, very soul in pursuit of the almighty dollar. Hell, even Jay Kay resists the temptation to operate under his own (assumed) name, not that it seems to help him. It is into this particular milieu that we can now enter young Brit Daniel Lea, performing under his own musical pseudonym of By the Fireside, and his wonderful debut long-player The Great Hartford Fire.
Already it’s becoming clear that fire is of some relevance to Lea, and when tracks such as ‘Through the Fire’ and the title track appear on the sleeve, the decision to release a debut concept album is impressive in its audacity. That the concept itself is based on a fire that occurred in a circus in 1944 that claimed around 168 lives – including the man who claimed to have lit the fire in a delusional fit – makes it all the more striking.
Thankfully, Lea appears to be talented enough to back up such a bold vision with some truly exciting music. Stylistically, The Great Hartford Fire is a mish-mash of different genres, orchestral flourishes of flute and glockenspiel coexisting with homemade samples, the occasional filthily distorted guitar and his own, very folksy vocal mannerisms to create a genuinely unique sound, such as on ‘Through the Fire’, where a quite lovely string section gives way to a melodic chorus that shouldn’t work, but does.
Lea’s breathy voice is all over this album, giving it the feeling of a moderately less prosaic incarnation of fellow Englishmen The Earlies, reminiscent of singer John Mark Lapham on less Prozac. However, TGHF is anything but sleep-inducing. Driven along by simple, straightforward rhythms, Lea’s songs are built around a distinctive wall of sound, his breathy vocals often communing in multiple (and occasionally gorgeous) harmonies.
Perhaps the most enchanting thing about this album, though, is its ability to make sharp left hand turns when they’re least expected – weaving its way back to where it began, like delinquent teenagers. On the magnificent ‘Hymns for Hurricanes’, Lea proves he is not averse to the occasional detour, introducing a brief piano coda that vanishes as fast as it appeared, only to be resurrected two minutes later in the song, at just the right time, like a long-expected guest.
Opening track ‘Her Spirit Knows’ begins slowly, nothing like the circus that ostensibly the album’s proceedings are centred on, but slowly builds to a gentle catharsis, propelled forward by mournful strings seemingly weeping for lives yet to be lost. Minutes later, on ‘Join the Circus’, a George Harrison-esque guitar kicks in from nowhere, yet is in exactly the right place, floating as it were over Ringo-style drumming and Lennon-inspired flutes, but somehow doesn’t sound a great deal like anything The Beatles ever did.
The record closes with the titular track, which begins with a music-box melody vaguely evoking memories of ‘No Surprises’, before digressing slightly into something far more reminiscent of Mercury Rev, Lea’s voice lifting into the higher register, consciously bringing to mind the children whose death seems to have inspired much of the album. When, at about two minutes, his voice drops again channelling the adult in himself, unwilling to allow children to confront such horrid realities. Yet.
While Lea’s exhalations can become tiresome at times, they are easily mitigated by the gentle melodies he constructs, and the easy drama and pathos that the lush instrumentation brings to mind.
Never mind that he chooses not to operate under his own name: if he’s doing it to create a veneer of integrity around his music, he’s creating a sound that is worthy of the conceit. The Great Hartford Fire is that rare beast – a debut album which is not afraid to take itself seriously, yet never slips into self-consciousness, and as a result, is one of the freshest and most welcome introductions of 2008.
London based musician and producer Daniel Lea is enchanted by the forgotten narratives of yesterday. Trawling the past for visual and lyrical inspiration, gathering snippets from forgotten histories, By The Fireside is his music box and storytelling vehicle.
Inspired by dialogue and imagery from old noir classics, world cinema and the silent era, Daniel Lea welds unique influences into his music. Lea’s first EP, ‘Battles That Add Up To None’, drew heavily from his grandfather’s time in the air force in WW2, quickly catching the attention of the peeps down at Rough Trade Records. Rating it amongst the top releases of 2005, the mix of ‘lo-fi loops with homemade ramshackle folk’ found a healthy audience and By The Fireside was heralded as one to watch.
Having recently built his own studio, Lea buries himself in inspiration within his Stoke Newington hive of creativity - Golden Hum Studios. Taking the role of producer, he spent four months recording the debut album from Martin Craft (ex of Sidewinder) for 679 Recordings. He is currently producing the hotly tipped debut album by ‘Dark Captain Light Captain’ to be released on Loaf Recordings later in the 2008.
Focusing again on By The Fireside, Lea released his second EP, ‘Then Came Noon’ in 2006, sharing its predecessor’s critical success and accompanied by extensive touring. After Lea returned to Golden Hum for over a year and a half recording and experimenting to create what was to become the debut album, "The Great Hartford Fire". Inspired by the little known mystery of The Hartford Circus Fire in June 1944, the album was released in February by Rogue Records (Inertia) in Australia and is to be released later in the year in the U.K and Europe.
This very special release is a limited edition mini album from Manchester label red deer club. It continues the musical journey of Daniel Lea, with warm woozy harmonies and ghost note guitar crescendos that bring to mind the driving energy of Sonic Youth, Neu! and Kraut Rock with a cinematic atmosphere. Lea has spoken often of his desire to “create a world of imagery and storytelling”, and his exquisitely crafted lyrical collages presented on this mini album are testament to his limitless talent. At times as chilling as he is comforting, Lea’s fragile voice can render you breathless on first listen, and yet fill your heart with a rosy glow.
After all, the greatest stories end By The Fireside.
Come on down to the first Ex Gratia compilation release party next Friday (21st) in East London. 6 bands from the record, mayhem, strange goings on & a healthy dose of debauchery - until very late. message to get on cheap-list.
seriously, this ain't gonna be a night of shu gazin.
hey fireman, nice gig last night you sounded clear and squeezy cute your where with your only men band.. all though a little bit like 'the ordeal' bar scene where all men play piano and dance....with each other....
oh please tell me you are touring in australia soon soon soon! you can stay with me!...we'll go to the rainforest and the beach and maybe a circus. xxxMWAH!
