| Danny Michel — Matadora (April 8, 2016) |
Danny Michel — Matadora (April 8, 2016)
♠ Danny Michel, environmentalist, pacifist, romanticist, archivist and space enthusiast, returns with Matadora, his newest and most deeply humanist album to date. As a whole, the ten song collection explores themes of individual and collective agency, and wills us to and hope in grief, tolerance in violence, and love in hate.
♠ After the musical village approach involved in making an album in Belize, Matadora’s origin is a different sort of island, self~produced, recorded and mixed all by Michel in his home studio in Waterloo, Ontario. Matadora tempers the tropical escapism of the Juno~nominated Black Birds Are Dancing Over Me with a dose of harsher realities — breaking news, loneliness, laundry — all delivered tenderly with Michel’s signature empathy.
♠ In place of Black Birds’ balmy clime, the warmth of Matadora comes from within, as materially present as breath that condenses on a window. This body~generated steaminess is front and centre on “Get Lost,” a knee~weakening soliloquy with a slow jam beat. 
Born: January 31, 1970, Kitchener~Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Occupation(s): Musician, songwriter, producer
Instruments: Vocalist, Guitarist
Location: Waterloo, ON
Album release: April 8, 2016
Record Label: Six Shooter
Duration:
Tracks:
01 Nobody Rules You 4:08
02 Paris Las Vegas 2:41
03 Matadora 4:34
04 Get Lost 3:40
05 Click Click 3:44
06 Good Old Days 3:09
07 Samantha in the Sky with Diamonds 4:00
08 Rubicon 4:26
09 The Part You Throw Away 2:50
10 Holding Out 4:10
℗ 2016 Six Shooter Records Inc.
Credits
♠ Bass — Mark McIntyre (3) (tracks: 5, 6)
♠ Drums — Davide Direnzo (tracks: 5, 6, 7), Glenn Milchem (tracks: 2)
♠ Pedal Steel Guitar — Bob Egan (tracks: 4, 9)
♠ Saxophone, Clarinet, Synth — Rob Carli
♠ Violin — Bridget Hunt (tracks: 10)
♠ Written By, Guitar, Piano, Vocals, Bass, Drums, Keyboards — Danny Michel
Nobody rules you! Score: *****
by FURY — 1849
♠ “One part Danny on the shag carpet spinning the 45s from his youth; one part Danny the world~wise troubadour. Tastes of Bowie, the Sandinista Clash, Springsteen horns, and Caribbean rhythms all effortlessly flow together under Michel’s poetic beauty. Simultaneously classic, irreverent, and 100% Danny Michel.”
Review
By Matthew McKean, Published Apr 11, 2016 / Score: 9
♠ Danny Michel isn’t too cool to write about love, hope, happiness or peace; he’s not too cool to breathe new life into old clichés; and he’s definitely not too cool to layer into his songs sweet sax solos or world music influences from his travels — all of which is pretty damn cool.
♠ Matadora is the veteran Waterloo, ON~based singer~songwriter’s tenth studio album, and it might be his finest to date. Michel, who tends to fly under the radar in Canada’s music scene, has long been one of this country’s most thoughtful songwriters. The ten songs here are deeply felt meditations on the artist’s fears and fantasies.
♠ “I had a dream / That we all locked arms / And vowed to keep each other from harm,” sings Michel on “Click Click,” the stunning opener about ending international violence. On the title track, the musician wonders aloud whether it’s “too late for a little grace”; elsewhere, Michel observes and immerses himself in life’s minutiae, demonstrating his special knack for tackling the big and the small.
♠ Make no mistake: Danny Michel uses his musical powers for good. Nowhere is that clearer than on “Nobody Rules You,” a humanist masterpiece that invites all of us to be, say and live however we prefer. Play this one on repeat in public spaces and places of worship around the world; look elsewhere for weary resignation or sermonizing.
♠ A few of the tracks here (namely “Good Old Days,” “Matadora,” “Paris Las Vegas”) connect up sonically with the music he made in Belize with the Garifuna Collective, and he’s managed to weave it seamlessly into the texture of this record, which also includes delicate ballads (“Holding Out,” “Samantha in the Sky with Diamonds”), uptempo alt~country (“Get Lost, “The Part You Throw Away”) and the musician’s familiar crescendoing rock (“Rubicon”).
♠ Danny Michel manages in this remarkable collection of songs to give voice to the beautiful and the mundane, to the real and the ideal. Matadora is vital and should be required listening for anyone in need of a bit of hope.
♠ :: http://exclaim.ca/
Label: http://sixshooterrecords.com/
Website: http://www.dannymichel.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/dannymichel
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/danny.michel.music
Maple Music: http://www.maplemusic.com/artists/dmi/disc.asp
Bio:
♠ With nominations for three Juno awards, The Polaris Prize, The CBC’s “Heart Of Gold” AND a pile of albums under his belt, Danny Michel is unquestionably one of Canada’s finest songwriters. His thoughtful lyrics & earnest performances have earned him a devoted fan base. Past critics have praised Danny’s lyrics for having “something to say” without coming off preachy. An environmentalist, pacifist, romanticist and space enthusiast, Danny’s hopeful songs find a home in everyones heart.
♠ In 2011 Danny relocated to Belize and founded the “Danny Michel Ocean Academy Fund” to help raise scholarships for small non~profit community high school. To date he’s raised over $70,000.00 for the school and volunteers there when he can.
♠ Being “An adventurous & fearless artist” he later tracked down one of his favorite Belizean bands; The Garifuna Collective, a unique Afro~Amerindian cultural group and convinced them to make an album together. That album (“Black Birds Are Dancing Over Me”) was quoted as “One of the finest musical works of our time” By Billboards Larry Leblanc. The album landed him a 3rd JUNO nomination (this time in the “World Music” category) and a sold out summer tour of North America with The Garifuna Collective.
♠ Earlier this year, Danny Michel returned from the trip of a lifetime with Canadian Astronaut Col. Chris Hadfield who invited him to join Generator Arctic, an expedition traversing the Arctic Ocean aboard the Russian ice~breaker Kapitan Khlebnikov with scientists, photographers, writers, videographers. The mission was to capture the experience and share it with the rest of world. Danny’s goal was to record an album entirely inspired by the immediate surroundings and record that album aboard the Kapitan Khlebnikov using a makeshift studio in his cabin comprised of camera tripods, hair ties, and gaffing tape. During his 18 days aboard the Khlebnikov, Danny recorded in his tiny cabin and invited some guests to cram into the ‘studio’ to share their talents, including Col. Hadfield (singing in Russian), and the dishwasher from the Khlebnikov kitchen. The tracks captured there made their way back to Canada to begin collaboration with composer Rob Carli who, aside from being a member of Danny’s band, is one of Canada’s most in~demand composers with 15 Gemini and Canadian Screen Award nominations, 5 Gemini Awards and 2 Canadian Screen Awards and 3 SOCAN Awards for domestic television.
To fully comprehend the experience visit https://dannymichel.bandcamp.com/releases
Discography:
♠ “Clear”
♠ Fibsville (1999)
♠ In the Belly of a Whale (2001)
♠ Tales from the Invisible Man (2003)
♠ Loving the Alien (2004)
♠ Valhalla (2006)
♠ Welcome Home + Danny Michel and the Black Tornados Live DVD (2007)
♠ Feather, Fur & Fin (2008)
♠ Live in Winnipeg (2010)
♠ Sunset Sea (2010)
♠ Black Birds Are Dancing Over Me (2012)
♠ Matadora (2016)
♠ Khlebnikov (2017)
_____________________________________________________________
| Danny Michel — Matadora (April 8, 2016) |
♠ After the musical village approach involved in making an album in Belize, Matadora’s origin is a different sort of island, self~produced, recorded and mixed all by Michel in his home studio in Waterloo, Ontario. Matadora tempers the tropical escapism of the Juno~nominated Black Birds Are Dancing Over Me with a dose of harsher realities — breaking news, loneliness, laundry — all delivered tenderly with Michel’s signature empathy.
♠ In place of Black Birds’ balmy clime, the warmth of Matadora comes from within, as materially present as breath that condenses on a window. This body~generated steaminess is front and centre on “Get Lost,” a knee~weakening soliloquy with a slow jam beat.
Born: January 31, 1970, Kitchener~Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Occupation(s): Musician, songwriter, producer
Instruments: Vocalist, Guitarist
Location: Waterloo, ON
Album release: April 8, 2016
Record Label: Six Shooter
Duration:
Tracks:
01 Nobody Rules You 4:08
02 Paris Las Vegas 2:41
03 Matadora 4:34
04 Get Lost 3:40
05 Click Click 3:44
06 Good Old Days 3:09
07 Samantha in the Sky with Diamonds 4:00
08 Rubicon 4:26
09 The Part You Throw Away 2:50
10 Holding Out 4:10
℗ 2016 Six Shooter Records Inc.
Credits
♠ Bass — Mark McIntyre (3) (tracks: 5, 6)
♠ Drums — Davide Direnzo (tracks: 5, 6, 7), Glenn Milchem (tracks: 2)
♠ Pedal Steel Guitar — Bob Egan (tracks: 4, 9)
♠ Saxophone, Clarinet, Synth — Rob Carli
♠ Violin — Bridget Hunt (tracks: 10)
♠ Written By, Guitar, Piano, Vocals, Bass, Drums, Keyboards — Danny Michel
by FURY — 1849
♠ “One part Danny on the shag carpet spinning the 45s from his youth; one part Danny the world~wise troubadour. Tastes of Bowie, the Sandinista Clash, Springsteen horns, and Caribbean rhythms all effortlessly flow together under Michel’s poetic beauty. Simultaneously classic, irreverent, and 100% Danny Michel.”
Review
By Matthew McKean, Published Apr 11, 2016 / Score: 9
♠ Danny Michel isn’t too cool to write about love, hope, happiness or peace; he’s not too cool to breathe new life into old clichés; and he’s definitely not too cool to layer into his songs sweet sax solos or world music influences from his travels — all of which is pretty damn cool.
♠ Matadora is the veteran Waterloo, ON~based singer~songwriter’s tenth studio album, and it might be his finest to date. Michel, who tends to fly under the radar in Canada’s music scene, has long been one of this country’s most thoughtful songwriters. The ten songs here are deeply felt meditations on the artist’s fears and fantasies.
♠ “I had a dream / That we all locked arms / And vowed to keep each other from harm,” sings Michel on “Click Click,” the stunning opener about ending international violence. On the title track, the musician wonders aloud whether it’s “too late for a little grace”; elsewhere, Michel observes and immerses himself in life’s minutiae, demonstrating his special knack for tackling the big and the small.
♠ Make no mistake: Danny Michel uses his musical powers for good. Nowhere is that clearer than on “Nobody Rules You,” a humanist masterpiece that invites all of us to be, say and live however we prefer. Play this one on repeat in public spaces and places of worship around the world; look elsewhere for weary resignation or sermonizing.
♠ A few of the tracks here (namely “Good Old Days,” “Matadora,” “Paris Las Vegas”) connect up sonically with the music he made in Belize with the Garifuna Collective, and he’s managed to weave it seamlessly into the texture of this record, which also includes delicate ballads (“Holding Out,” “Samantha in the Sky with Diamonds”), uptempo alt~country (“Get Lost, “The Part You Throw Away”) and the musician’s familiar crescendoing rock (“Rubicon”).
♠ Danny Michel manages in this remarkable collection of songs to give voice to the beautiful and the mundane, to the real and the ideal. Matadora is vital and should be required listening for anyone in need of a bit of hope.
♠ :: http://exclaim.ca/
Label: http://sixshooterrecords.com/
Website: http://www.dannymichel.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/dannymichel
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/danny.michel.music
Maple Music: http://www.maplemusic.com/artists/dmi/disc.asp
Bio:
♠ With nominations for three Juno awards, The Polaris Prize, The CBC’s “Heart Of Gold” AND a pile of albums under his belt, Danny Michel is unquestionably one of Canada’s finest songwriters. His thoughtful lyrics & earnest performances have earned him a devoted fan base. Past critics have praised Danny’s lyrics for having “something to say” without coming off preachy. An environmentalist, pacifist, romanticist and space enthusiast, Danny’s hopeful songs find a home in everyones heart.
♠ In 2011 Danny relocated to Belize and founded the “Danny Michel Ocean Academy Fund” to help raise scholarships for small non~profit community high school. To date he’s raised over $70,000.00 for the school and volunteers there when he can.
♠ Being “An adventurous & fearless artist” he later tracked down one of his favorite Belizean bands; The Garifuna Collective, a unique Afro~Amerindian cultural group and convinced them to make an album together. That album (“Black Birds Are Dancing Over Me”) was quoted as “One of the finest musical works of our time” By Billboards Larry Leblanc. The album landed him a 3rd JUNO nomination (this time in the “World Music” category) and a sold out summer tour of North America with The Garifuna Collective.
♠ Earlier this year, Danny Michel returned from the trip of a lifetime with Canadian Astronaut Col. Chris Hadfield who invited him to join Generator Arctic, an expedition traversing the Arctic Ocean aboard the Russian ice~breaker Kapitan Khlebnikov with scientists, photographers, writers, videographers. The mission was to capture the experience and share it with the rest of world. Danny’s goal was to record an album entirely inspired by the immediate surroundings and record that album aboard the Kapitan Khlebnikov using a makeshift studio in his cabin comprised of camera tripods, hair ties, and gaffing tape. During his 18 days aboard the Khlebnikov, Danny recorded in his tiny cabin and invited some guests to cram into the ‘studio’ to share their talents, including Col. Hadfield (singing in Russian), and the dishwasher from the Khlebnikov kitchen. The tracks captured there made their way back to Canada to begin collaboration with composer Rob Carli who, aside from being a member of Danny’s band, is one of Canada’s most in~demand composers with 15 Gemini and Canadian Screen Award nominations, 5 Gemini Awards and 2 Canadian Screen Awards and 3 SOCAN Awards for domestic television.
To fully comprehend the experience visit https://dannymichel.bandcamp.com/releases
Discography:
♠ “Clear”
♠ Fibsville (1999)
♠ In the Belly of a Whale (2001)
♠ Tales from the Invisible Man (2003)
♠ Loving the Alien (2004)
♠ Valhalla (2006)
♠ Welcome Home + Danny Michel and the Black Tornados Live DVD (2007)
♠ Feather, Fur & Fin (2008)
♠ Live in Winnipeg (2010)
♠ Sunset Sea (2010)
♠ Black Birds Are Dancing Over Me (2012)
♠ Matadora (2016)
♠ Khlebnikov (2017)
_____________________________________________________________