DANNY BRYANT – The Revelation Of Blues

1. What are your expectations of your new album Revelation?

Well I hope, obviously, that people enjoy it and I hope that they can relate to the songs on the album on some kind of personal level as a lot of the subject matter deals with common life issues such as grief and loss. There is also a lot of energy in the music so I hope that that comes across clearly when people listen to the record.

2. How long did it take to compose it and please describe the recording process?

Some of the songs came together very quickly and others I had started out writing about a year ago and I would return to them periodically and tweak them here and there. The actual recording process took two/three weeks. Some of the songs are layered and others we went for a more live kind of feel. Several of the guitar solos are first takes.

3. The lyrics sound so personal, does music have a healing effect on your life?

Yes. I think that whatever you are experiencing at the time comes out in your music, whether you intend it to or not! That is always part of the process and of course in turn, by going through these emotions and putting them into songs it ends up being very therapeutic.

4. You have a mix of musical influences in your album, does it reflect a mix of feelings towards writing this album?

It is initially quite a diverse album and each style does reflect a different influence on my music. I thought by writing in different styles and formats it would better suit the songs.

5. Who are the other musicians that participated on this album?

We have my core touring band of Alex Phillips on bass, Dave Raeburn on drums and Stevie Watts on Keys as well as featuring members of my big band on a couple of the songs. So there is also sax, trumpet and trombone on the record which helps add different colours to the music.

6. Do you intend to tour in order to promote the album, please give us more details?

Yes, we have a very comprehensive tour lined up which covers most of Europe and starts in April. People can find the dates listed at dannybryant.com.

7. How do you deal with the current status of the music industry?

I am signed to a very supportive label who are based in Germany. Obviously people consume music differently to the way that they did even five or ten years ago. So it is constantly changing. In the Blues genre it has been interesting to see how vinyl has become popular again. We will also release a vinyl edition of “Revelation”.

8. There is a whole trend of touring holograms (Dio, Fr. Zappa, M. Jackson) in the live industry, would you like to comment on this situation?

I don’t really feel informed enough to give an opinion on it. I suppose if it brings people enjoyment then it’s all entertainment. I can’t imagine wanting to go and see a hologram of Muddy Waters or Howlin’ Wolff though.

9. What are your goals as musician?

To keep touring, keep making albums and as much as it sounds like a cliché keep improving at my craft.

10. Do you prefer being indie or signing with a label?

I like having the support and guidance of a record label.