Influences for Daniel J Nixon? "Bon Iver, Nick Drake, Neil Young, Elliot Smith, Iron & Wine, Jeff Tweedy, Stephen Fretwell and other miserable men with guitars..." Sounding good so far? Let's continue with this from last month's Chimp Magazine:“My name is Daniel J Nixon and I am a folk singer from the middle of nowhere”. Without seeing a photograph, you know as well as that all-important middle initial, Daniel J Nixon has a beard too. As demonstrated on his self-released ‘Turn This Stone’ EP, his brand of acoustic folk is the eerie, quiet kind; akin to Nick Drake or Elliot Smith. This ain’t music to get a party started; tender occasionally frail voice over sparse, strummed guitar is used to create songs of an almost painful intimacy. Themes of paralysis, emotional dependency and fear of loneliness may sound terminally depressing but there’s something faintly joyous at work too: a streak of hope, a glimpse of light, amongst the brooding quiet. Listening to the lean, lingering songs on this EP, sometimes I long to hear a few touches of gentle sympathetic orchestration (some flute, cello or glockenspiel). But other times I think this might just break the sombre spell cast by their unerring simplicity.
Recent gigs from Daniel include the High Voltage 7th Birthday Party and Hungry Pigeon Festival. No new live dates imminently but check regularly for updates.
Here is the title track to the five-song EP 'Turn This Stone' to listen/download; and if you like what you hear you can download the whole EP via Bandcamp.
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