Strumming his banjo to the scenic ocean views in Maine, singer-songwriter Dan Searl allows the influence of nature to inspire his artistry.
The twenty-something-year-old uses self-reflection and isolation to give his sound the tender love and care his audience knows and adores.
In the captivating essence of his most recent single, "Hope," Dan Searl covers topics on how the flaws of humanity may not always make the headlines, but they are a part of our story and polarity as people. Aiming to create soundscapes that act as a soundtrack to his listeners' lives, Dan Searl emphasizes the warm guitar riff that pushes the envelope of traditional Acoustic-Pop tones.
The effervescent appeal of "Hope" draws you into the clutching embrace that the instrumentation carries as it plays on your internal virtue and elusive emotions.
He is producing an ethereal atmosphere that drowns us in a wide, rhythmic vibration, surging through the layers of the detailed percussion patterns that Dan Searle emits, "Hope" has us feeling the victorious grooves that embark on a journey to find peace in an industrialized world. As Dan Searl taps out of the hustle and bustle of the city to bring forth a tapestry of his carefully crafted thoughts, you can't help but fall into the soothing execution his vocals portray.
The performance Dan Searl exudes in the dynamism of "Hope" sits on the fence of themes as you find your mindset shifting throughout the song's progression. With "Hope," originally being the winner in the Pop category of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest in 2019, we can truthfully say; we're thrilled to hear it making waves in 2021.
Welcome to BuzzMusic, Dan Searl, and congratulations on the release of, “Hope.” With this song originally being written in 2019, what encouraged you to finally release it in 2021? Thank You! From 2019 through the end of 2020 I took a break from releasing music under my solo project to focus on building my label, producing other artists, and managing my own career. It helped me to take a break from releasing so I could build the beginning infrastructure of my label. I wanted to give back and produce new artists in the Boston area while refining my business process more and work on the technical sides of things. Artists have to be independent these days and as we fork over money for different services we are encouraged to learn to do a lot of it ourselves. During this time I was still writing and performing my own music as always and focusing on planning my next EP and album project. I like to listen to my own demos on my runs and if I keep coming back to certain demos to listen I know there is something there. You could write a great song in a day but if it's so easy how come so many remarkable singers and songwriters don't have plaques? At times it feels some music professionals lose the freedom that they so much enjoyed when they first started music by allowing a business structure solely built around turning the largest profit possible to consume them. Business obligations may keep the wheels turning but to me, there is nothing like a solid artistic sabbatical. A lot of why “Hope” took so long is because the vocal performance was tricky for me, I really liked the original take but since the time of recording, I have become a much better singer. But there was something about the overall timing and vibe of those original vocals that I really liked. I actually kind of miss the days of artists like Bob Dylan, but nowadays I believe there is room for imperfection as always. Also, I was waiting for the right time for that song and debating releasing it with a group of songs. What was the experience of winning the John Lennon Songwriting contest? How much of this record stayed similar to the version produced in 2019? The day I got the email that my song was one of the winners in the pop category I was thrilled. To have stood out from the thousands of submissions they receive, I knew there was something special about the track. For some reason, I got the email literally like 20 times saying I had one which was strange yet reassuring lol. Alot of the original version I submitted for the contest stayed the same, I added a few things here or there and also remixed and remastered it, but overall if you listened to the versions you would hear it is pretty much the same song, I just gave it a facelift and some makeup for the official release. All the elements needed were there in the original. Could you please take your audience into a more in-depth glimpse of what your creative process looks like? My creative process can differ a lot. I like to leave space for things to happen and often make different versions of songs to evaluate my options. When starting a song I can begin an idea on acoustic guitar and vocals and write a song from an improvisational approach. I may use lines I have written in my journal to fuel the fire. This way I can focus more on the fusion of the music. I also make a lot of beats because I enjoy sitting down and making something without any pre-conceptions besides what's inspiring me at the time. Now I can say I am no stranger to the "producer role" and I like to experiment a lot in Ableton with loops and different samples to see what happens and I have a lot of songs that have come out of that. And then some weeks I may just be working on client projects and refining ideas that I already have. What's coming out defines my process so time is important, I enjoy making music and keeping the lights on as they say. It's important for artists to be focusing on that especially when it's their full-time job. However, If you can imagine a cabin full of tape machines, modular synths, acoustic guitars, custom pocket synths, and old Casio keyboards on top of a pine encrusted mountaintop in northern Maine, that’s what I am going for. My goal is to build a business and invest so I can have the freedom to check out for 3 months and write my real albums. What is the message you'd like your listeners to take away from, "Hope?" Hope is about a feeling of positive connection or purpose. It’s about how hope is like medicine for life. It’s so easy to feel down in this world sometimes. I think we learn a lot from our weaknesses. I am learning to lean more on meditation and prayer and releasing this song is sort of a manifestation of that. What can listeners expect to see and hear from you in terms of 2021 releases? More experimentation with chord progressions and sound design paired with strong pop songwriting. More collaborations. More chord placement that is complex yet melodic and beautiful to the ear and not overwhelming to the average Listener. In addition, perhaps more drama-oriented themed video content and visual album pairings.
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