Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased tracks, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Each and every Friday we offer songs by local artists. Today’s selection, featured on the Afternoon Show with Kevin Cole, is “Indian Summer” by Canon Blue from the 2011 album Rumspringa on Temporary Residence Limited.
The music of Daniel James isn’t exactly the country his home town of Nashville seems to be almost exclusively associated with. In fact, the Music City might actually be the last place you’d expect James’s quirky indie pop to have originated. Under the name Canon Blue, he released his debut album Colonies in 2007 on Rumraket Records, followed by an EP in 2008. Since then, however, James has abstained from releasing material, instead taking time to tour with the Danish band Efterklang while at the same time working to expand his own music’s sound into something more texturally rich and orchestral than the bedroom recordings that make up the majority of Colonies.
The result is Rumspringa, Canon Blue’s much-belated sophomore release. Produced by Mads Brauer and Casper Clausen of Efterklang, the record features more than 20 musicians contributing the strings, effects, and other instrumentation that helps separate Rumspringa from James’s relatively minimalistic debut release. Despite the attention to instrumental detail, Rumspringa is a vocally-centered album, with nearly every track revolving around James’s weightless and friendly voice. Listen to today’s featured track “Indian Summer” for proof.
Canon Blue will begin touring in October and will play at The Crocodile in Seattle on October 21. For more details, click here. While we’re waiting, here’s a home video of Canon Blue playing “Indian Summer” live to a rowdy Ohio crowd:
One Comment
just a quick correction - efterklang is danish, not icelandic...