Black Daniel haven't got off to the most conventional of starts in their short, but eventful career. The trio (brothers Luke and Lamik2000 from London, Craig Louis Higgins Jnr. from NYC) met on the dancefloor of a lower east side disco, they quickly discovered a mutual love of animal tranquilizers and long walks in the rain. Some would say forming a band seemed like the logical progression, but it took a tour of the states with the brothers masquerading as DJs and C.LH. Jnr. doing his own special brand of tour management before the inevitable finally happened and within a year they'd released their first album.
So far, so good, right? Right. Well, sort of. The first two singles 'Chelsea Teardrops' and 'Say Hello' had alternative radio all over them (Lauren Laverne sessions, Colin Murray's Record of the Week, XFM plays etc), the likes of NME and Time Out were bigging them up at press, and the band's relentless gigging earned them the status of one of London's most exciting party bands, owing to their unpredictable, raucous shows. And then, what should be the pinnacle of any young band's career - they released their debut album... ' Hard Times On the Way' came out in November '08, and ONE WEEK later distributor Pinnacle went bust and the album disappeared into a black, contracts, paperwork-shaped hole for nearly a whole year. Finally, with the help of a company called Icebreaker, the band have their record back, which remains the same, apart from some shiny new artwork and some remixing/re mastering tweaks.
In the year that the band kissed goodbye to their first LP - undeterred - Black Daniel decided to get DIY about things and set up their own label - Dustbowl Recordings - and to make another album. Et voila - Black Daniel would like to present 'Let's Get Sued', their glorious second record, which they're delighted to announce will be released on March 8th 2010!
'Let's Get Sued' is drenched in the musical traits that got Black Daniel noticed in the first place. Scuzzy, distorted, garage sounds, the shared vocal duties and interplay between Lamik and Craig (Lamik's English drawl, Craig's uber NY intonations), and the brazen, stomping songwriting, make this a band with one of the most identifiable sounds around.
The album features the acclaimed singles ‘Here Comes Caesar’ and ‘Look Away Sancho’. They play on those Velvet Underground comparisons perfectly, infusing a stomping glam rhythm onto Black Daniel’s quintessential garage swagger. But with tracks like ‘Money’ and ‘Lonely Screen Boy’, the guys (somewhat) slow things down to a dirty choral psychedelia akin to the likes of Nick Cave and The Doors, proving they ain’t no one trick pony. By the time ‘Lonely Screen Boy’ closes proceedings, the wash of musically induced adrenaline will seem so powerful, you’ll struggle not to hit the play button again.
As if the record itself isn't enough reward for your hard earned £s, the ever-well-connected Black Daniel recruited their Brooklyn buddies Faile (extremely well respected artist collective... let's call them the Banksy of NYC) to be on album artwork duties, which essentially makes your Black Daniel album a collector's item! With a limited run of physical copies being made, these bespoke album designs are a classic piece of Faile history.
Black Daniel's DIY work ethic also extends to how they promote their releases. Earlier this summer, they released their lauded single 'Here Comes Caesar’, which they marked with a week of last minute, impromptu gigs in Soho including a 5 night residency in a strip joint, guerilla street gigs and a Black Daniel soundsystem (OK, them walking around with a boombox, terrorising Soho). The lead up to the release of 'Let's Get Sued' is filled with similarly unique ways of spreading the Black Daniel love. Par exemple; over the Christmas period, Black Daniel unveiled a rather special, festive, musical treat for their fans, which will arrive down their web-chimneys on December 7th in the form of ‘The 12 Days of Blaxmas’, where fans could get a free download for 12 days. The band had 2000 downloads and ended the whole shebang with a celebratory Nativity set at 93ft East and that first album for free to boot.
All of the singles in the lead up to the album release will be released online only, and FREE, for starters. What's more, fans chose the most recent single, ‘Look Away Sancho’, via an online poll at Black Daniel. ‘Look Away Sancho’, can be streamed and downloaded now at Black Daniel and was named as one of Drowned In Sound’s Singles of The Year for 2009. The new double A-side single ‘I Love You But Don’t Touch Me ‘Cos Your Sick/Move Like Royalty’ will be released one week prior to the album, with a competition winning remix alongside.
So far, so good, right? Right. Well, sort of. The first two singles 'Chelsea Teardrops' and 'Say Hello' had alternative radio all over them (Lauren Laverne sessions, Colin Murray's Record of the Week, XFM plays etc), the likes of NME and Time Out were bigging them up at press, and the band's relentless gigging earned them the status of one of London's most exciting party bands, owing to their unpredictable, raucous shows. And then, what should be the pinnacle of any young band's career - they released their debut album... ' Hard Times On the Way' came out in November '08, and ONE WEEK later distributor Pinnacle went bust and the album disappeared into a black, contracts, paperwork-shaped hole for nearly a whole year. Finally, with the help of a company called Icebreaker, the band have their record back, which remains the same, apart from some shiny new artwork and some remixing/re mastering tweaks.
In the year that the band kissed goodbye to their first LP - undeterred - Black Daniel decided to get DIY about things and set up their own label - Dustbowl Recordings - and to make another album. Et voila - Black Daniel would like to present 'Let's Get Sued', their glorious second record, which they're delighted to announce will be released on March 8th 2010!
'Let's Get Sued' is drenched in the musical traits that got Black Daniel noticed in the first place. Scuzzy, distorted, garage sounds, the shared vocal duties and interplay between Lamik and Craig (Lamik's English drawl, Craig's uber NY intonations), and the brazen, stomping songwriting, make this a band with one of the most identifiable sounds around.
The album features the acclaimed singles ‘Here Comes Caesar’ and ‘Look Away Sancho’. They play on those Velvet Underground comparisons perfectly, infusing a stomping glam rhythm onto Black Daniel’s quintessential garage swagger. But with tracks like ‘Money’ and ‘Lonely Screen Boy’, the guys (somewhat) slow things down to a dirty choral psychedelia akin to the likes of Nick Cave and The Doors, proving they ain’t no one trick pony. By the time ‘Lonely Screen Boy’ closes proceedings, the wash of musically induced adrenaline will seem so powerful, you’ll struggle not to hit the play button again.
As if the record itself isn't enough reward for your hard earned £s, the ever-well-connected Black Daniel recruited their Brooklyn buddies Faile (extremely well respected artist collective... let's call them the Banksy of NYC) to be on album artwork duties, which essentially makes your Black Daniel album a collector's item! With a limited run of physical copies being made, these bespoke album designs are a classic piece of Faile history.
Black Daniel's DIY work ethic also extends to how they promote their releases. Earlier this summer, they released their lauded single 'Here Comes Caesar’, which they marked with a week of last minute, impromptu gigs in Soho including a 5 night residency in a strip joint, guerilla street gigs and a Black Daniel soundsystem (OK, them walking around with a boombox, terrorising Soho). The lead up to the release of 'Let's Get Sued' is filled with similarly unique ways of spreading the Black Daniel love. Par exemple; over the Christmas period, Black Daniel unveiled a rather special, festive, musical treat for their fans, which will arrive down their web-chimneys on December 7th in the form of ‘The 12 Days of Blaxmas’, where fans could get a free download for 12 days. The band had 2000 downloads and ended the whole shebang with a celebratory Nativity set at 93ft East and that first album for free to boot.
All of the singles in the lead up to the album release will be released online only, and FREE, for starters. What's more, fans chose the most recent single, ‘Look Away Sancho’, via an online poll at Black Daniel. ‘Look Away Sancho’, can be streamed and downloaded now at Black Daniel and was named as one of Drowned In Sound’s Singles of The Year for 2009. The new double A-side single ‘I Love You But Don’t Touch Me ‘Cos Your Sick/Move Like Royalty’ will be released one week prior to the album, with a competition winning remix alongside.
