‘Aetherstone' by DANE-O
Review
Introducing DANE-O!
His debut single is out now and comprises two songs, namely "Various Land" and "Take Me Here" but goes under the collective title of ‘Aetherstone'. This I confess took me by surprise: I'm used to albums and EPs having titles which don't equate to component tracks but not singles. I therefore puzzled for some time over a song of that name which appeared to be by another artist completely: until I released that it was. However I'd be the last person not to praise someone for breaking new ground in this or any other way.
In fact in another blow to conventional thinking, as well as giving the single its own name, DANE-O has included both a studio recording ("Take Me Here") and what he describes as a demo.
The former was produced at Born in a Barn Studio in December while "Various Land" is an even more recent home recording but destined for a studio rendition in time.
This is in some ways a young musician in a hurry: he only started gigging in January this year (at The Tin) and in addition to this debut, has another single planned for July, then an album later in 2025. That should certainly give him momentum and a number of other musicians I've spoken to about him regard him with respect & interest.
As well as singing & playing guitar he plays piano and bass and if you join us at the "Hot Music Live Presents" gig on June 20th at The Tin, look out for him taking photographs as well. Oh to be so multi-talented!
To be honest it's not difficult to find many differences between the two tracks. Since they could virtually be by two entirely different artists I think it's fair to say that in addition to the acts of courage cited above, he wishes to lay out some sense of the continuum of his music right from the start.
"Take Me Here" is closer to what I'm assuming is his live style while in vivid contract "Various Land" (in this form at least) seems deliberately experimental. That's absolutely fine by me by the way. In the one, the strong confident vocal is well to the fore, in the latter it may well be both but given how deep it's mixed it's not easy to tell. Equally the mix while somewhat favouring an acoustic rhythm guitar is otherwise quite dense & requires more effort to access. Again: not a negative criticism. That the latter is the first one you come to on the single if you go on Spotify signals artistic boldness too.
I can't fault the decisions to lay out his stall in this way: they'll pay off in time I'm sure but in introducing his music to a wider public beyond admiring fellow musicians, "Take Me Here" is certainly the one to push for airplay etc. Not that I wish to give the impression that it's blatantly commercial mainstream fodder in contrast to a more avant garde companion. I wouldn't say that at all. It's an impressive doomy modal piece of considerable weight and merit in its own right and potentially has a wider audience out there if it catches the breaks it deserves.
