Daniel Gray

There are at least two musicians named Daniel Gray: 1) A Canadian indie pop artist 2) An Electro/House artist who also goes by Glitchmachine 1) After three years of work, 20 year old Toronto visionary multi-instrumentalist, Daniel Gray, is set to release his free debut indie pop album ?A Future's Past EP? on September 29, 2009. In celebration of the release, he will raise money to combat HIV/AIDS in Africa as part of the Stephen Lewis Foundation's ?Dare To Remember? campaign. Daniel will be busking across the yellow subway line, collecting money for the cause.

1) A Canadian indie pop artist
2) An Electro/House artist who also goes by Glitchmachine

1) After three years of work, 20 year old Toronto visionary multi-instrumentalist, Daniel Gray, is set to release his free debut indie pop album ?A Future's Past EP? on September 29, 2009. In celebration of the release, he will raise money to combat HIV/AIDS in Africa as part of the Stephen Lewis Foundation's ?Dare To Remember? campaign. Daniel will be busking across the yellow subway line, collecting money for the cause.

Daniel Gray's eclectic brand of indie music flirts with established genres and sounds, but ask him what kind of music he makes and you'll be met with much umming and awwing. Sure, there are traces of his musical influences - indie rock in the vein of The National and Death Cab for Cutie - 60's pop like The Beatles and The Zombies; and experimental pop, alternative and minimalist music such as Steve Reich and Beck. It can be difficult, however, to place Daniel's music in any particular category. Indie rock? Symphonic dream pop? Alternative folk rock? Whatever you want to call it, it is what it is and it is intriguing.

For ?A Future's Past EP,? (a digital-only release slated for September 29, 2009 on his own Electric T-Shirt imprint, and available to download for free at danielgraymusic.com) Daniel teamed up with his father, (Juno award-winning recording engineer) Gary Gray to record a 6 song teaser to his upcoming full length record ? tentatively titled ?etc. etc.? The EP (which has been in the works for over 3 years and began when Daniel was still in high school) offers a first glimpse at his multifarious sound ? intensely hook-laden pop songs engulfed in sonic collages, dense production, elaborate arrangements and compelling soundscapes. The self-proclaimed control freak multi-instrumentalist played every instrument on the album and co-produced it along with his father. The album was tracked and mixed in their basement studio, ?The Furnace Room.? (literally a furnace room?)

Before releasing even one completed song, Daniel's demos and rough mixes have received enthusiastic praise on internet sites such as garageband.com, ourstage.com and myspace. Ourstage proclaimed that Daniel's songs are ?catchy, layered, and smart... [H]is recordings exude the experimental flare of a kid with his first chemistry set. But instead of sodium carbonate and litmus powder, Gray is melding the elements of McCartney and Wilson with modern traces of Elliott Smith and Broken Social Scene.? In fact Ourstage was so impressed that they offered Daniel a spot at the prestigious Canadian Music Week festival where he participated along with artists such as The New Pornographers, The Besnard Lakes, Dan Mangan, Jason Collett and Tokyo Police Club.

In lieu of a traditional record release concert, Daniel will celebrate the release of his album in a completely unconventional fashion. He will be taking part in the Stephen Lewis Foundation's ?A Dare To Remember? Campaign, (October 17-25, 2009) where he will be busking down the yellow TTC subway line in Toronto from Yonge to Spadina, stopping to play outside all 14 stations - all the while raising money to combat HIV/AIDS in Africa. He will also be collecting donations beforehand at his ?Dare To Remember? page, located at http://stephenlewisfoundation.akaraisin.com/p/danielgray.aspx.

Brace yourself. It might get interesting.