# David Karsten Daniels

David Karsten Daniels is an American singer-songwriter with an affinity for "slow-creeping songs that, once at full power, are like nothing else". His recordings are typically combinations of many styles of music sitting underneath lyrics that explore topics such as life & death, family dynamics, religion, neuroscience, the nature of change and the natural world.

## Early life

Daniels was born in Lubbock, Texas. His formative years were spent in Montgomery, Alabama, singing in school and church choirs, and studying the piano and guitar. Daniels spent two years in the American Boychoir School, an all boy's boarding school in Princeton, New Jersey where he was exposed to college level music theory and ear training. He played in jazz ensembles throughout high school in Montgomery, Alabama and Dallas, Texas. In college, David majored in music composition and played double bass in the symphony orchestra. A course in Free Improvisation taught by trombonist/improviser/lecturer Kim Corbett would prove to be major turning point in David's approach to composition.

## Career

While obtaining his bachelor's degree from Southern Methodist University, through which he studied in Paris, France, as well as in Texas, David worked on the recordings that would become his first two albums, The Mayflower and Out From Under Ligne 4. Following graduation in 2001, David moved briefly to Portland, Oregon where he began work on the recordings that would become his third album, Angles. in 2002, David moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina. There, the Bu hanan Collective was formed by David and longtime friends and band mates Daniel Hart and Alex Lazara. In 2006, David was signed by Fat Cat Records of Brighton, England, and released his fourth album, Sharp Teeth as a co-release between Fat Cat and Bu hanan. He followed that with Fear of Flying in 2008, a meditation on death and the afterlife. His next LP, "I Mean to Live Here Still," (2010) is a song cycle using the texts of Henry David Thoreau, with Daniels' music and singing accompanied by Fight the Big Bull, a nonet from Richmond, VA led by Matthew E. White. That album, characterized by The Line of Best Fit as "brave and beautiful [...], marrying the North American folk vernacular with interesting free-jazz textures and atmospheres" was called one of the "5 Best Genre Defying Albums of 2010" by NPR. In 2014, Daniels created the score for S. Cagney Gentry's feature film Harvest. David released his first largely instrumental album The Four Immeasurable Minds in 2015. In 2016 he released 2 records, The Teacher a lo-fi full length heavily dependent on field recordings as well as his 9th studio album Kaleidoscope, an EP released May 19, 2016. A Single, Rules for Rules is out November 2019.
David has toured with Frightened Rabbit, Mice Parade, Tom Brosseau, Nina Nastasia, and Arboretum, and played shows with Animal Collective, Vashti Bunyan, Okkervil River, the Bowerbirds, the Mountain Goats, Low Barlow, Vetiver, David Bazan, Roman Candle, Richard Buckner, St. Vincent, Cass McCombs, Shearwater, Castanets, the Twilight Sad, DeYarmond Edison, and Retribution Gospel Choir.

## Discography

| Album | Year | Label |
| The Mayflower L.P. | 2000 | Bu_hanan |
| Out From Under Ligne 4 L.P. | 2001 | Bu_hanan |
| Angles L.P. | 2004,05 | Bu_hanan |
| Sharp Teeth L.P. | 2007 | Fat Cat / Bu_hanan |
| Fear Of Flying L.P. | 2008 | Fat Cat |
| I Mean To Live Here Still L.P. | 2010 | Fat Cat |
| The Four Immeasurable Minds L.P. | 2014 | smll thngs / Carpi Records |
| The Teacher L.P. | 2016 | smll thngs |
| Kaleidoscope E.P. | 2016 | smll thngs |
| Oneness SINGLE | 2016 | smll thngs |
| Rules for Rulers SINGLE | 2019 | smll thngs |
| Don't Turn Me On SINGLE | 2020 | smll thngs |

## Collaborations

In 2008, Fat Cat asked Daniels to do additional recording and remix Frightened Rabbit's It's Christmas So We'll Stop.
In 2011, Daniels contributed a remix to Our Brother the Native's Rhythm Hymns.
In 2014, Daniels contributed string and horn arrangements to Penny and Sparrow's Struggle Pretty.

## Sharp Teeth Musicians

David Karsten Daniels - Organ, Guitar (Acoustic), Bass, Piano, Cello, Drums, Glockenspiel, Guitar (Electric), Tambourine, Vocals Aimee Argote - Vocals Aaron Bratcher - Trombone (Bass), Trombone (Tenor) Dane Daniels - Drums, Tambourine, Vocals Daniel Hart - Violin, Viola Eric Haugen - Guitar (Electric) Alex Lazara - Organ, Synthesizer, Piano, Vocals, Engineer, Mellotron, Fender Rhodes Sara Morris - Organ, Cello, Vocals Zac Petersen - Trumpet Tim Phillips - Trumpet John Ribo - Guitar (Electric), Vocals Jason Sayers - Trombone (Tenor) Joshua Snyder - Drums Mara Thomas - Vocals Erin Wright - Vocals Perry Wright - Tambourine, Vocals Joseph P. Zoller - Sax (Alto), Sax (Tenor)

## Fear of Flying Musicians

David Karsten Daniels - Bass, Guitar, Percussion, Drums, Keyboards, Programming, Vocals, Engineer, Mixing Daniel Hart - Violin Sara Morris - Vocals John Ribo - Vocals Wendy Spitzer - Oboe Dylan Thurston - Drums Perry Wright - Vocals, Handclaps

## I Mean To Live Here Still Musicians

David Karsten Daniels - vocals, acoustic guitar Bob Miller - trumpet, piccolo trumpet Jason Scott - clarinet, flute, saxophone John Lilley - saxophone, clarinet Reggie Pace - trombone, tuba, claps Bryan Hooten - trombone Cameron Ralston - upright bass Matthew E. White - horn arrangements, electric guitar Pinson Chanselle - drums Brian Jones - percussion Gabe Churray - synthesizer Alex Lazara - organ, mellotron Trey Pollard - pedal steel Eddie Prendergast - electric bass Toby Whitaker - trombone Perry Wright - bass voice

## The Four Immeasurable Minds Musicians

David Karsten Daniels - Guitar (Electric), Recorder, Keyboards, Vocals K. - Vocals

## Kaleidoscope Musicians

David Karsten Daniels - vocals, guitar, bass, percussion, drums, keys, programming, violin
Chris Walker - drums, percussion, guitar, drums, keys, programming, violin, vocals
Dane Daniels - drums, percussion, vocals
Abbey Daniels - vocals, bass
Kyle Henson - drums, percussion, vocals
Ben Jousan - guitar, vocals
Lex Land - vocals
-topic - vocals
K8 - vocals
K. - vocals
Dashon Moore-Guidry - additional percussion
Juan Lopez - handclaps, vocals
Aaron Carpenter - handclaps

## The Teacher Musicians

David Karsten Daniels -vocals, guitar, bass, percussion, drums, keys, programming, K. - Vocals
Daniel Hunt. - Drums
K8 - Vocals
Tara Toms - Vocals

## Pictures of Pluto Musicians

David Karsten Daniels - Guitar (Electric)

## Works in radio, film and TV

* David Karsten Daniels' track "That Knot Unties?" appears on season one, episode nine of SHOWTIME's United States of Tara and in the closing credits of the film DeadGirl.
* David Karsten Daniels composed the scores for S. Cagney Gentry's feature film Harvest and the documentary film El Paracaidista (2022).
* David Karsten Daniel's track Jesus and the Devil appears in This American Life Episode 340 – "The Devil in Me"
* David Karsten Daniels' track "The Funeral Bell" appears in the short film Wait for Laugh.