Interview: From Nowhere to the US, Dan Croll Talks Inspiration and Personal Experiences
By Megan Fair, Copy Chief
Dan Croll is snagging up the hearts of many by creating catchy melodies and tunes by integrating elements of world music, indie, folk and pop to create a sound deemed noteworthy, even by Sir Paul McCartney himself. Currently, Croll of Liverpool is taking on the US once more to grace North Americans with his sound. Croll and his fabulous accent took 15 minutes out of his very busy day to grant ACRN a peek inside his creative workings, inspirations and more.
When did you first begin playing music?
Dan Croll: I think, since I was a very young kid, I had music in my life--I was kind of teaching myself a couple instruments through my childhood--but I think if it comes to songwriting, I’ve only been writing songs properly for the past five, maybe six years.
In terms of songwriting, what were your biggest inspirations when you began, and are they any different now?
No, not at all! I’ve carried the same influences, the same ones that provide me with the bare bones of the song and that kind of inspiration from what my mom played me--songwriters like Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell. They’re still people that massively influence me to start writing the song. The actual influences in the production and sound depends on who I’m listening to really.
What music are you listening to lately?
I’ve been listening to who we’re touring with at the moment. I’d only heard a few songs before they toured with us, but I’ve watched a few shows before they played with us. They’re absolutely incredible, they’re incredible songwriters. I’m really enjoying them at the moment. They’re called Panama Wedding. Been listening to an American metal band called Earthride; not the most pleasant of music, but it’s cool. [Laughs]. The new Broken Bells record is really good.
What is the most surprising thing about US concerts compared to UK concerts?
I think there’s just generally a lot more energy over here. You guys like to party, you like to jump around and move around, very welcoming and really nice. Not to say that the UK doesn’t, I think you just stack it up a little bit more.
You’ve mentioned in other interviews that you love to collect instruments, so what’s the best instrument you’ve ever found?
Oh! I don’t know, there’s been a lot of instruments out there. I think my favorite has to be the accordion. It’s actually ridiculously hard!
What surprised you the most about interacting with Paul McCartney?
How not nervous I was! I think that was thanks to him. He’s an incredibly down to earth guy, very humble. He managed to make you forget he’s Paul McCartney, in a way. He’s really at your level, so welcoming. That surprised me in a way. I thought I was going to be really shaking and not able to get any words out or even play my songs, but he’s an incredibly lovely guy.
What are your favorite songs off Sweet Disarray to play live?
To play live, I like to play “Can You Hear Me.” I really like to play “Sweet Disarray” and I think “Must Be Leaving;” the non-single ones are just really nice to play.
On Sweet Disarray, the songwriting is great, but so is the production. How do you translate that really crisp production to a live show?
The thing is, I don’t want to play the live show exactly like the recording. For “Sweet Disarray” I choose not to play on an acoustic guitar. I play on an electric guitar, and I don’t use any of the synths or the strings; I just take it right down to the warm electric guitar and vocals, which the rest of my band does. And it’s a lot more organic and raw than the recording, and I like that. It’s a bit of a passé of mine when I go see bands and they sound identical to their recording. I want to come away from a live show seeing something quite special and unique I wouldn’t get from the recording.
Speaking of performing live, you just performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. How was that experience?
[Laughs] That was terrifying! It was really fun, it was really good, but it was terrifying. I was so nervous! I met [Jimmy Kimmel] after the show finished; he’s a really lovely guy, very interested in music.
You’ve posted several how-to videos on how to play some of your songs. What’s important to you about sharing this information with fans?
I think it’s really important, and it’s only really something that’s occurred to me in the past once I kind of, in a way, did the first one as a mistake, but then realized that I thought it was a really good idea. It’s supposed to show that if things are going well with music, I want to maintain a close relationship with my fans. I think by doing this, this kinda shows that I’ll take time to help them out and connect with them.
When I was a kid, if any of my big influences showed me how to play their track instead of me reading terrible tablets on the Internet or watching YouTube videos I’d be thrilled. There’s no one else doing it at the moment, and it’s really an opportunity to take people through my tracks and show them how to actually play them. And I encourage people to do covers; every cover that’s sent to me I’ll watch and I’ll give feedback. I think that’s what my fans need if they wanna be songwriters as well or be musicians, just giving them the confidence to do that as well.
Your music videos themselves are incredibly fun. How do you conceptualize things like a National Staring Contest?
[Laughs] I think, you know, they’re all incredibly last minute, people think they’re so thought-out and stuff like that, but they’re so last minute. In a way, I try and keep them like that, because I think that’s something that comes out of having pressure and a small time frame, and I think it brings out the fun essence of the music.
The idea is to not go down the expected route. That “From Nowhere” video, for example, a lot of people were saying, “Oh, we’ll do something really emotional, kind of romantic, staring into your eyes like in the lyrics.” And then it was just like, “Hang on, why don’t we do a staring contest?” No one ever expects us to turn that meaning around, turn it on its head, and I think that’s the same with the other videos.
Like with “In/Out,” people were like, “It’s just a tropical song, we’ll just have the band play,” and then I thought, “No! I’ll just do multiple me’s and turn it into a karaoke video, go through all the different types of a karaoke video.” They’re all fun, and I try to make them as fun as possible.
