Juliet Schroder
You may remember [Dan] Tyminski from his stellar vocals on Avicii’s 2014 international pop hit “Hey Brother,” which went #1 in at least 18 countries and has global streams of over 1.1 billion and downloads of 5.3 million. Since then, Dan has been hard at work in the studio making music, resulting in his brand-new album, Southern Gothic, out this Friday.
Did you know the music on Southern Gothic was actually not meant to be released by Dan? What started out as songwriting for other artists resulted in the 14-time Grammy winner finding himself jealous to give up the songs he was writing and realizing that he had an opportunity to explore these songs within his own project. And we are so glad he kept them, because the record is an actual modern masterpiece.
For those of you that aren’t familiar with Dan, the Rutland, Vermont native is one of the premier vocalists in modern acoustic music. As a child, he was drawn to Southern singers including Jimmy Martin, Ricky Skaggs and Tony Rice and found himself not only mimicking their southern singing voices but also teaching himself how to play banjo by ear. A 25-year member of Alison Krauss’ Union Station, he is also the singing voice of George Clooney’s character in the film O Brother, Where Art Thou? for which he won two Grammy Awards including Best Country Collaboration with Vocals for the single “I Am A Man of Constant Sorrow” and Album of the Year for the soundtrack which sold over 10 million copies worldwide.
Last month, I had the opportunity (along with editor Jozie) to preview Southern Gothic at a special listening party held at the swanky Dream Downtown hotel in New York City. Just like Tyminski’s music, the event was not your average listening party.
Working with today’s modern technology, visuals from Southern Gothic were projected against a brick wall while each song from the 13-track album that Dan describes as “holding up a mirror to society without judgment or opinions” played in the background.
The most interesting part of the listening event was just that — the listening. Each guest was given a special pair of headphones before entering the room, enabling Jozie and me to hear the music at its highest quality in surround sound.
If you’re looking for something new to listen to, we highly suggest giving Southern Gothic a spin. The record is changing the game for the country music genre, and we’re 100% positive that its for the better. The sound mixes traditional country with classic rock and features a variety of moods, giving the album symbolism that light and dark seem to always be at odds. We can’t wait to see how other artists in Music City use Southern Gothic as an inspiration for their own work!
Tyminsky’s new album Southern Gothic will be available on all streaming providers and at all music retailers tomorrow, October 20, 2017.
