DanDlion shares ‘Knock Knock’ video + announces London show
“A real find…limber electro-soul, all lugubrious vocals and Prince-like” skittishness” Sunday Times
“Never predictable, never less than thrilling” DIY
“Mesmerising alt-pop” Wonderland
“Magnificent…packed with refreshing ideas” COLORS
“DanDlion is the soul and sound to watch” Notion
DanDlion today shares a video for new single ‘Knock Knock’, surrounding the announcement of an intimate headline London show at The Lower Third on October 25th (tickets available here). Having also headlined the BBC Introducing stage at Reading & Leeds this summer, ‘Knock Knock’ marks the start of a new era and mindset for the multi-disciplinary artist, who has already collaborated with the likes of Channel Tres, Griff (who joined him on stage at Reading), Dermot Kennedy and Tom Grennan (with whom he also toured earlier this year), as well as playing sold-out headline tours and surpassing millions of streams.
‘Knock Knock’ is DanDlion letting go and finally living in the present, in an immaculate mix of disco, R&B and future-soul recalling early Pharrell. Written in LA and painstakingly produced by Dan back in his Hackney studio – even down to the lush string arrangements – ‘Knock Knock’ (he says) captures that freedom of “the first time you meet someone, and lose all your cool. It’s about someone who makes you feel like you can drop your guard.” In its wider pursuit of “passion and connection in its rawest form”, ‘Knock Knock’ also represents DanDlion’s ambitions for this next phase of his career, and the body of work he has been working on throughout the pandemic…
The ‘Knock Knock’ video brings this new energy to colourful life, as Dan comments: “For this video, the thought of knocking on the door of a beehive was really funny to me! I wanted it to feel surreal but also super tongue in cheek. I loved working with the director Andrea Perez on this, she really brought the idea to life with EVERY single detail.”
DanDlion is a multi-hyphenate artist, producer, and songwriter and who has hustled hard to find himself in what might appear like the exact right place and time. Born in Reading to the self-proclaimed racket of a musical household, he moved to London aged 19; adopting the pseudonym of DanDlion to bring together the introverted and extroverted sides of his personality (in this case, the strength of lion and the delicacy of the flower). Like many young men of his generation, DanDlion has been working out how to balance the two sides ever since: a slow-burning process of self-discovery that he’s explored across experimental formative EPs Perspective, Fruition, When One Thing Leads To Another, and the shape-shifting of writing & producing for others.
Something, however, was missing – and in the wider wake-up call of a life-changing couple of years, DanDlion has gone deep to examine who he is, and what he wants. Beginning with ‘Knock Knock’, his new music is a testament to trusting your instincts, having the confidence to be ambitious for yourself, and making up for lost time. During the recording process, Dan felt transported through his entire musical history, from the carefree abandon of playing music in the family home to those years in bands, and that time spent behind the desk: this time, though, the goal was not perfection, but an unabashed embrace of everything that makes you individual. Frank, feel-good and no longer hiding in plain sight, ‘Knock Knock’ is DanDlion at the door of UK pop’s next breakthrough: catch him live next month and watch out for more to follow soon.
