Dan Strauss
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Dan Strauss

New York, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2003 | SELF

New York, United States | SELF
Established on Jan, 2003
Solo Alternative Acoustic

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Music

Press


"Thoughtful and Melodic"

Catchy guitars, energetic grooves and inventive lyrics get this going. Engaging, natural style and interplay between the band. The more sensitive and articulate side of pop rock. - Taxi, The World's Leading Independent A & R Company


"Sounds good!"

Keep it up, Dan. - Wilco/Jeff Tweedy


Discography

Renting Happiness, 2001

Splendid, 2003

Rocking Chair, 2006

Circles, 2009

Frank Road, 2017

The Flying River, 2019

There And Not There, 2021

Photos

Bio

Dan Strauss began his music career at the tender age of seven, encouraged to take piano lessons by parents who were themselves avid music enthusiasts.  Dan grew up in Queens, NY where there was always music playing.  Says Strauss, “The Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Simon and Garfunkel, Beethoven, Mozart, Bob Dylan, Lena Horne and others made up the musical tapestry in that house.”   It should therefore come as no surprise that Strauss would find his way to music and songwriting.  Somehow, all of these influences (and many others) show up in small ways in his music.  Like any great artist, he borrows from what came before and spins it into his own magical creations.  Whatever the message, each song is charmingly delivered through an engaging, untainted voice and a mature musical palate.  Dan’s songs offer a rich diversity in their structure and sound. One minute, you are listening to a lush, harmony-laden pop ditty drenched in a Phil Specter-like wall of sound blanket and the next you are immersed in a sparse, haunting ballad reminiscent of Jeff Buckley, Elliott Smith or Bruce Springsteen.  His style of storytelling and lyrics are wholly unique, filled with rich metaphors and subtle references to literature and the songs that precede his own. He will find a way of expressing the simplicity of a quiet night, a dream or a New Year’s Eve in words that leave you needing to listen repeatedly to the picture he is painting.

In 2001, Dan released his first CD, Renting Happiness. This CD, recorded in Brooklyn, captures the sonic landscape of his life.  You can hear all of his influences as well as his love for a variety of styles.  In 2005, Dan upped the ante by taking songs that he had written one summer in a cabin nestled in the woods of New Hampshire, and created what songwriter Jerusha Korim called ”a string of jewels”with the album Rocking Chair.  Working with producer Cyrille Taillandier, who had just completed Lenny Kravitz’s Baptism, Dan created a collection of songs that would earn him his highest praise and his first radio play on NPR, where he also appeared as a guest. 

Dan followed that up with the country-tinged Circles in 2009.  This album features a collection of guest musicians and delivers some of Dan’s favorite songs including “Orbit Of You”, “Your Love” and the title track.  Dan toured extensively following the release of Circles, performing across the Northeast and Ireland.  He continued to write but did not release his next album, Frank Road until 2017.  Most of the songs on this album were written in the Catskill Mountains of upstate NY.  There, Dan immersed himself in the long tradition of great musicians and songwriters who spent time in that region and emerged with another collection of memorable songs that spanned genres.  Dan followed that up quickly with the gorgeous and deeply personal The Flying River in 2019.  During the pandemic, he went back to work and released There And Not There, which included the hauntingly beautiful “Almanac”. 

These days, Dan continues to write and record in his Brooklyn apartment. Over the past two years, he has written over a dozen new songs that are considered some of his best.  It is clear, once you have heard Dan’s music, that he is carrying a musical torch.  As he continues to evolve as a songwriter, he taps into such emotion and memory that you literally feel that you are part of his life, and you find a bit of your own life hidden within the wistful, spirited songs oozing from your speakers.  He continues to tour and has been featured on WFUV, WDST-Radio Woodstock, and WBKM in Vermont.

Dan has be compared to the following artists: Paul Simon, The Feelies, Jeff Tweedy, Aimee Mann, Elvis Costello, John Lennon, Patti Smith, Nick Drake, The Pretenders, The Beatles, Josh Rouse, Elliott Smith, Evan Dando, Beck, Bruce Springsteen, Matthew Sweet.