Dan Whitehouse (born 9 March 1979) is an English songwriter and musician. He is known for his distinctive voice and understated songwriting. His 2012 album Reaching for a State of Mind was made with percussionist Chip Bailey, a collaborator of Duke Special, and won critical acclaim as having lyrical vulnerability and imaginative musical settings.
Music Republic Magazine described Whitehouse as "A triple threat, a fine songwriter, a unique vocal talent and a talented multi-instrumentalist/performer".
Career
The son of a Wolverhampton community radio pioneer, Whitehouse was inspired by his father's record collection, gaining a "deep respect for song-writing technique".
After stints performing with Naomi (1998–2000) and fronting rock band Sonara, who performed at Reading Festival, Whitehouse went solo in 2007. He has since supported such acts as Maria McKee, Julian Cope, Peter Green, Josh Ritter, Caitlin Rose, 10cc, World Party, Joseph Arthur, Willy Mason and Simone Felice, as well as Eddi Reader, The Little Unsaid, Kris Drever and Joan As Policewoman.
Whitehouse released his debut record, the seven-track The Balloon EP, in 2009. This was followed by The Bubble EP later that year. Lead track, You Can't Give Me Anymore, was described as being reminiscent "of waves crashing on a beach." The track also featured Dan's first collaboration with pedal steel guitar player B. J. Cole.
His final release of 2009 was The Box EP. Collectively, the three 2009 EPs form a trilogy exploring themes of "life, love, loss and happiness."
Whitehouse's self-titled debut album was released in 2012, and was partially recorded in the songwriter's flat over a period of time with acoustic instrumentation. The album also included Theremin, an electric screwdriver, and, on the song "My Stupid Face", ambient sounds recorded at Birmingham shopping centre the Bullring. ."
In 2013, Whitehouse released his more ambitious second full album, Reaching for a State of Mind. Recorded in a professional studio with producer Michael Clarke and a full band, notable guests included Ezio guitarist Booga, Helen Lancaster from folk act The Old Dance School, Fairport Convention's PJ Wright, and Duke Special's percussionist Chip Bailey. The album's 11 tracks were culled from an initial long-list of 35 home-recorded demos".
Despite the inclusion of two notable folk musicians, the album is described as sitting "within a fairly wide spectrum of pop-rock-folk-Americana-roots influences." Artree described the album as "more intricately crafted and refined" than previous work, and a "musical evolution."
The album was launched at The Crescent Theatre, Birmingham, in September 2013, with a special guest appearance from Duke Special. The show was a sell-out. After an opening solo set, Duke later joined Whitehouse on stage for a version of Neil Young's Helpless.
Four previously unreleased tracks recording during the Reaching for a State Of Mind sessions were later released as Reaching for a Further State of Mind EP.
In 2014, Whitehouse toured North America for the first time with accordion-playing German-American singer-songwriter Anja McCloskey, and released a joint-EP, Still, which was recorded in Birmingham. The two met while at university together in London, and Anja has described their collaboration as "alternative folk."
During August 2014, Whitehouse performed at Moseley Folk Festival between The Felice Brothers and Richard Thompson where he performed material from his third album Raw State. The album features both new tracks and reimagined versions of previously released songs, and was produced by Danny George Wilson and Chris Clarke of Danny and the Champions of the World. The album continues Dan's collaboration with B. J. Cole.
Whitehouse signed to Reveal Records for his fourth album, 2016's Introducing. He also released a series of EPs, the fourth of which, EP 4: Sings Boo, saw Dan tackle songs either written wholly by, or co-written by Boo Hewerdine.
During 2016/2017, Whitehouse began working with Birmingham-based singer-songwriter and pianist Danielle Cawdell on her debut recording. The album, Silence Set Me Free was released in February 2018 with Whitehouse acting as producer and co-writer, as well as playing on the tracks.
Dreamland Tomorrow
After four years, Whitehouse's third album for Reveal was released in May 2020. Entitled Dreamland Tomorrow the 22 track collection was produced by Boo Hewerdine and Reveal record label boss Tom Rose, and featured contributions from John Elliott (The Little Unsaid), Eric Lane (Joan As Police Woman) minimalist composer Richard J. Birkin, Emily Barker, and BBC Jazz Award winning Saxophonist Xhosa Cole.