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Biographie
Deacon moved from self-contained computer music to orchestral epics. His interactive live show, honed in DIY spaces, was taken to museums and concert halls. He frequently expanded his performances to include a horde of side musicians. Gliss Riffer, an entirely self-produced record of almost all electronic sounds, is a return to Deacon’s Spiderman of the Rings-era process. He calls it “easily the most fun [he’s] ever had making a record.”
After a string of large ensemble projects (including 2009’s Bromst and 2012’s America) Deacon longed for the “simplicity” of the days when he did nearly everything himself. So he made plans to sequester himself in his studio and conjure an album from the sketches and songs he had begun in the back of the van on the European leg of the America tour.
Those plans were upended when he received a last-minute invitation to tour with Arcade Fire in August. Rather than lose momentum by pushing back his recording schedule, Deacon continued to make the record on the road. “I was mixing and arranging in the green room before sound check and each night back at the hotel.” Deacon said, “On days off I'd find a studio to track vocals or mix. When a studio couldn't be found I dismantled a hotel bathroom, sealing the vents with towels and using all the bedding to turn it into a control room.”
This is his first record to showcase his newfound appreciation for his vocal cords, an appreciation he gained after going through an extended bout of laryngitis. “I started thinking about how the voice is an instrument that expires,” he said, “and that made me want to make an album with the voice more exposed.” And that he did. While Gliss Riffer contains all the instrumental layering we’ve come to expect, the vocals are mixed with a prominence (“Feel the Lightning,” “Learning to Relax”) and, at times, a clarity (“When I Was Done Dying”) that have never been heard on a Dan Deacon record before. All the vocals are performed by Deacon himself, even the female voice on “Feel the Lightning” °™ the product of vari-speed recording techniques.
This album also marks the first time Deacon replaced his digitally realized parts with analog synthesizers, giving Deacon the opportunity to experiment with synthesizers in the same way he experimented with strings and wind instruments on America. Deacon travelled to Asheville, N.C., to record with Moog’s at-the-time-unreleased Sub 37 analog synth. Gliss Riffer is the first record in the world to feature the instrument.
Despite being predominately electronic, Gliss Riffer’s sonic palette is informed by his post-Spiderman material. The Disklavier, a MIDI-fed player piano first heard on Bromst, is present here. (This time around, Deacon ran it so hard it broke.) Cross-rhythms suggestive of America’s orchestral opus “USA” and Deacon’s art music work (including a Carnegie Hall performance and film score for Francis Ford Coppola) are also in evidence. What Gliss Riffer shares with Spiderman of the Rings as a musical experience is an aesthetic directness and ecstatic energy. Gliss Riffer trades in exuberant, uncontained fun.
Lyrical images of lightning, oceans, lakes, and roads crop up frequently as stand-ins for freedom and self-realization. The tracks were started on the ever-changing landscapes that greet a touring musician. The lyrics, on the other hand, were mostly written in Deacon’s studio, a room with no windows and no air conditioning in Baltimore’s sweltering summer where it was easy to imagine being somewhere else.
So while Gliss Riffer is all about fun, it’s figured dramatically. It’s a euphoria tempered by yearning and set in defiance of life’s nagging anxiety. “Happiness takes time,” we are reminded by tremolo vocals in the middle of the supremely danceable “Mind on Fire.” The bliss on this record is well-earned.
Avis
I'll always remember the first time I saw Dan Deacon live. I saw him on a going out whim at a venue, checking out an artist I've knew absolutely nothing about.
What went on was like no show I've ever been to before. Everyone was happy having a blast and I could have sworn this was the one concert I went to where nobody was an asshole. Dan deacon interacted with the audience and played this electronic experimental yet strangely dance-able music. There was this surreal artsy video collage playing behind him as he played each song, while the drummer beat the shit out of his drums. It was insane. Somewhere towards the last half of the show, Dan Deacon had the entire crowd form a human tunnel by having pairs of people lined up next to each other, holding their hands up to one another's forming a bridge. Our long human tunnel ending up starting inside the venue extending outside to around the whole block. It was weirdly awesome.
After the show, I immediately wanted to buy something of his and start listening to more of his stuff. It was the best concert I've ever been to. I was even able to meet the guy afterwards. He was the nicest to all his fans - very down to earth, sociable with no big ego. I'm glad I took this chance on this random artist I've never heard of. I know I'll be the first to rush to his show the next time he's in town.
kirasproxy
The dance circle was formed early on, and I buttoned by shirt pockets, tighten my belt, and the insanity started as everyone started to move in unison with the music. While fun at first, wave after wave of people pushing to and fro, the intensity just kept rising, and soon even those assholes who barged in front of you earlier can not resist the force of the human tide. I saw a short girl, only about five foot tall, as she struggled against the wave, a look of horror took over her face as she went down for the last time, I did not see her again. A faint whiff of her patchouli hung in the air, only to be quickly masked by the heady salty smell of the BO of a thousand people. I don't know what happen next, I found myself washed up at the bar, and I moved to back room and I counted myself lucky to have survived that day.
As for the music, it was rockin', it is just a shame that storm on the dance floor pretty much prevented me from dancing. I did get a chance to look at the floor after the show was over, and I found the glasses of this five foot hipster girl. I will keep them with me in the hopes I might see her again, assuming she survived.
crphilipp
Electro musician and composer Dan Deacon is more than happy to dismiss all of the conventions of an average stage show to really gift his crowds with an experience they are not soon to forget. Often conducting mass dance offs to some of his most rambunctious tracks, the whole crowd is ready to get involved with the surrealistic environment.
Bringing the festival vibe with a massive rendition of 'Crash Jam' has the whole crowd jumping and then applauding to levels that could break sound boundaries. After this Dan takes the opportunity to get to know them a little better as he begins to conduct an impromptu Q & A of sorts where they are able to shout out song requests.
He maintains this pace which can only be described as controlled mayhem and there is no reprieve for the jumping masses, not that they particularly wanted it. By the finale of 'Snookered', Dan has launched himself from the stage and is singing aggressively in the middle of the crowd whilst everybody's hands reach towards him and bounce in time.
sean-ward
I have been to many shows, but the show Dan Deacon put on this past week was the best one I have ever been to in my entire life. The whole crowd was going wild, the music was incredible, his enthusiasm and audience participation made it so much more than just going to see a musician play a set. He gets the crowd involved in performing his music. Dan Deacon is a MUST see artist.
shawnnix610
Dance contests, interpretive dance to unreleased tracks, monologues on timbral palate, averaging 95dB over a 15 minute period. A concert experience unlike any other. Apparently I need to write more words, so these are those.
johneves
The show was incredible. There were minor technical difficulties, but Dan interacted with the crowd while it happened and made the experience even better. I would definitely go again if he came back into town.
Ghoulawsh
My soul needed that!
So much love. So much fun. Just let go and be human!
Phenomenal music. Meaningful lyrics. Great energy and audience participation.
I’ll try to catch him in Asheville!
ryanpmay
One of the most exciting, interactive concerts I've ever been to. He really got the audience into the show in a way I have not seen before. Awesome venue, awesome show. Thanks Dan Deacon!
FuriousGeorge27
Dan Deacon puts on one of the best shows I have ever seen, no, experienced. One does not simply watch a Dan Deacon concert, you participate in it! Bring your dancing shoes!
gary-mitchell-mcinti
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