Dan Croll

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Dan Croll
Dan Croll in 2017
Dan Croll in 2017
Background information
Birth nameDaniel Francis Croll
Born (1990-07-18) 18 July 1990 (age 33)
Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England
OriginStoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter
Instruments
  • Guitar
  • trumpet
  • piano
  • bass guitar
  • percussion
Years active2010—present
Labels
Websitedancroll.com

Daniel Francis Croll (born 18 July 1990) is a British singer-songwriter. He is known for songs including "From Nowhere," "Compliment Your Soul," "Home," and "Yesterday." Often associated with indie pop and folktronica, his work also spans genres such as indie folk, rock music, and 1970s-style R&B and soft rock. He began his career in 2011 when he was named Songwriter of the Year by the Musicians' Benevolent Fund while attending the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. His debut single, "From Nowhere," was released in 2012 and achieved commercial success. Croll followed it with 2014's Sweet Disarray, a full-length album released by Deram Records/Decca Records (UK) and Capitol Records (US). Since that time, he has released a number of works with Communion Music including the studio albums Emerging Adulthood (2017), Grand Plan (2020), and Fools (2023), as well as the EP On Top (2021). He moved from Liverpool to the United States in 2018 but returned to England in 2023.

Career[edit]

Early career[edit]

Born in Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, Croll moved to Liverpool when he was 18 to attend the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA). While at LIPA, he won the national Songwriter of the Year award from the Musicians' Benevolent Fund[1] and was one of eight students picked to have a one-to-one with LIPA founder Sir Paul McCartney. He wrote his 2020 track "Yesterday" about the experience of meeting McCartney.

2012–2015[edit]

Croll signed to Turn First Records in 2012. His debut single, "From Nowhere," was released worldwide on 24 September 2012 via Turn First / Racquet Records (Croll's own imprint) as a digital download and limited 7". "From Nowhere" spent 3 days at the top of the Hype Machine popular charts, was playlisted in the UK on BBC 6 Music, XFM and Amazing Radio, and received spot plays on BBC Radio 1. The song also received airplay in the US, reaching #36 on the Billboard Alternative chart. Croll was named a Guardian New Band of the Day[2] in November 2012 and described as "Paul Simon jamming with Prince. Very nice."

Croll released his second single "Compliment Your Soul" in March 2013.[3] This was followed up by the release of "In/Out" in July 2013.[4]

On 13 October 2013, Croll released the song "Home" on his own VEVO channel on YouTube. On 29 October 2013, during an on-air Virgin Radio interview, Croll confirmed he had finished recording his full-length debut album. The LP was expected to be released early in 2014.[5]

His song "Compliment Your Soul" was included in the soundtrack for the video game FIFA 14.[6]

On 19 April 2014 for Record Store Day, Croll released a limited 10" orange vinyl featuring 2 unreleased songs. Side A featured "Hello My Baby" (featuring Ladysmith Black Mambazo) which was backed with "Ever at Your Side". Croll went to Durban to record "Hello My Baby" with the group. The limited vinyl was released in independent record stores on the day.

2015–present: Subsequent releases[edit]

In September 2015, Croll released the single "One of Us." In June 2016, Croll announced that he had signed with Communion Music.[citation needed]

The electro-song "Swim" was released on 25 August 2016 through the label.[7][8] The music video for "Swim" was released on 31 August 2016.[9] Croll's second studio album Emerging Adulthood was released on 21 July 2017.[10] The album was produced by Ben H. Allen.

In 2018, Croll relocated from Liverpool to Los Angeles.[11] In 2019/2020, he began working with producer Matthew E. White at his Spacebomb Studios in Richmond, Virginia. In early 2020, multiple new songs were released, and a third album named Grand Plan was announced on 15 April via social media.[12] It was released on 21 August 2020.[13] In 2021, he released a live version of the album, recorded at Spacebomb.[14] Later that year, Croll released the four-track EP On Top. Released in July 2021 via Communion, it was also produced and recorded with Matthew E. White.[15]

Discography[edit]

Studio albums[edit]

Title Album details Peak positions
UK SCO
Sweet Disarray 26 53
Emerging Adulthood[10]
Grand Plan[16]
  • Released: 21 August 2020
  • Label: Communion Group
  • Formats: LP, CD, digital
Fools

Studio EPs[edit]

Title Album details
From Nowhere EP
On Top[17]

Live albums[edit]

Title Album details
Spotify Session
  • Released: 2013
  • Label: Decca
  • Formats: digital
iTunes Festival: London 2013[18]
  • Released: 1 January 2014
  • Label: Decca
  • Formats: digital
Grand Plan (Live)[19]
  • Released: 29 June 2021
  • Label: Communion Group
  • Formats: digital

Remix albums[edit]

  • In / Out (Turnfirst / Decca, 2013)
  • Nobody Knows (Remixes) (Decca, 2014)[20]
  • Home (Remixes) (Decca, 2014)
  • From Nowhere (Remixes) (Decca, 2014)
  • Tokyo EP (2017)

Singles[edit]

Title Year Format Album
"From Nowhere"[21][22] 2012 Digital, 7" Sweet Disarray
"Compliment Your Soul" 2013 Digital
"In/Out" Digital
"Home"[23] Digital, 7"
"Hello My Baby" (featuring Ladysmith Black Mambazo) / "Ever at Your Side" 2014 10" (RSD) Sweet Disarray
(Deluxe)
"Nobody Knows"
(featuring The Very Best)
Digital
"One of Us" 2015 Digital Emerging Adulthood
"Swim" 2016 Digital
"Be Alone" Digital Non-album single
"Away From Today" 2017 Digital Emerging Adulthood
"Bad Boy" Digital
"So Dark (Live)" 2021 Digital Grand Plan (Live)
"Surreal (Live)" Digital
"On Top" Digital On Top
"Big One" Digital
"Home - Piano Version" Digital Non-album single
"How Close We Came" 2022 Digital Fools
"Slip Away" 2023 Digital
"Talk To You"
"Second Guess"

Guest appearances[edit]

Title Year Other artist(s) Album
"Marion" 2012 N/A Communion: New Faces
"A Place Called World" 2014 John Legend, Nach, Anni B Sweet A Place Called World
"A Place Called World (The Zombie Kids Remix)" John Legend, Nach, Ani B Sweet, The Zombie Kids
"From Nowhere (Baardsen Remix)" N/A The Music Of Grand Theft Auto V – Vol. 3: The Soundtrack
"Honey Sweet - Dan Croll Remix" 2017 Blossoms Honey Sweet (Remixes)
"Grand Plan - 414 Demo" 2020 N/A A Little Bit At A Time: Spacebomb Family Rarities

References[edit]

  1. ^ "LIPA student wins writing award". BBC News. 14 February 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  2. ^ Lester, Paul (8 November 2011). "New band of the day – Dan Croll (No 1,390)". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  3. ^ "Dan Croll – Compliment Your Soul". Indie Shuffle. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  4. ^ Croll, Dan. "Dan Croll – In/Out". Indie Shuffle. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
  5. ^ "A Simpler Way to Buy Mobile - Virgin Mobile". virginmobilefeed.com.
  6. ^ "EA Sports revealed the soundtrack for the video game FIFA 14". www.utfifas.com/. Archived from the original on 31 March 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  7. ^ "Swim - Single by Dan Croll on Apple Music". iTunes. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  8. ^ Hunt, El (31 August 2016). "Dan Croll returns with 'Swim'". DIY. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  9. ^ "Dan Croll - Swim (Official Video)". YouTube. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  10. ^ a b "Emerging Adulthood". iTunes.Apple (GB). Retrieved 26 March 2017.
  11. ^ "Dan Croll 13 Questions - on LA, hot sauce and new album Grand Plan". Getintothis. 16 April 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  12. ^ "Dan Croll Announces New Album GRAND PLAN". 15 April 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  13. ^ Croll, Dan. "My new album "Grand Plan" is out now! I'm so proud of this album, and especially thankful to Matthew e. White and the Spacebomb family for helping me bring these songs to life". twitter.com. Archived from the original on 21 August 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  14. ^ "Dan Croll To Perform At Matthew E. White's Spacebomb Studio This Sunday – Volatile Weekly". Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  15. ^ "Dan Croll - On Top". Communion (UK). Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  16. ^ "Grand Plan". iTunes.Apple (US). Archived from the original on 23 December 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  17. ^ "On Top EP, by Dan Croll". Dan Croll. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  18. ^ iTunes Festival: London 2013 - EP by Dan Croll, retrieved 23 July 2021
  19. ^ "Grand Plan (Live), by Dan Croll". Dan Croll. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  20. ^ Nobody Knows (Remixes) [feat. The Very Best] - EP by Dan Croll, retrieved 23 July 2021
  21. ^ "'From Nowhere' by Dan Croll". iTunes. Archived from the original on 13 December 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  22. ^ "Future Releases on Triple A (AAA) Radio Stations". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014.
  23. ^ "Home - Single by Dan Croll on Apple Music". iTunes.

External links[edit]