interview: Dan Drohan
It’s been 7 years since Dan Drohan could be found in a Berklee classroom. Here he was playing handmade percussion and weaving textures into patterns along side other musicians, together reinterpreting Joni Mitchell’s famed and elusive songs. This ensemble was a meeting ground for like-minded musicians. Dan quickly found himself in a project with fellow Joni classmate Tamsin Wilson, later becoming Wilsen. Since moving to Brooklyn, Dan has recorded, toured and even produced with several artists and bands that span the genre board. He has become sought after not only as a session drummer, but an artist who can creatively bring something unique to the table. He has a thirst for great musicianship, serving the song, and harvesting a world with music. Dan is an artist to watch. He is always searching for something new to incorporate on the next song, always stretching the idea of what can work from the drummer’s chair and resonating with audiences by tirelessly giving himself to his craft.
Lets talk to him.
Q: How do you work with music now? Studio? Touring?
I really enjoy recording. Recording records especially. I love getting into a whole world that someone is conceiving and really speaking that language together. It has always been a bit of both recording, either session drumming or producing, and also playing live. Performing still is the root of it for me. I see recording as capturing a great performance even if it’s a meticulously crafted sonic sound design approach. That design can be like a performance.
Q: Please tell me more.
Well, I love this idea. I think it has developed over time and I am still developing on how I see things with music. While I’ve been making a lot of music on the drums as well as now on my laptop, crafting music as been more like painting and to me. Its all valid as a performance, even if the performance takes you 3 months.
Q: The Joni Mitchell ensemble seems to have lead you to meeting musicians with similar creative minds?
Yes! Big thanks to Abby Zocher, for encouraging the right things in the right people. I met more than a few great musicians through this ensemble at Berklee. And actually Berklee was an amazing place in gerneral. When I think of all the projects and records I have worked on, 80% include somebody from Berklee.
Q’s: What are some of the projects you are up to now?
I am currently playing with a band called Olden Yolk for the last year or so. I cut the debut record with them and have been touring it this year. I’m about to go on a west coast tour with them and band called Mega Bog. I just finished recording drums on Indian/American singer, Sid Sriram’s upcoming album “Moksha” which should come out later this year. And mostly focusing my energy on my band élan.
Q’s: What are some things you have done since moving to Brooklyn?
Literally the day after I moved to Brooklyn, the Wilsen crew traveled up to Canada to recorded the debut album ‘Sirens’, which was a memorable time.
Soon I started to get into producing after encouragement from fellow friends Jeff Fettig and Alex Krispin. The very first thing I had took on as a producer was artist, Ang Low. Jeff, myself, and Ang spent a lot of really amazing moments crafting songs in Jeff’s studio and building a world where Ang Low’s debut recorded ‘Life Goes Down’ showcases this time. I also recored and co-produced Maggie Rogers album ‘Blood Ballet’ with Jeff as well. I met Maggie at Berklee when she came to do a summer songwriting camp and I was put into the house band. I had ran into her years later at a Wilsen/Daughter show in NYC and she had started going to NYU. We stayed in touch and ended up getting into talking about sounds and visuals for music she was chasing. A lot of things I like about music are the crafting of something new, a territory where you are coming up with ideas and combinations of things you haven’t heard to together yet. I love doing that with artists and friends. This is maybe why I always end up doing the debut records with people [haha].
Also have been working with a band called Uni Ika Ai, with some other Berklee alum, Tom Dies (Via Audio) and Peter Lalish (Lucius) as well as singer Maia Friedman (Dirty Projectors). We record ‘Keeping a Golden Bullseye in the Corner of My Mind’ and toured it for a year-ish and made a second album with producer, Dan Molad, that has yet to come out.
I recorded drums for Brian Dunne on his last record ‘Bug Fixes and Performance Improvements.’ It was a really great time cutting his tunes live. His vocals were done live with everything too! He’s a badass. Of course more Berklee people and my close friend, Andrew Sarlo, was producing that one.
Andrew, myself and another close friend Luca Buccellati ended up starting a improvised recording project called ‘comfort’. There are tapes and a lot of crazy recordings out there you can find. That’s a really fun project.
Also recorded on Tei Shi’s last album ‘Crawl Space’ and Ben Talmi’s most recent work with ‘Distractionism’.
I did tours with different bands and artists including a run in with Nick Hakim’s band supporting Emily King and a tour playing duo with lap steel guru Rocco Delucca. I also had a short run playing drums with friends Ginla up in Canada.
I have been releasing some solo music under ‘Bermuda Kid’. Again, crazy! Its all music based on drum recordings and tripped out processing that I love doing. And most recently my band élan. Thats been a main source of empowerment for me and the other three people involved.
Q’s: What are some things you learned from The Joni Mitchell Ensemble that help your playing?
I really learned how you can take a music or a “classic” tune and while trying to reinterpret it you make it your own. Listening to the other musicians while saying something of your own too. Dialogue and conversation – gentle, loud, simple or complex. All of those moments seemed to be called for in Joni’s tunes under the surface even. You wouldn’t know it but I always got into how intellectual her songs are. She made something complex fit in a context that could be understood by everyone. Her emotional placement, subject matter, and delivery.. that was exciting to me. And just backing and playing along with other beautifully talented songwriters and musicians. Adriane Lenker (Big Thief) was also intertwined in the Joni ensemble back then. Noga Shefi, bassist with Delicate Steve, Zula, was in it with us too. She brought me a scarf that she knit for me one class! So nice, and thats what Joni ensemble was like. The environment was kind and welcoming and we enjoyed experiencing this music all together. It felt good. Also a lot of us, like Joni’s musicians in her band, were and are into Jazz!
Q: What are some of the things you want to do in the future with music?
In the future I would love to continue to put out more albums with people that trying to make something unique. In any genre or any approach. I’m into so much music and I love making records. I also need to feel like what I’m working on I haven’t done this before or I know this is something stretching our abilities. Being fulfilled with music these days is, for better or worse, a bigger thing than just making successful music. I think, for me, its about — can this project stand out? Can this project fulfill everyone involved in a big way? Can we do something that may surprise the world and ourselves? Can we learn from the process and can the audience learn something from this art? I think that is what Joni did that with her music and her career.
photos from Dan during élan performance 5.25.18 courtesy of Douglas Adesko –www.douglasadesko.com
Dan’s Website – www.dandrohan.net
