Out of the Black

By Joe Kavanagh

There are many instances of a phenomenon known as "addition by subtraction" throughout all aspects of life, culture and experience.

Given all the hoopla of the recent Super Bowl, perhaps a sporting example would be provide an apt illustration of this occurrence, so, if you'll be kind enough to indulge me, I'll turn to the recently departed tight end for the New York Giants: Jeremy Shockey.

Many people take the view that despite Shockey's undeniable talent on the football field, the Jints actually became a better team when he broke his leg in December of 2007, as evidenced by their unlikely march toward to football glory during his subsequent absence.

Without the volcanic Shockey's meat-headed, me-first outbursts, a weight appeared lifted from Eli Manning and the Giants offense; a sense that seemed validated when the Giants enjoyed their best regular season in over a decade during 2008, after shipping Shockey to New Orleans (although it is said that if you hold your hand to your ear and listen very carefully, you can still hear him complaining).

Drawing this analogy to a merciful close, the world of music is also littered with such examples, where one member leaving has directly, or indirectly, led to an act flourishing.

In the case of this week's act, it was not just a matter of one member leaving, but the subtraction of an entire band that spurred its sole remaining member on to bigger and better things.

Raised in the serene surrounds of Buckinghamshire, Dan Black's first flirtation with music was when his parents bought him a keyboard at five-years-old, although he was not initially smitten with the notion of becoming a musician, as he spent his childhood flirting with the idea of becoming the next Spiderman, before turning his dreams toward becoming a doctor.

Both aspirations were set firmly aside, however, when he discovered the music and persona of Prince as a teenager, and suddenly life as a doctor no longer seemed quite so glamorous.

Even still, it was only when a friend became love-struck by a local girl that music truly entered his life.

Seeking an excuse to show up at her house, the two teens set upon the idea of becoming musicians and Black managed to get the loan of a guitar with one solitary string.

In a case of 'from such tiny acorns do mighty oaks grow', the girl soon faded from focus, but Black became besotted with the guitar, spending much of his teen years practicing and absorbing a host of musical styles, from indie music acts like The Smiths, to the classic rock of bands such as the Beatles, through a particular affinity with hip hop.

By his own recollection, he also was a member of dozens of bands during this period and it was not until he was 20-years-old that he found some stability, when he became one of the last members welcomed into the performance art group known as Minty.

Drawing together "people from the more extreme (sic) of club culture and society in general", the group was responsible for his first experience of being part of a touring act, and also taught him how to push the artistic envelope as far as was acceptable. And then push it some more.

During this time, Black continued to work on his own music, assiduously translating myriad of musical ideas into songs, which he worked on at home on his computer.

Unlike songwriters who often start with a melody in their head, most of the time he would simply begin messing around with different sounds, essentially following his free-flowing sonic sessions to wherever they took him.

He is refreshingly honest about his approach, claiming that he often attempts to emulate the sounds of acts he admires, fusing different styles and often leading him into ground that is distinctly his own.

Using the guise of The Servant, he released two mini-albums, Mathematics (1999) and With the Invisible (2000), which were characterized by their diversity and seem to show an artist attempting to discover his identity.

Eventually The Servant became a four-piece band and their eponymous album in 2004 was sufficiently good enough to bring them to the attention of the national media, and garner them a devoted following on the continent.

In 2006, the band released their most critically-acclaimed work, How To Destroy A Relationship, which saw them become stars in France and Italy, while failing to make more than a blip on the UK and US markets.

It led to some surreal moments, such as one Black recently recalled: "Once a load of Italian kids on a plane to Stanstead (London Airport) were literally clamoring for photos and autographs from me, causing the air stewardesses to continually try to get them to sit down. But then, 30 minutes later, on the train into London I was back to being ignored/roughly barged out the way by English people as they got on and off at stations! It was kind of nicer actually."

By late 2007 however, Black was increasingly feeling constrained by the indie nature of the band and the fact that all decisions were increasingly reached by committee.

Deciding to strike out on his own, he remained in Paris and began working on a new solo project in an effort to create something that was fresher and more compelling. In his own words: "I'd rather take risks and stick interesting things in the songs rather than just write about vague indie nothingness which tends to purvey the world at the moment."

His move led him in a more electronic direction as he resumed his sessions of long hours spent in front of his computer.

A true student of the craft of songwriting, he would sometimes spend hours simply attempting to match particular vowels with certain melodies, in an effort to ensure that each song attained its full potential.

It would, however, eventually be somebody else's tune that would sow the seeds of his stardom, when he turned his attention to doing a cover of the Notorious BIG's track, Hypnotize.

He recently explained this unlikely choice in an interview: "I knew what kind of music I wanted make, but at first I found it hard to get these conflicting desires to blend well outside of my head. I'd been making these weird remix/mash-ups for my occasional deejaying, so I thought, I'll take the method I've been using for that but use it for song writing instead. The very first thing I tried was Hypnotize."

Blending the lyrics of the original with the beat from Rhianna's Umbrella, with a sample from John Carpenter movie, Starman, the result is quite simply the most imaginative and absorbing cover version of a hip hop song ever made.

Hugely influential BBC Radio 1 deejay, Zane Lowe, described it as "the hottest track in the world" and even Perez Hilton was moved to gush excitedly about the song in his world renowned blog.

It is a mark of just how highly the track was regarded that he was snapped up by record label, A&M less than a month later.

In the ensuing months, he has continued his stellar form, with the Air-like track, Liz And Johnny, appearing as part of renowned jewelry company, Cartier's so-called Love Project, an endeavor which combined music, art and film.

The immediately engaging, beat-driven, Yours, followed last December, a track that he describes as "NERD meets Thom Yorke", and if the songs that have subsequently appeared on his MySpace site - such as the fantastic Love Life - are any gauge of what is coming down the road then this album is sure to be a juggernaut that crashes into the consciousness of the music public.

Unlike many other artists, the payoff with Black's music is instantaneous and his blend of attention grabbing hooks, contagious beats and uplifting lyrics is nothing short of intoxicating.

A truly fresh innovator following his own path to musical excellence, Black recently claimed that "the greatest bands make genres" and while he may not quite have invented his own genre just yet, he is certainly a master of the one he has chosen as his theater of operations and is at the head of whatever class you want to put him in.