Dan Whitehouse is a British singer-songwriter based in Wolverhampton in the West Midlands. Before going solo he was front man for Sonara and side man for Naomi and Carina Round.

As a teenager Whitehouse played guitar in several bands before touring and recording extensively with Naomi (‘Liquid’ Gut Records 1999). In his early 20s he was the lead singer and creative force behind Sonara, whilst studying music at Westminster University. The band toured and released several DIY EPs before Jon Mac of Barfly Group signed them to Camden based independent label Force Ten Records. In 2003 they recorded their debut single at Air Studios and appeared at the Reading Festival.

Following graduation in 2003 (fellow alumni include The Irrepressibles, The Feeling, Pure Reason Revolution, Jamie Woon) Whitehouse pursued a career in creative music making and had a wide range of experiences ranging from session guitar work (Carina Round, The Mexicolas) to community music workshops with children and adults with learning difficulties.

In 2007 he became disillusioned with life in London and returned home to Wolverhampton with the intention to rest and recuperate. He reveled in the peace and quiet his hometown offered and wrote a lot of new material during this year, largely based on stressful experiences in London and the calming relationship with his family.

Throughout 2007 Whitehouse played regular solo shows at the Glee Club Birmingham, supporting a diverse range of artists such as Willy Mason, Julian Cope, Joseph Arthur, Kate Walsh, Josh Ritter and Maria Mckee. On December 6th he played his first headline gig at the venue, and it was at this event he met the pianist/composer June Mori who was playing on the same bill with singer/songwriter Dan Gallagher.

In February 2008 Whitehouse began recording songs at Zip Studios in Wolverhampton with a core band of Steve Clarke (Rogue States) bass, John Large (Thought Gang, Carina Round) drums and June Mori on piano, later joined by Tom Bounford (Audiopoiesis, Saturday Night Gym Club) playing violin.

Ryan Pinson was the sound engineer for these sessions that continued sporadically throughout the next 18 months and featured an eclectic ensemble of musicians including BJ Cole (REM, Sting, Eno) Andy Bole (Gong, Captain Beefheart), and Carina Round (Puscifier, Early Winters).

In 2009 the recordings were released as a series of 3 EPs: The Balloon, The Bubble & The Box. The self-released EPs have been critical acclaimed, and several tracks have received radio play in the UK, on BBC Radio 2, 6 Music, Kerrang! & WCR FM.

BBC 6 Music’s Tom Robinson was the first broadcaster to give Dan national radio play, when a fan uploaded ‘Somewhere I Don’t Want To Go’ to the BBC Introducing website. Dan was one of a select group of artists chosen by Tom and Notting Hill Music Publishing to take part in a songwriting retreat in a remote country house in Kent, and also performed on Tom’s stage at the Wychwood Festival 09.

In 2010 Whitehouse was commissioned to compose a song for a BBC TV documentary, and continued to develop his musical relationship with the core band of musicians that crystallized during production of the ‘3 EPs’. The band went back into the studio and recorded began work on a full length album entitled ‘Landscape’.

2011 saw Whitehouse collaborate with Birmingham based producer, singer songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Michael Clarke (Rogue States). Together they produced Dan’s debut, self-titled 11 track album. Described as a ‘simple and direct’ sound by Whitehouse the record is a stripped back, acoustic affair featuring BJ Cole on Pedal Steel.

www.myspace.com/mrdanwhitehouse
www.dan-whitehouse.com
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