"I desire to paint pictures with music…images
filled with emotion."
I was born on Long Island, N.Y.
in 1965, and currently reside in Leesville, Louisiana. I started playing
guitar in my teens, and in High School had various bands. We would play
parties, local "Battle of the Band" shows, etc. I lost my
taste for that after I had finally put together a really good band,
and after our first rehearsal, my singer O.D.ed on drugs and alcohol
and died playing chicken in traffic. That depressed me so much that
I stopped playing with other people entirely. I did, however, start
playing about with pianos on my own. I went on to play guitar, keyboards
and even attempted to learn the flute.
When I was 25, I moved to New Orleans, a city rich in musical culture.
Due to circumstances, I found myself playing flute one night along with
two drummers at the opening of an art gallery. Shortly thereafter I
borrowed a 4-track recorder from a neighbor and made some demos. That
led to the neighbor asking me to play some keyboards on a cd he was
working on at the time. I also found myself being a street musician
in New Orleans' famous French Quarter, just making things up as I went
along. But, the best response I ever got was by commandeering a piano
in Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop bar. I sat down at the piano, closed my
eyes and remembered nothing of what I had played. When I opened my eyes
again, there was a man in tears in front of me and a $20 dollar bill
sitting in the donation glass on the piano.
Music is not the only one of my many loves. I am also the author of
several books. The most well known being The
Book of Night, my written tribute to what I call "The Lady",
an embodiment of the Night Sky in personification, who, since childhood's
hour has been both friend and paramour. "She
is the universe we all exist within, and our tiniest breath. She is
existence within the infinite, looking out upon the grand panorama that
is."
In 2004, I released my debut CD Invocation,
"A paean to the Dark Goddess of the Night sky with ambient soundscapes
that caress the ears. Daniel Kemp's evocative keyboards illuminate the
unfolding veils of the Spirit of the Night. Within this aural embrace,
your spirit is set free to dance with the shining darkness of the night
sky."
The timeline for my second CD,Voices began
in October 2004, shortly after Invocation was finished. It was half
done when hurricane Katrina was beginning to bear down on New Orleans.
"The night we knew Katrina would hit was
the night I sat down at my keyboard and recorded "Requiem for Orleans".
I remained in New Orleans for four days after the storm, left for 2
weeks, and returned just in time to get hit with hurricane Rita as well.
"Katrina has affected my music universally.
There is no way that anyone can live through that kind of experience
and NOT have it change them…If anything, it has made my music a
bit more melancholy simply because of the sorrow I feel for a place
I called home for 17 years."
Currently, I am working on my third CD, From Wasteland
to Woodland which will be a musical interpretation of life during
the aftermath of the storm, and my subsequent relocation to the woodlands
of Western LA. where the Lady Night continues to be my main source of
inspiration.
Influences:
Growing up, Il listened to a lot of Progressive Rock - early Genesis,
Yes, King Crimson, Hawkwind, Gong, Pink Floyd, Brian Eno, Mike Oldfield.
I also listened to a LOT of other things, like Classical, Punk and a
lot of Frank Zappa, and just about everything in between.
Instruments:
All of my music are original compositions and basically start out bare
bones on a keyboard. Most of my instrumentation is done via virtual
means (VSTi). Wusikstation being the one I reach for most simply because
of the wealth of sound libraries available and the ability to use any
.wav file as a sound source. I also use Dimension Pro, Absynth, Atmosphere,
Cameleon 5000, EVE and others too numerous to mention. I am now also
starting to offer my own presets for some of these instruments and will
also shortly be offering soundsets as well. "Learning
how to make my own sounds has opened my eyes to a whole new world of
possibilities and I am starting to experiment more with programming
other virtual instruments."
Invocation
by Daniel Kemp
"A paean to the Dark Goddess of the Night
sky with ambient soundscapes that caress the ears. Daniel Kemp's evocative
keyboards illuminate the unfolding veils of the Spirit of the Night.
Within this aural embrace, your spirit is set free to dance with the
shining darkness of the night sky."
01 - Invocation
02
- (Twilight) Night Rise
03
- Starlight
04
- Spirits
05
- Lost (In Open Arms)
06 - Voice
07 - Ascent
08 - Unveiling (A Body Clothed With Stars)
09 - Love
10 - Love (Returning)
11 - Amongst The Stars
12 - Descent
13 - Unfolding Within
14
- Shadows Fall (Fare Thee Well)
15 - Nights Ending
16 - Oracle
Running Time 57:29
Through the music on the CD
I am attempting to tell the story of a very large part of my early life,
but musically within the space of one night. My meeting "the Lady"
when I was young and some of the experiences then and thereafter.
It is meant, also, as a musical companion to The Book of Night.
All of the pieces were recorded April to August, 2004. Some pieces are
like ambient soundscapes, some pieces are more classical flavoured.
It is my hope that there will be something to like for just about everyone.
Voices
by Daniel Kemp
"Voices evocatively tells the story of
a life interrupted by disaster. Flowing instrumental sound-scapes, infused
with Daniel's own spoken-word readings from his best selling book, The
Book of Night, incorporating angelic guest vocals by Mary Riley and
Katja Mueller"
01
- Voices
02 - Ammum Mutum
03 - The Gateless Gate
04 - Floating
05 - Memories
06 - Peace
07 - Night
08 - Silence
09 - Solitude
10 - Limbo
11 - Now What
12 - Leilah
13
- Letherian
14
- Blood
15 - Nox
16
- Requiem For Orleans
17 - Aftermath
Running Time 58:33
This CD is both an expansion
from the Invocation CD and also a musical reaction to Hurricane Katrina.
Some of the songs were actually composed just before and just after
the storm.
Imagine the music of the stars, Voices is a collection of celestial
symphonies punctuated by the influence of America's most formidable
catastrophe. A truly unique blending of classical and modern instrumentation,
infused with old-school Progressive keyboards, haunting vocals and a
dark, brooding undertone influenced by Daniel's connection to the Dark
Goddess.
Special thanks to Mary Riley and Katja Mueller for
lending their voices to this project.
Each CD is available for $15.
"It all comes down to
sitting in front of my keyboard with my eyes closed...remembering the
feeling of floating out amidst the stars. It was then and there I met
what I call, The Lady, for the sky threw itself back at me. All of my
music starts with that moment of remembrance, and then gets modified
by the world at large."
