Five years ago, Danny Vaughn (the lead singer of Tyketto) and Dan Reed (the man behind the funk rockers Dan Reed Network) decided to merge their capabilities to develop a new joint project: a live acoustic, touring act called SNAKE OIL & HARMONY.
The project resulted in two critically acclaimed tours where they shared their songs and stories with listeners across Europe, building an encouraging reputation for their singing, musicianship and intimacy with audiences.
These first-class tours inspired them to further their creative partnership, inspiring joint talent, to create some new songs to be added to the repertoire for future dates
It seems, music and good fortune has brought these two mystics together (they seem to have arrived, in the nick of time, by the way, and come from a more chivalrous age.) They speak of forgiveness, benevolence and tolerance to a world that seems blind.
Snake Oil & Harmony will release their debut album, titled “Hurricane Riders” on Friday 28 Feb, via Zero One Entertainment, to coincide with a planned tour, that begins in March 2020.
Delivering wholehearted love and devotion to the planet, the emotional artistry of DAN and DANNY brings the same sort of shared experience; dreams, desires, fears and achievements, the same kind that they found during long and successful artistic careers.
The initial meeting “Immediately felt like kinship…” says Dan Reed. Both are Americans, raised during the rise of Aquarius (although they grew up on different sides of the country) — they discovered they share the same kind of enthusiasm for idealism and nonconformity, and for humanitarianism of all kinds, and especially for fighting for freedom through music.
[photo Mattias Bostrom]
In fact, they may even be long-lost cousins (who knows?) as well as pilgrims who met up after a long trek through the crooked pathways of modern life. It’s true, they might have taken different routes in a confrontational and greedy environment, but both prefer to now move towards the light of optimism, and this shines through their artistry .
And it’s here on “Hurricane Riders” that they share their strong sense of selflessness and loyalty to fans and bring their love of expression through music. Their kindness and compassion seems strangely out of step with the modern world; they reject greed, malice and intolerance and bring, instead, forgiveness and charity.
“Dan took the helm on this idea and the experience of writing and recording ‘Hurricane Riders’ with him as producer and overall lightning rod has been fantastic. I think it’s the perfect blend of our differing styles and exactly what our fans are waiting to hear. I’m very excited about this new chapter in our history together and I think everyone else is going to love it too,” says Danny.
“It is not a given that, just because two people can sing, they can sing well together,” Danny Vaughn adds,
“But we were immediately creating a sound that everyone saw as special. Add to that the variety of stories, jokes and cartoon voices each of us does and you get a unique alchemy that creates a show that is never the same twice.”
Naturally, the album is full of unforgettable moments as it explores topics close to their hearts… and it features vocals & guitars from Vaughn and Reed; It also brings Bengt Jonasson on bass and the talented Turkish/Swedish jazzman Robert Mehmet Sinan Ikiz on drums — “our bad ass Swedish musical brothers” as Dan Reed describes them.
Perhaps now, more than ever, we need chevaliers like Dan and Danny to show us the way.
Both artists are thrilled to be taking this brand-new album, created together, out on the road…
‘Hurricane Riders’ will be released Feb 28th 2020, to coincide with Snake Oil & Harmony’s next set of live dates (tour poster below.]
Album cover art: Graeme Purdy Bell
Photos by Mattias Bostrom
Words: @neilmach 2020 ©
Link: https://www.facebook.com/Snake-Oil-and-Harmony
