Dan Armstrong


New album - 25th February 2022 - "Numerical Solitude"

Available as a digital download on Bandcamp

VIDEO launch - 25th November 2022 - "Blood is on our hands"

News


9/12/22 - Live at The Barn Ledbury - videos in Youtube page above!

28/10/22 - NEW SINGLE release on 25/11/22 - LINK HERE

18/10/22 - Follow me on BeReal @danarmstrongmusic SEE WHAT I GET UP TO EACH DAY!

9/9/22 - NEW SINGLE release - "EVERYTHING YOU DO" out NOW

12/6/22 - "HELP ME PLEASE" out now 8/7/22

18/3/22 - Overcome out now - link HERE


7/3/22 - I Will Follow You (Tekout Remix) out now - link HERE

25/2/22 - "NUMERICAL SOLITUDE" release on Bandcamp.com

21/1/22 - New Youtube section on webpage - check out the top right-hand corner!

3/1/22 - I Will Follow You out now - link HERE

1/12/21 - Solitude 2 is now out - link HERE

22/11/21 - cheeky sneak video put up on youtube

14/11/21 - Solitude 2 is being released on 1st December 21 HYPERLINK HERE

26/10/21 - (Let's go) Back to the start - now available on all streaming platforms: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/danarmstrong/lets-go-back-to-the-start-feat-sarah-b-lady-bnow

14/9/21 - a little preview of my next track featuring Sarah B LadyBnow "Let's Go Back To The Start" - out October 26th

27/8/21 - re-jig of the studio: check out what I've done!

9/8/21 - New single with Sarah B Ladynow: "I Wish You Were Here" available

21/7/21 - New single - "Solitude 1" out on 23rd July.

30/6/21 - update video on YouTube!

14/4/21 - new videos put up on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxkTFPOk2JPsQwiXzlrRZsA

5/3/21 - Neutron Star video - premieres on YouTube 5/3/21 @ 7pm GMT

26/2/21 - New album, "Particles" is available on Friday 5th March 2021 -

Discography

Click on the album covers for more details and to purchase

Dan Armstrong - A Long Time Coming

Dan Armstrong - Artificial Intelligence

Dan Armstrong - Devoid of Time

Dan Armstrong - Waiting For The Sunset

Dan Armstrong - Dream Sequence


Dan Armstrong - Particles

Dan Armstrong feat. Sarah B Ladybnow - I Wish You Were Here

Dan Armstrong feat. Sarah B Ladybnow - Back To The Start

Dan Armstrong - Alt3rn4te P4rt1cl3s

Dan Armstrong feat. Sarah B Ladybnow - Blood is on our hands

Laether Strip - A Heart So Divine Remix

Confuent Phase - Ad Astra


Dan Armstrong feat. Sarah B Ladybnow - Help Me Please

Confluent Phase - Project Zero


Fantastic hosue remix of "I Wish You Were Here" by DJ, Tekout available now!
Bandcamp

Streaming

Reviews and Comments

Here's a selection from both professional and non-professional camps - thank you :)

A Long Time Coming -

"A Long Time Coming- is even a little bit better than -Artificial Intelligence- ..... and that's absolutely great!On this download album there are even more ambient focuses, some of which are slightly immersed in Dubambient. Atmospherically even denser, it's easy to indulge in the sounds even more intensely. I was particularly impressed by the piece -Beta Wave-, I could really listen to this sound for hours in one piece - an absolute dream and has a secure place in my own "Hall Of Fame"!So far, it's these two solo albums and three singles by Dan Armstrong that have been dropped on Bandcamp. I'm already looking forward to the new album, which is announced on Dan's homepage :-)"
"Dan Armstrong is a mate of Si Matthews, the gifted UK artist whose three solo albums of cosmic instrumental electronica have all made Ambient Music Guide’s Best Albums of the Year lists. Dan’s debut solo album of panoramic ambitronic beats is a stunner, orbiting the same sun as his friend but tracking its own distinctive path. Less is more, with ideas and warm melodic lines that are not cast with thick layers of sound but sketched subtly, like spacious geometric shapes, sprinkled with little details that psychonauts like myself can’t get enough of. The grooves, when they appear, are elegant and crisp, always with purpose and never outstaying their welcome. Repeated listens reveal an album that’s slowly edging towards a climax, the closing “Eta Wave”, which expands the opening teaser “Alpha Wave” into a swelling, thunderous sweep across the cosmos. All in all, we’re talking Global Communication levels of excellence here. Do. Not. Miss.""Who remembers that scene in the original 'Mary Poppins' where Bert's being a one-man band? He's hooked up to a bass drum on his back, a concertina round his waist, as well as all sorts of bells and whistles. Dan Armstrong is basically the ambient music version of that. He's written, recorded, produced, self-released, and done the artwork for his debut album 'A Long Time Coming'. I've got a real soft spot for these kind of labours of love that only exist because of one artist's drive. This is the same for artists like Immigrant and Warm Boys. 'A Long Time Coming' is a collection of seven, long-form ambient pieces that fuse vast soundscapes with cinematic atmospheres. Throughout much of this album you can hear those 80s eerie string-synth swells that are all over the 'Stranger Things' soundtracks. There are also some lovely analogue synth motifs that slide into view and fade away just as they become familiar. This is how Armstrong can keep things interesting. It's about as dynamic an ambient album as you will find. For instance, about five minutes into 'Zeta Wave', the music almost crashes to a halt before a drum machine kicks into life and reframes the whole piece alongside squalling bass drones and glittering synth pads. I also love the ticking clock sound that runs for the entirety of 'Epsilon Wave'. Dan Armstrong, the one-man band of the ambient world, has made an album that's interestingly immediate. Although it threatens to morph into synth-wave at a few points, Armstrong always pulls its back from the brink. Immediate, yes, but it always feels sweeping and huge.""This album by Dan Armstrong is one of those little pleasures of discovering a contemporary EM that combines the basics of the Berlin School with both ambient and meditative dance hymns. In fact, we chat Chill-Out Ambient here! A LONG TIME COMING is a collection of 7 tracks that are propelled by different wave movements. The waves being what they are, there are several similarities in textures and movements. And if the openings are more ambient, the second parts dive into phases of rhythm with psybient or organic essences. Dan Armstrong is a musician-producer-composer whose name remains associated with the works of Si Matthews, and this name is very popular in the circles of modern EM. A LONG TIME COMING is a first solo album that survives the Electronica / Psybient label more than the Berlin School genre, although the two extremes touch each other at certain times.A reverb, equipped with a twisted filament, emerges from my platinum. Its inflammation, and its explosion, vibrate a nest of sound waves that meet a mega breath of the synthesizer and its intense dantesque tone. Forged in the main lines of a music atmosphere heated by a mass of radioactivity, Alpha Wave has all these attributes that makes that we do not want to continue the adventure of A LONG TIME COMING. White noises, crackling sounds and distorted waves mate with the sound impact that gives coldness to the back. In the distance, the explosions resound! And near us, the warnings congest the sound highway with these breezes coming from the unreal and which would serve the cause of a documentary on the dramas of our planet. Nevertheless, a beautiful musical shadow lurks above this extreme tonal temperament and must be completed to reach the second level of this first album by Dan Armstrong. Black and intense! The moods are still blurred with the opening of Beta Wave and its percussion, some felted, slamming and resonate at the corners of my speakers. And my Totem Tower appreciate the clear division of the stereophonic effect of these multiple clicks. A line of the sequencer frees itself and sculpts a fluid ambient movement that goes up and down in a relative peace ... before the bass line explodes and extends its vampiric power. The movement of Beta Wave pigeons in the atmospheres of Global Communication with crackles of percussion and arpeggios, free from any harmonic constraint, who wander by weaving an evasive melody and ambient. His second portion embraces a very Berlin School movement of the sequencer before exploding for a frank and dry rhythm, like ambient chill-out. Suave and soothing, the bass line wreaks havoc on this album. In Gamma Wave it makes the pulsations sound in clouds of ether. The rhythm lives on its three repetitive chords and slowly advances while changing the scenery. Thus, drops of water fall into a cave before ending up indeed juicy sucker. Chuttts come and go too. If you think of Diva from Zoolook, we are in the same place! The sequencer zigzags a line of rhythm that wobbles until ending its isolated race in its magnetic double, moment when Gamma Wave clings to a survival instinct in a second part much livelier. The percussions that slam and tinkle in a rhythmic pattern à la Massive Attack, Delta Wave is activating the sequencer and its lines of sequenced rhythms that wavers in a striking effect of a bass line and its very Solar Fields grasp. Epsilon Wave begins with a pattern of rattlings that form a fluid membrane which is conducive to this dance of arpeggios in the breezes of chthonic corridors and where roam this sibylline choir. Chords are born, giving more depth to a noble first part but much less interesting than the second and its heavy rhythm that dips us into a crossing between Vincent Villuis, the man behind Aes Dana, and Magnus Birgersson. Zeta Wave is more in ambient music mode with its bed of reverberations that fray a lot of textures sound before giving itself to a heavy slow rhythm and resonant of its bass waves. With more rhythm, especially in the second half, Eta Wave puts an end to A LONG TIME COMING as Alpha Wave had started. But always with more rhythm.Beyond the style that interests us here on this site, but with enough elements to sneak in if the music of Ultimae Records, Carbon Based Lifeforms or Solar Fields interests us, this A LONG TIME COMING by Dan Armstrong is worth a little detour. And if you like to vibrate on a bass line that makes soles insensitive, you're in the right place.""At first, I thought this was a joke: "My name's Dan Armstrong, and I've just been reading some your reviews on the page", the e-mail said. The joke being, for me that is, that I know someone named Dan Armstrong for a long time and, while not appearing a lot in these pages, he surely had his moment. He was also a member of the short-lived, much fun band Vacuum Boys and a great help when it came to being a bit more professional with website and mailing; a friend of the family. So, those made me wonder about the slightly formalistic intro there. Turns out, of course, this is a different Dan Armstrong; this one is a keyboard player who worked as a programmer, producer and engineer for UB40, but also "Darren Alboni (Ella Henderson), Gwen Dickey/Rose Royce)". The quotation marks as to indicate I have no idea who these people are; I never got beyond the first UB40 album, which was way before Armstrong worked with them. This is his first solo album, made from a long-time desire to produce some 'ambient chill-out' music, as he calls it. The cover mentions a bunch of computers, software and hardware (as far as I can judge matters like that) and he is surely capable of handling these matters very well. Ambient exists in many forms; from the original Brian Eno 'Music For' series, via nineties ambient house, to warm glitch music and lo-fi drones of the moment. Armstrong has a love for the variation that was quite big in the mid-'90s, ambient house. Now, in case you were not around then, or forgot, the ambient house scene of the '90s was not a very tight movement, with one, more or less, defined sound. Don't let the word 'house' misguide you there; it not always had to do with house music. Pick up Aphex Twin's 'Selected Ambient Works Volume 2' from that period and you know what I mean. Armstrong has his many influences, and that shines through these eight pieces. There is surely a bit of rhythm here and there, but it never develops into a pumping beat; lush pads, deep drones, a thumb on a bass synth make up the core of the music, but also a sweet melody, a lighter arpeggio tinkling neatly around all of this, all topped with a fine dash of reverb, to suggest space and depth. Back in the day, I was a massive fan of this kind of music, and still have a fondness for it, playing some early Biosphere or Pete Namlook. Dan Armstrong does a great job here; not necessarily by adding something new to genre, far from it, I guess, but playing some of this kind of music that is these days a lot less in rotation here, works like a time machine for me, a reminder of being so much younger than I am today. Like time ticking away, as much as the clocks in 'Epsilon Wave' here. Dan Armstrong does a fine job in controlling this time machine. It's time for a bit of holiday after writing these reviews; Armstrong reminded which music to take with me. This and its ancestors for sure."

"Originally a producer for artists as diverse as UB40 and (Rose Royce’s) Gwen Dickey, Dan Armstrong obviously knows how to produce his own album. Its sound is impressive! On his first solo album, Armstrong creates a wide-scale cinematic sound using ‘sounds from the synths of the 70’s through to the latest modern-day equipment’. Each track represents a waveform: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon and Zeta Wave. “I’m a synth nerd”, he claims. But this does not mean Armstrong creates music that only interesting for the one making, as is sometimes the case with ‘synth-nerds’. Drawing his inspiration from artists like Future Sound Of London, Global Communication, Biosphere, Aphex Twin, William Orbit (and many more… though to my surprise Vangelis is not mentioned in this list) Armstrong’s music will appeal to a large audience. If they find it, of course. I hope they do."


Artificial Intelligence -

"I love new discoveries!After I came across Dan Armstrong's music on Facebook, I became curious (as always with new music) and listened extensively. What I've heard is really great. The warmth in the sounds really comes across and when the rhythm came, I got goosebumps.This is space ambience at its best - a real pleasure for the auditory canals :-) I like to put up with such music, after only a few minutes of "test listening" the ice was broken and pure enthusiasm spreads.I can warmly recommend Dan Armstrong's music to every EM friend, because it just feels good. An absolute asset :-)"
"Dan Armstrong has opened the vaults of his mind to bring us a new album "Artificial Intelligence". Dan hones his craft into something special here with a phenomenal opening track "Negentropy" which sees Dan exploring Ambient territory which is perfect for starting out the day with sweeping layers of synths andtinkly bits evoking a perfect sunrise to a perfect day and time. "Actualisation" brings us back to Dan's unique style of electronica, downtempo beats and pinned by a great groove through out."
"Some nine months after his A Long Time Coming Dan Armstrong gives birth to his second release. Artificial Intelligence is even more synth-oriented and spacey than his debut. There are no liner notes, so you’ll have to take the context from the track titles: Negentropy (a measure of distance to normality, as used by Schrödinger), Actualisation, Hexadecimal Data, Immersion, Source Code and of course Artificial Intelligence.Six long, floating, unhurried tracks from which melodies, beats, and sequencer loops slowly emerge. With these loops, the music has an obvious reference to the minimalist synth explorations from the 90’s – Armstrong’s inspirational source (see above) can clearly be heard in this music. That doesn’t mean the sound is intentionally ‘retro’ by the way: this is a fresh re-invention of the synth genre and lifts it up to current production standards."
"Dan has grown as a musician, which is an odd thing to say about relatively minimalist music. Still, this album demonstrates a maturation of his music – huge synth landscapes and chill beats, but the tracks are laser focused on building to an epic conclusion – an emotional title track that is the best thing Dan has made to date. Favorite track: Artificial Intelligence"
"Global Communication reborn.Favorite track: Immersion"
"A fantastic album, it hugs you with a lot of warmth and takes you to other worlds. It leaves you speechless... With tears in your eyes you press repeat and start all over again. Thanks Dan for your music! Favorite track: Actualisation"
"Quite hot on the heels of the previous release, 'A Long Time Coming', here is the second release by UK's Dan Armstrong. This Armstrong (for the last time: not to be confused by Vacuum Boys' member of the same name) works for UB40 among others and in private has a strong love for all things ambient. This time he doesn't mention any machines in use here, except for some hardware and he has created six pieces of ambient music, ranging from nine to fourteen minutes. As I wrote before, ambient music can come in many forms and Armstrong's choice is that he is inspired by the ambient 'house' of the mid-nineties; music as played by the late Pete Namlook in those days, Aphex Twin's 'Selected Ambient Works Volume 2' or releases by Silent Records. There are more. It is a sound that I love very much, and it's a sound that is perhaps not very fashionable anymore. In Armstrong's version, it is all about mood and textures and very little is about rhythm. When the latter occurs it is usually via arpeggio chords on the keyboards, rather than via a drum machine bouncing hard and heavy; sometimes it is bass sequencer notes ticking time. But much is about lengthy, spacious synthesizers tone Armstrong uses in his work. It seems as if this one is in an even spacier field (cosmos) than the previous release, but I might be mistaken. It is very cosmic indeed and quiet music; lots of airy synthesizers and the influence of Namlook seems to be something that can't be underestimated. Reverb and delay suggest even more space at times, and while perhaps all a bit of a cliché, I think it is damn great. I have no idea if Armstrong is maintaining a similar release schedule as Namlook once did. I should hope he doesn't, even when I like it a lot. Just a few releases a year is better than once a week. Time will tell. For now, I should think he delivered two great albums of retro ambient house music. It is about time for a revival of that stuff anyway!"
"The journey continues. Even a bit more spacey than his debut, again filled with lush soundscapes, just as edgy as warm and vintage seventies / eighties synths and some killer melodies. Like the repeating, haunting notes on the great Source Code and the absolute stunning Actualisation with a break that should last for ever! Favorite track: Actualisation."

Numerical Solitude -

"During the 66 minutes running time, Dan takes all the time in the world and creates a meditative oasis of well-being with the quite minimalistic sounds. It may be that you have to get used to the calm and balance at first, but as soon as you have adjusted to the very harmonious sounds, a pleasant feeling quickly spreads. Boredom does not arise, because the concentration is quickly on the very finely tuned sound..... and with that I give up for a good hour of pure, harmonious ambient sounds!"
"First impressions are ‘Great Job’. I’ve been listening to a lot of 'this kind; of ambient music to keep me sane. A lot of that shit is just generic evolving pad for 20 minutes with a field recording from Venezuela. I did have a small reservation at the start , that you were headed that way but that went out the window pretty sharpish at about 8 minutes when I thought there’s the Armstrong I know. It’ definitely doesn’t feel like you’re repeating yourself with either Artificial Intelligence or A Long Time Coming, though. If anything, it threw me a bit at first because the sound is different to your previous stuff. The main thing is, though, I can still tell it’s yours. Mixed really well, as per expectations, and the mastering seems solid, mate."

Everything You Do -

https://thesongbirdhq.com/2022/09/26/dan-armstrong-ft-sarah-b-ladybnow/

This is a pop house track, and it hits hard! The EQing which I’m guessing is automated is pretty good, and bodes well for the rest of the production – and what a production! The drums are punchy and so is the synth bass, and really rings out nicely!

Sarah B Ladybnow’s vocals sound really rich for me, nice and warm, especially in the chorus – the vocals are layered with harmonies coming and going through the track, the vocal arrangements aren’t thrown around like it can be on a pop track this is different. This would go down a treat on the dance floor for sure!

There’s a breakdown point at 2:49 that would come in very handy for remixers!

Having a sneak peek on Dan’s twitter he’s a very capable keyboard player, looks like they’ve got live shows coming up too. This could be fun!

Hailing from the rural setting of Herefordshire in the UK, Dan became a musician at an early age.

Early memories of spending Saturdays in local music shops, playing the instruments of the 70’s & 80’s, developed into a love of music and the associated technology – something that became both a vocation and a passion.

Dan has many styles of interest – predominantly focusing on material that creates an interest or intrigue: be it sounds or music.

This particular venture focuses on his love of Electronic Ambient music. After being introduced to it during the 90’s through close friend (and respected fellow artist) Si Matthews at University, despite moving into a Pop-Music production career with reggae group, UB40, Dan has always been an appreciator of the genre.

Sarah B Ladybnow Sarah B Ladybnow is a UK based singer/songwriter predominantly working in the deep house/vocal house/future house genre she’s regularly getting love on BBC Introducing.

It doesn’t surprise me.

That voice is so good.

Blood is on our hands -

http://petesrocknewsandviews.com/dan-armstrong-ft-sarah-b-ladybnow/https://rgm.press/we-premiere-the-new-video-from-dan-armstrong-featuring-sarah-b-ladybnow-blood-is-on-our-hands/rgm-video-premiere/
"Who says you can't mix a floor-filling slice of soulful melodic House with lyrics on a serious socio-political issue? Well Dan Armstrong & Sarah B say otherwise with Blood on our hands. While Sarah's yearning, expressive voice and BVs set out a stark message about the lack of humanity in today's world, she and Dan cook up a power-driven pop-house storm around her with crisp beat and swirling synths that match an eminently singable hook. Good work once again fromthese serial collaborators." - Neil March (Trust the Doc Dec 2022)

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