Today, Dan Mangan is announcing the Being Elsewhere Mix CD, a follow up collection to his JUNO Award nominated, Polaris Music Prize Short Listed album Being Somewhere, bringing together everything you know and love about Dan - from reimagined versions of fan-favourites on the album, covers, and new songs. “This collection of music is exciting to me because it lives outside the confined pressures of album cohesion. The vision is to embrace the chaos of my differing creative impulses and let them breathe together.”
On the collection’s genesis, Mangan says, “When I started dating my wife in 2006, her Hyundai Accent was broken into and all of her CDs were stolen. I burned her three mix CDs so she’d have something to listen to whilst driving, and so that I could indoctrinate her with a slew of my favourite songs. Those songs still live in the lore of our relationship nearly 20 years later. Though streaming has since curtailed the Mix CD tradition, the format always managed to yield an intentionally esoteric mashup of ideas that modern playlisting doesn’t quite provide.
“Through twists and turns over two and a half years of long distance production, many songs on Being Somewhere strayed wildly from my initial voice memo demos. This was an exciting and integral part of the process, but I wanted to indulge my itch to reimagine a few of those songs.
“At the same time, my hard drive was filling up with other creative projects. I’d recorded a few songs for films and some random covers, as well as the single ‘Say When…’ and then ‘Call Me Up High’ came out of nowhere and blindsided me - I couldn’t wait for a whole other album cycle to have this song in the world.”
Out today, "Call Me Up High" was recorded with deadmen (Matt Peters, Matt Schellenberg) while in Los Angeles. “I vividly remember feeling overlooked by girls in high school,” says Mangan. “I knew I had something special to offer, but most of my crushes were unrequited. ‘Nice guy’ tropes aside, I had this sinking feeling that if they were in a tough situation, I could help, and they’d see how awesome I was.
“I brought up this concept with the deadmen and there was a lightning storm of creativity. The entire song came together in about 4 hours. It was extremely exciting and eerily easy. Everything moved so quickly and ‘Call Me Up High’ sounds like nothing I’ve ever been a part of before. Most of my music is for the heart and the head, but I can’t listen to this song without moving my body. “
WATCH / SHARE “CALL ME UP HIGH” HERE
The new single arrives complete with a video from Director Lester Lyons-Hookham. “When we were testing mixes for ‘Call Me Up High’, I’d go for a quick drive and blast it,” explains Mangan of the video’s concept. “I couldn’t help but dance around the car every time the chorus dropped and other drivers would smirk at me. Lester helped to expand on this initial concept - the embarrassment of enjoying something wholeheartedly, and the mutual embarrassment we experience in fumbled moments with strangers.
“The first reveal is that I’m singing to my teenaged daughter rather than a love interest - as there’s nothing more embarrassing to a teen than their parents. The second reveal is that my teenaged son has been doom scrolling in the back seat all day while I cruise around indulging my 90s R&B music video fantasies.”
SOLO TOUR DATES
October 12 - Sudbury, ON - Knox Hall
October 15 - Collingwood, ON - Gibson And Company
October 16 - Galt, ON - Farm League Brewing
October 17 - Windsor ON - Meteor Bar
October 18 - Aylmer, ON - Aylmer Old Town Hall
October 19 - Ridgeway, ON - The Sanctuary Center for the Arts
October 20 - Bancroft, ON - The Village Playhouse
October 21 - Bracebridge, ON - Dead Horse Canyon
ARTS & CRAFTS
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