KBPS Interview: Dave Hanson

Dave Hanson is a London-based musician and former guitarist of The Dunwells who toured all over the world with that band, supporting artists such as Mumford and Sons and Sheryl Crow. Now Dave has just released his solo album ‘Almost Horizontal’, influenced by his times performing across the world. Currently mid-way through an acoustic tour of coffee shops to promote the album in conjunction with Caffè Nero, I joined Dave in the Bradford branch to speak to him about his album, tour and the state of music in 2016 as we tucked into a fresh coffee and the most elaborate hot chocolate I could possibly have ordered.

As he prepared for the sixth day of the tour in Leeds, Dave was positive about his experiences so far. “We’ve been all over the place. We were in Heathrow Airport for three days which was an interesting experience – being in an airport and going nowhere!

“And we’ve been to Scotland and to Newcastle and then we’ve got a few dates in the North of England and then we head south at the weekend.”

The tour came about through Caffè Nero’s support of live music, Dave Hanson being the current Artist of the Month which sees specially selected musicians performing live in their shops and also having their music played over the PA every day at 3:30pm over the month nationwide. “Caffè Nero are very supportive of live music,” Dave told us. “My relationship with them goes back to the time when I was with Dunwells. We did a Caffè Nero tour quite a long time ago and we really cut our teeth on the road, just getting in front of people who maybe hadn’t heard of us.

“When it came to release this new record it made sense to try and extend that relationship and they’ve been very supportive online.”

Dave Hanson was complimentary of the audiences seeing his show, a mixture of people already in the coffee shop and those specifically coming to see him perform. “[The sessions] are going down well. You’ve got to be careful as you’re encroaching on people’s coffee times so you don’t want to be coming on and playing a full rock show, so we’ve been keeping it a little bit more laid back. I’ve had my drummer come with me and play a little cajón on some of the dates, and my backing vocalist Becca will be out on a couple of the dates as well, mixing it up a little.”

Dave has also been embracing the latest social media on the tour, broadcasting some of the sets like his Tuesday one in Newcastle via Facebook video, bringing his performances to a bigger audience. “We’ve been getting a lot of people tuning in as they’re teatime shows [when] people are coming in from work.”

Fans from across the world including the USA and Poland have been tuning in to the sessions, and listeners have been interacting, selecting songs for Dave to play at particular sessions, which saw him at Newcastle covering Amy Winehouse’s ‘Valerie’, with a song by the Black Keys next on Dave’s wishlist. “I’m trying to mix and match modern songs with a bit of old stuff. It’s about keeping the fans interacting and engaged with what we’re doing. It seems to work!”

“Any musician who doesn’t utilise the tools of social media is a fool. At the end of the day it’s a great way of reaching out to people and letting them know what you do, and speaking directly with people”, Dave told me, chatting about how messaging with fans increases around these sessions and helps him chat with listeners.

The Caffè Nero dates are timed to coincide with the launch of his new album ‘Almost Horizontal’, a record Dave describes as ‘eclectic’.

“When we were producing it we tried to make it like we would a Quentin Tarantino soundtrack. We tried to take different moods. I’m an artist, I paint, so I’m thinking of different colours for painting, a little bit of light and shade.

“There are songs that are a little bit more upbeat, some bits that are more chilled out. There’s a bit of reggae influence in there. It’s got the same vibe running through it, but there are different colours and textures.

“I’d say the mantra when we were recording was cool and groovy. Everything has got to have a groove.”

Dave continued on to talk about the production of the record, and how drummer Dan Woodward helped lay down the grooves without a click-track, and it was all done using an old-school tape machine. “It was produced in an old fashioned sense, the way old records were done. But then we got Tim Palmer involved to mix it, and make it sound more modern.”

‘Almost Horizontal’ the album has a great range of tracks on it, its name taken from a friend’s comment to Dave that he was so relaxed he was almost horizontal, a title that fits the chilled-out, laid-back feel to the album. Here at KBPS our personal favourites including ‘Midday Sun’ and ‘Blind Faith’ but we were interested to know about Dave’s favourites. He picked the blues-tinged ‘Devil’ with Becka Ward adding backing vocals to it as if she “were a mermaid” - “I tried to make it sound cinematic” – and ‘Por Favor Senor’, which took influence from Dave’s time in Texas. “It’s a bit of a joke song in a way. It is a true story in some senses, but not a true story about me.

“I had a friend who was telling me about this experience he had with a number of ladies. He told me What could I do Dave, there was five of them. I couldn’t just leave them to themselves! which I thought was hilarious and that was the start of the story!”

This story makes up the second verse of the song with the first verse pulled entirely from the world of fiction. “I love the groove on [Por Favor Senor]. It’s got an early ZZ Top feel to it, and that was what I was going for.”

For an album recorded in the winter there is an undeniably warm and sunny vibe to the album. “Maybe the summer [feel] was a bit of wishful thinking!” Dave joked, talking about ‘Por Favor Senor’ and ‘Midday Sun’ being tracked in the same session, one of six four-hour sessions that saw the album being recorded.

Looking back on Dave’s career we asked him how things had changed since being part of a band and now going solo. “I feel most comfortable in a band situation so I really enjoy playing the gigs when I’ve got the band with me. I’ve got a great line-up of musicians and the music really comes across.

“I love playing my own songs,” Dave told us, expressing his love for song-writing and also production. “Making the music is what I’m passionate about. I love creating new music as that’s what fires me up.”

So where is it now for Dave? Coming up he’s got performances at the Cornbury and Saltaire festivals and other gigs lined-up, with lots more under his hat that he hopes to reveal soon. “When I made this record it was always my intention to get out to the States,” he teased, wrapping up our interview as we polished off our drinks.

Dave Hanson’s album ‘Almost Horizontal’ is available to buy now and you can still catch him at Caffè Nero’s across the country including Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and London ahead of further more traditional dates over the summer. Find out more about Dave Hanson on his Facebook page.