Daniel Knox – I Had A Wonderful Time
H.P. Johnson Presents – 13 December 2019
Daniel Knox, a self-taught pianist who spends late nights walking the streets of Chicago taking pictures, has just released his latest disc, I Had A Wonderful Time. Clocking in at 31 minutes it’s hard to call the four songs an E.P. The title comes from the habit Knox had of going to school dressed as Groucho Marx. “I used to go to school dressed as Groucho Marx…I demanded my classmates call me Groucho Knox…Groucho Marx once said, “I’ve had a wonderful time but this wasn’t it.” It’s not meant sarcastically though, not by me.”
Vanishing Site opens with Knox sitting down at the piano and singing, “Can you picture the town on a hill with pretty clouds.” It’s a soft peaceful opening tinged with melancholy. A second piano enters followed by what sounds like explosions. So the town seems as if it is being destroyed right before his eyes. The pianos drop out, replaced by strings, by turns reminiscing and mournful as the explosions continue. A fascinating piece, it sets the tone for what follows, suggesting that this is not your standard fare.
The music on I Had A Wonderful Time reflects his nocturnal ramblings. He has asserted, “These are my most positive songs. There’s some misery, but it isn’t mine. I tried to write like a camera, which is to say objectively.” Most certainly, there’s a late-night feeling to these songs, with Knox’s work reflecting the dark hours that he finds most comforting, that time between two and five in the morning. “You hear sounds from far away that are hidden in the daytime.”
Inhabiting this late-night world, his music has an uncanny knack of being able to reflect those hours and sounds. Amidst the dark, there are signs of hope that spring up from time to time on “Good With Faces.” Yet, there are also haunted sounds in equal measure. What makes Knox so intriguing is his ability to meld these shades in such a compelling manner. He’s not humourless, but his wit is dry, “Contrary to belief, I actually like people a great deal. I just prefer them one at a time, or better yet, after they’ve gotten up and left.”
As a photographer, Knox’s pictures tend to be of a world without people, the landscape of a still Chicago late at night. Reflecting those same qualities in his music, I Had A Wonderful Time, creates an impressionistic landscape that enthrals and mystifies.
https://danielknox.bandcamp.com/album/i-had-a-wonderful-time
Photo Credit: Patrick Burke