New York, NY (Top40 Charts) The GRAMMY-winning musician, songwriter, and producer Dan Wilson released a new song "laurel" from his forthcoming instrumental album good night, los angeles that will be released on May 9. An 18-song collection of piano recordings born out of a regular series of Sunday evening recordings he would post to social media, the album was recorded entirely on a 1918 Vose & Sons upright piano that was found on the streets of Hollywood. The album is Wilson's first instrumental release and offers a rare glimpse into the award-winning songwriter's raw, unvarnished creative process.
"Here's the fourth composition I've released from good night, los angeles, titled 'laurel.' I think this is the one where I realized I was completely free chordally from pop music. These songs could go anywhere, harmonically - and that was very liberating," explains Wilson.
"Laurel" follows the release of the three-song EP suite of "deervale / moorpark / tujunga." The release featured an official video by art director Yazz Alali and illustrator/animator Sarah Nelson, who paired the music with hypnotic animations of mushrooms growing and interacting, their mycelium spreading out through the soil and entangling together to create increasingly complex neural networks.
About the album, Wilson explains: "In January, I was scheduled to announce my first instrumental album, good night, los angeles. The album was born out of a weekly artistic practice: late Sunday nights I would sit down at the piano and improvise a simple, peaceful instrumental piece on the spot. Then I'd share it on Instagram with the caption #goodnightlosangeles. It was a calming and meditative practice for me, and I hoped the songs would have the same calming and meditative effect on listeners. I ended up making nearly 200 of them. Late last year, I compiled my favorites into an album for a January release. But then the wildfires hit my town, and I hesitated. I didn't want to appear tone-deaf - especially given the album's title. But now I can't help wanting to move forward and share this music with the world. I'm from Minneapolis, but I've lived here since 2010 and good night, los angeles is a love letter to my adopted city. These are late-night improvised lullabies, and I hope they can help someone put down their worries for a moment and feel the peace of those quiet nights here in LA."
An instrumental piano album may seem like an unlikely project for an artist so known for his way with words, who last year alone received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song ("It Never Went Away"), won his first CMA Award for Song of the Year ("White Horse") and took home the GRAMMY for Country Song of the Year ("White Horse"). But in the end, the result is classic Wilson: an evocative work of deep emotion and thoughtful beauty, one crafted purely for the love of the creation and shared in the hopes of forging meaningful connection.
In addition to his new album, Dan Wilson's band Semisonic has just announced a summer tour supporting Toad The Wet Sprocket which will make stops along the west coast and midwest. Find a full list of tour dates below.
good night, los angeles tracklist:
1) mulholland
2) deervale
3) moorpark
4) tujunga
5) rhinestone
6) volledam
7) beverly glen
8) ambrose
9) van nuys
10) round valley
11) avon
12) alexandria
13) ventura
14) fairway
15) coldwater
16) normandie
17) laurel
18) hillhurst
Semisonic Tour Dates:
7/23 - Eugene, OR @ Cuthbert Amphitheater
7/24 - Bellingham, WA @ Mount Baker Theatre
7/25 - Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre
7/26 - Sandpoint, ID @ Festival At Sandpoint
7/28 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Venue TBA (Coming soon!)
7/30 - Denver, CO @ Denver Botanic Gardens
8/1 - Omaha, NE @ Astro Amphitheater
8/2 - Kansas City, MO @ Grinders KC Event Venue
8/3 - Chesterfield, MO @ The Factory
8/5 - Huber Heights, OH @ Rose Music Center
8/7 - Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed
8/8 - Indianapolis, IN @ Rock the Ruins
8/9 - Interlochen, MI @ Kresge Auditorium
8/10 - Paw Paw, MI @ Warner Vineyards
Dan Wilson is a Minneapolis-born, Los Angeles-based musician, singer, songwriter, producer, and visual artist. He is a 7x GRAMMY nominee and 4x GRAMMY winner for Song of the Year for The Chicks "Not Ready To Make Nice", Album of the Year as producer on Adele's 21, Best Country Song for Chris Stapleton's "White Horse" and Best Song Written For Visual Media for co-writing "It Never Went Away" from Jon Batiste's American Symphony. In 2024, he received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song (Jon Batiste - "It Never Went Away") and won his first CMA Award for Song of the Year (Chris Stapleton - "White Horse")
Wilson is known as a "songwriters songwriter" and has written with an eclectic range of collaborators including living legends Carole King and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, country artists Dierks Bentley and Tenille Townes, rising pop stars Noah Cyrus and Alec Benjamin, indie rockers Mitski, Claud, My Morning Jacket and Phantogram, and many more. Over the last several years, he has teamed up with Mitski for her first released co-write, "The Only Heartbreaker," worked with Taylor Swift on re-producing his co-writes on Red (Taylor's Version), and collaborated with with Leon Bridges, Tom Morello, Joy Oladokun, Claud, Cuco and many more. Most recently, he co-wrote and produced Celine Dion's "Love Again" from the feature film and soundtrack, as well as "It Never Went Away" from Jon Batiste's documentary American Symphony, which marked Wilson's first Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.
In 2023, Wilson reunited his band Semisonic to release Little Bit of Sun, their first full length album in more than 20 years that included appearances from Jason Isbell and My Morning Jacket's Jim James and co-writes with GRAMMY-winning songwriters Lori McKenna and Amy Allen.
