User:Cdoniels/sandbox

= Con Daniels (Musician) = Con Daniels (born August 14, 1998), is a British musician from Manchester, UK, best known for being the primary songwriter and keyboardist of the synth-pop band Regards. He is notable for his anachronistic musical style, borrowing heavily from 80s post-disco sounds. He is also a member of the free jazz group Goldgrube and improvisation group, Cold Bath Street.

Early Life
Born in Manchester, UK. Daniels grew up in Radcliffe, Greater Manchester. He began playing piano at age 8 and started to perform open mic sessions at age 16. Daniels later developed an interest for new instruments and technology with a strong focus on music composition and theory. Con is a keen artist and photographer and develops pieces of digital performance art.

Career
Daniels was exposed to music from an early age, his grandparents were musicians and taught Con to play the piano and acoustic guitar.

In 2014, while attending the University of Central Lancashire, Daniels and other colleagues started the alternative rock band The Disorder, which lasted until 2016. Some of its former members started Regards in 2016, and the band relocated to Preston, Lancashire.

Parallel to Regards, Daniels continued his education completing a Bachelor of Arts (BA Hons) degree and Master of Arts (MA) in Music and Composition. Daniels also holds a PGCE in Education.

In 2019, Daniels teamed up with director Tom Gardener to compose music for the BBC's holocaust documentaries based on the experience of child survivors of the Holocaust who grew up near Lake Windermere. Daniels and Gardener continue to work together on new projects.

Influences and Musical Style
Daniels' music mostly consists of synthesisers, but also features drums, guitar and bass. Daniels cites among his influences Depeche Mode, proponent of the synth-pop movement of the 1980s. Daniels likens his style to "aggressive disco, I think it's a sound we are familiar with but to keep the interest of the audience, I make the songs a little bit more risqué". Daniels is always interested in finding new sounds and experimenting with technology to retrieve, as he described in 2019 "oh, something sexy but not obsessive".

As a pianist, Daniels' movement in Jazz is heavily influenced by Cecil Taylor with an energetic physical approach resulting in complex improvisation often involving tone clusters and intricate polyrhythms. His technique and playing style has been described as "a total mess of planned tormented beauty".

Studio Albums
• For Piano and Viola (2020) (with Maddi Rolinson-Lord)

• Return to Earth (2019) (with Cold Bath Street)

• Sound Research Rebellion (2017) (with Cold Bath Street)

Singles
• "Dead Lovely" (2020) (with Regards, Josh Dixon, Ryan Rowson, Sam O'Brien & Javon Aziz)

• "Try Me, Love Me" (2020) (with Regards, Josh Dixon, Ryan Rowson, Sam O'Brien & Javon Aziz)

Guest Appearances
• Polypores - "Piano:Dismantled" (2020)

• Sam Tomlins - "Live from Williamson Park" (2017) (with Sam O'Brien)