Daniel Casavant

Singer/songwriter Daniel Casavant follows up his well-received 2009 album, Nine At The Time. The album received global airplay and its songs scored well in various international song contests.

Soul Reunion is a varied and melodic five-song collection of new original pop-rock material. The song “Park And Fly” recently received an honorable mention from the Song of the Year Songwriting Contest. Casavant launched the album with a Montreal show on May 13.

Kerry Doole - New Canadian Music

Toronto, Ontario—Hot off the critical success and international airplay of his first studio recording, Nine At The Time… singer/songwriter Daniel Casavant launches his latest offering Soul Reunion…a five-song, mini EP of original tunes penned solely by this talented musician.

Daniel is excited to share his new music and will be celebrating his EP release with a performance on Monday, May 13th at Bar les Pas Sages located at 951 Rue Rachel Est in Montreal. Doors open at 5pm, Daniel and his band perform from 6pm.

The singer/songwriter takes you on a personal life’s journey through the tracks of Soul Reunion…“When Time’s Runnin’ Out”, “Park And Fly”, “More Than A Lover”, “Two Times One Of A Kind (In Your World)” and “Heavenly High” (Live). The song “Park And Fly” recently received an honorable mention from the Song of the Year Songwriting Contest.

Adding to Daniel’s rich, haunting vocals and acoustic guitar playing on the EP are Sébastien Cloutier on keyboards, bassist Marco Desgagné, Daniel Marsolais on electric guitar, drummer Nicolas Paul-Turcotte playing drums with vocals and tambourine from Lisa Grenier.

Soul Reunion was produced by Daniel and Daniel Marsolais and recorded and mixed by Pierre Messier & Mathieu Dulong at Montreal’s Piccolo Studios with live recording by Dominic Boulay. The EP was mastered by Marc Theriault of Le Lab Mastering, Montréal. Art & Photographs was created by Frédéric Deschênes.

The Montreal singer/songwriter spent a year living in the United States in 2000. Traces from his Americana experience, as well as British musical influences cleverly mixed with the vivid colours of his own rich French-Canadian heritage make Daniel Casavant’s Soul Reunion a truly unforgettable album boasting of an original sound that resonates across cultural boundaries.

For more information on Daniel Casavant and Soul Reunion: daniel-casavant.com. - The Canadian Daily

Submitted by cashbox on Fri, 10/28/2011 - 13:14

Music Reviews
DANIEL CASAVANT
Nine At The Time
Independent

Anglophones are painfully unaware of the huge culture gap that exists in this country. We live in our little urbane bubbles and listen to the music that is piped into our insulated worlds via America and, occasionally, through the watered down Anglo-CanCon equivalent. Rarely do we get to hear what’s happening in the Francophone universe. Fortunately, new talents like Chris Giannini, Jonathan Roy and Daniel Casavant slip across the imaginary cultural border and remind us why we all need to work harder at musical détente.

Casavant’s Nine At The Time is a cross-section of his finest songwriting skill-sets which he’s used to great success in The Billboard Magazine World Song Contest, The Mountain Stage Newsong Contest 2008, The UK Songwriting Contest 2009 and Mike Pinder’s 2009 Songwars.

The album is book-ended by variations on a very tasty instrumental acoustic guitar theme; the abbreviated In Between and the lengthier Petit Brompton respectively.  This is folk guitar virtuosity at its finest.  Sandwiched in between these passages is a beef stew of styles and flavours.

Travellin’ Girl, Back To The Fact and Sooner Or Later are showcase tunes that feature the best examples of Lavant’s penchant for ‘90s-styled French pop production as we had grown to love from Too Many Cooks, Daniel Lavoie and even late period Pagliaro. Once in a While and Clean the House deliver up doses of Americana (Bruce Hornsby in the former) and Britannia (Elvis Costello and Joe Cocker in the former). The fun-time Buck Owen’s styled  I Will Be A Lucky Cowboy is also a welcome treat.

Casavant’s voice is gritty and expressive with a thick Francophone cadence that adds authenticity to his Quebecois roots. My only gripe is that on every song, save for the two instrumentals, we are bombarded with female vocals cross-harmonizing on nearly every line on the album. The harmonies are actually really good, but they minimize Casavant’s unique vocal style - something that I’d much prefer to hear on its own. Where the harmonies do work to a song’s advantage is the beautifully executed ballad Lucky Numbers.

Casavant is true to his heart and true to his songs and it’s the duty of the rest of Canada to give artists like him a fair shake in our Anglo-homogenized music world.

www.reverbnation.com/danielcasavant










- Cashbox Magazine Canada

Submitted by Sandy Graham

When speaking to Daniel Casavant his charming accent and warmth immediately makes you feel his passion for his music. Born in Montreal, Quebec, this singer/songwriter has it all; a great look, musical talent and a flair for writing wonderful songs.

“I used to listen to the radio when I was a small child’, Casavant says. ‘All the British singers were a huge influence on me; The Bee Gees, The Beatles, anything and anyone that combined great lyrics with great harmonies. I wanted desperately to perform like they did, which was a very big dream for a French-speaking boy.’

But his persistence to embrace music started at the age of eight when he took up the acoustic guitar and starting composing his own tunes. By 15, Daniel then took on the piano and continued putting his lyrics to music. When in his teen years, he decided it was time to travel to experience firsthand the original roots of where this music all started, so he set off and hitchhiked to New Orleans and Nashville, and as a wandering troubadour does, he stopped along the way to play with local talents, playing jam sessions and honing his craft.

By the year 2000, he had spent enough time in the United States to gather his Americana experiences and meld them with his love of British music; weaving it into a musical mosaic of his own French Canadian heritage, which led him to his current sound which quite honestly can’t be compared to anyone.

With all great careers, it takes time to fine-tune your sound, so by 2009, Casavant was ready to release his first CD ‘Nine At The Time’. The album received international airplay and garnered a number of accolades including The Billboard Magazine World Song Contest, The Mountain Stage Newsong Contest 2008, The UK Songwriting Contest 2009 and Mike Pinder’s 2009 Songwars as well as a recent rave review in Cashbox Canada.

The musical journey continues for this talented artist but as his career is just about to blossom he has never forgotten his roots and where he came from in the beginning. ‘I grew up in a traditional, tight knit family. We always had music in the family, tradition and heritage are all part of my character. I want to cross the cultural boundaries now. Yes, I am from Quebec, but I am from Canada as well and music has no borders.’

Daniel’s latest offering Soul Reunion is a five-song, mini EP of original tunes penned solely by this talented musician. In this EP the singer/songwriter takes you on a personal life’s journey through the tracks of Soul Reunion…”When Time’s Runnin’ Out”, “Park And Fly”, “More Than A Lover”, “Two Times One Of A Kind (In Your World)” and “Heavenly High” (Live). The song “Park And Fly” recently received an honorable mention from the Song of the Year Songwriting Contest.

‘I called my new EP ‘Soul Reunion’ because it was about having a reunion with myself; coming back to who I really am inside. It has been a wonderful experience to do this recording as they are all originals and each song means something to me. I am hoping other people will find their ‘soul’ again by listening to the lyrics and making the songs their own, to have a Soul Reunion themselves.’

The rich, haunting voice of Daniel Casavant is one that soothes your soul, so buy the CD and you can have your own Soul Reunion.

Editor's Note: Daniel Casavant will be performing at The Mariposa Cafe in Montreal, Quebec Sunday, October 6 at 6 pm. and a special performance at The Moonshine Cafe in Oakville, Ontario Sunday October 20 8:30 pm.

http://www.daniel-casavant.com - Cashbox Canada