VIDEO PREMIERE: Dan Moxon Dwells on the Mundane with Bouncy, 70s Style Piano Rock Tune “Playing With Fire”

Dan Moxon is a Vancouver based singer-songwriter pianist who is most well known for fronting the rock band BEND SINISTER. He has toured and performed around the world in Bend Sinister for the last 15 years and released 9 albums with the band. In 2018 Dan decided to go into the studio to record his debut solo album with help from lots of friends and local musicians. With a love of classic rock, soul and Motown, the album pulls from all Dan’s influences as he takes his own spin on so many different styles.

On October 4th Dan will release his debut solo album, Lounge Singer, which plays with fact that lots of the songs were first played in a hotel lounge at the Fairmont pacific rim in Vancouver where Dan used to perform once every few months as a regular gig. It also plays into the idea that in Todays world of streaming and access to tons of content, it is sometimes hard to get people to actually take notice and listen to a song or record. Our fast paced world has somewhat turned lots of artists into background music where people talk over it and live their lives without listening deeper to the art itself.

Today Glide is excited to premiere the music video for “Playing With Fire”, one of the standout tracks on Lounge Singer. Kicking off with a jubilant mix of piano and organ, the song immediately takes on a feel-good vibe. This is amplified by footage of cute kids playing in a makeshift band. Dan strolls amiably through a homogenous looking suburb as he lends his smooth vocals to darkly humorous lyrics about the little mundane struggles we all face in life. With background singers providing soulful harmonies to this bouncy, 70s style pop tune, Dan manages to add a healthy dose of sunniness to the idea of getting older and encountering the more boring routines of life. Of course, he does it with the fervor of a gospel preacher.  

Watch the video and read our chat with Dan below…

What inspired the song?

I was on a trip to the Sunshine Coast when I was writing some songs for the new solo album. I came up with the melody on the ferry but started writing the words/chorus on my mini keyboard while literally watching my niece and nephews try to build a campfire. As they threw on more and more cardboard, paper and things that made the fire flare up unnecessarily, the chorus just fell into place and then I had the song written within a few days.

Who produced it? What was the recording experience like?

I worked with my friend JP Maurice on the album and we co produced it. It was a very relaxed recording session at blue light studios spread over 4-6 months (whenever money and time allowed) and the song really started to take shape when we got Ashleigh Ball (hey ocean) and Tonye Aganaba to sing all the backups.

What do you want people to take away from the song? Was there a particular mood you were trying to capture? A story you were trying to tell?

I was really feeling the vibe of my Motown LP collection and artists like Donny Hathaway when working on this song. It’s not overly complex but it has a vibe that should I make you feel happy and wanna move your feet. It was also that feeling that no matter how old we get we’ve still always got a lot to learn and never quite grow up.

What are your plans for the next year?

I am excited to put out the whole album this fall and look towards playing more festivals next summer. I feel like this project fits in with jazz and folk fest vibes and so I hope to share the live show across Canada and beyond. In-between times I’ll be working on new material for both this solo project and my rock and roll band Bend Sinister.

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