Australian Synth-Pop artist Daniel Hall may still be a relatively obscure name in the genre, but he released his eighteenth (!) album at the end of 2024. I’ve been familiar with his sound for a long time, and while his approach and production have remained consistent, they continue to showcase his mastery. Daniel Hall delivers an ultra-polished production, built around a dreamy and ‘soft’ form of Electro-Pop. The album’s title aptly reflects the more pronounced ‘space’ themes woven into the music. Hall’s voice remains clear, polished, and perfectly suited to the ethereal soundscapes he creates. While this is undeniably a cool record, it’s missing a standout, potential hit. The music flows beautifully, but it could use a few more highlights to truly elevate the listening experience. (Rating:7½).

Listening to “The Mole”:

About Daniel Hall

Daniel Hall is an electropop artist based in Sydney, Australia. His fourteenth album, “Dark Horse”, included “Wonderful (The Anix Edit)”, released on Side-Line’s “Face The Beat: Session 6” compilation. Hall also formed the duo Emerge with British vocalist Charlotte Henry, releasing the album “The Trip” as a custom boxed USB, and was featured as a vocalist on Vaylon’s Second Complex side project on the track “Every Moment Counts”.

Hall’s sixteenth album followed, preceded by the singles “The Fireman” and “Corruption”. He closed out 2024 with “Apollo”, his eighteenth album, built around a softer, space-themed form of electro-pop.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

On May 26th, 2022 Andrew Fletcher, founding member of Depeche Mode, died, aged 60. Out via Timezone on November 25th is the Depeche Mode tribute compilation “6122 (To Andrew Fletcher of Depeche Mode)”. The compilation’s title contains the year Andrew Fletcher was born and the year he died.

The aim was to bring together different artists from different decades, old musical companions of “Fletch” as well as known artists across different genres and promising new bands who were influenced by Depeche Mode’s sound.

The 2CD set features artists from all kind of musical genres and 50% of all profits will be donated to a charity organisation for children in UK, and the Children’s Cancer Trust in Germany, who officially partners to the project. Behind this project we find Daniel Gierke of the act The Brute.

Here’s an idea what to get.

Here’s is the complete tracklist:

CD1

1. A Question of Time – The Brute :
2. Never Let Me Down Again – Watershed
3. In Your Room – Nightnight
4. Ice Machine – Renard feat. Mary Ann
5. Broken – Redeem
6. Stripped – Starlights Live
7. Little 15 – Atlantic Popes
8. The Sun And The Rainfall – Apsürde feat. Manoya
9. My Secret Garden – Cold Connection
10. It’s No Good – Oxic Inc. feat. De La Morte
11. Dream On – Roy Jones & Red Beat
12. Should Be Higher – The Rude Awakening
13. Somebody – Toal, The Brute, People Theatre
14. In Sympathy – Bon Harris
15. Heaven – Zentrum Ost 71

CD2

1. Enjoy The Silence – LeBen
2. Personal Jesus – Polly Scattergood
3. Wrong – Kirlian Camera
4. Policy of Truth – Rohn-Lederman
5. To Have and to Hold – Page Of Quire
6. Angel – Tom Meeloo
7. Somebody – Peter Rainman
8. The Sun And The Rainfall – Northern Kind
9. Photographic – Shelter
10. A Barrel of a Gun (El Presidente Peron Yeah John) – Carlos Peron
11. I Feel You – Tin Gun
12. I Feel Loved – Daniel Hall feat. Stephen Newton
13. Oberkorn (It’s a Small Town) – Electrogenetic by Gareth Jones
14. Clean – Neocoma
15. Breathe – The Brute feat. Rachel Delgado

For more on Depeche Mode, see Sonic Seducer goes Depeche Mode in two dedicated issues of the magazine on Side-Line.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

Out now is the remix album “Human​:​Resurrection (The Remixes)” by Sydney (Australia) based electropop artist Daniel Hall / Emerge1. The remix album holds remixed tracks from his previous album “Human” plus 1 new single, “Resurrection”. It is the 16th full length studio album for Daniel Hall.

The collaborators on this remix album include Blaklight, The Brute, People Theatre, Beyond Border, ee:man, Patrik Kambo, All Star Motivator, Eric C Powell, Emerge 1, Isunray, Nature of Wires and DJ Dorian Rangel.

Note that the release is also available as a CD.

Here’s the new single.

And here is the track listing.

On a sidenote, The Brute who completed a cover version of Hall’s track “Feeling Low” will release the track itself as well as a single with an official video on July 1st 2022. Read the review of ‘Human’.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro-Pop.

Format: Digital, USB.

Background/Info: “Human” is Australian Daniel Hall’s fifteenth album whereon he reveals twelve new songs.

Content: If you’re familiar with the artist, you will directly recognize his timbre of voice and the global sound arrangements and approach of his work. It remains a pure and sweet-sounding and melodic Electro-Pop production. I however noticed a few interesting experiments like filtered sequences running through “Corruption” and the harder, danceable “Humanoid”. One of the songs features guest vocals by Stephen Newton.

+ + + : I salute the professional production of “Human”, which remains a true trademark of Daniel Hall. But I also like his ‘little’ experiments like on “Corruption”, which sounds not only harder and club-minded, but also adding that little extra on top of the song. It’s exactly the same for “Humanoid”. I also recommend listening to catchy songs like “You Won’t Let Me Go” and “What Is Your Story”.

– – – : Daniel Hall has a great timbre of voice and is a talented singer, but he maybe needs some external producer to get the vocals a bit more diversified.

Conclusion: “Human” is according to me the best work ever produced by Daniel Hall; sweet and alluring Electro-Pop.

Best songs: “Corruption”, “Humanoid”, “You Won’t Let Me Go”, “What Is Your Story”, “The Fireman”, “Invader”.

Rate: 8.

Listen to “Human”:

Artist: www.facebook.com/designhallptyltd Read the news on ‘Human’.

About Daniel Hall

Daniel Hall is an electropop musician based in Sydney, Australia, who also records as Daniel Hall / Emerge1. His track “Wonderful (The Anix Edit)”, taken from the album “Dark Horse”, was included on the Side-Line compilation “Face The Beat: Session 6”.

He formed the group Emerge with British vocalist Charlotte Henry and released the album “The Trip” in November 2020 as a custom boxed USB stick. The single and EP “The Watchman Remixes” featured Wave In Head, Fused, Lord & Master and Screamershock. Hall also sang on “Every Moment Counts” by Second Complex, the solo project of a Vaylon member.

“Human” was preceded by the singles “The Fireman” and “Corruption”, both with official videos. The remix album “Human:Resurrection (The Remixes)” followed in June 2022 with the new single “Resurrection” and remixes by Blaklight, The Brute, People Theatre, Beyond Border, ee:man, Patrik Kambo, All Star Motivator, Eric C Powell, Emerge 1, Isunray, Nature Of Wires and DJ Dorian Rangel.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro-Pop.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Second Complex is a solo-project set up by Danish musician Dan Beck (also involved with Vaylon). After having released a few singles Second Complex now unleashed its debut album featuring multiple guest singers.

Content: The last two songs are instrumental edits, but all other cuts have been accomplished with guest singers. Color Theory has been featured on 3 songs. You’ll also hear Laura Noszczyk, Daniel Hall, Tomas Gustafsson (State Of The Nation), Ole Ulrich Jensen (Vaylon), Neil Francis, Frank J. Freda and one song featuring Ole Ulrich Jensen and Frank J. Freda.

Sound-wise Second Complex deals with amelancholic although danceable format of Electro-Popmusic.Sometimesmovingtoward Cinematographic-Pop –featuring some extra guitar on top, the main part of the work remains pure Electro-Pop.

+ + + : The contribution of different singers injects diversity, but still an opportunity to discover great and talented vocalists. I like the delicacy emerging of “Troubled Mind” featuring Laura Noszczyk, but also the somewhat heavier arrangements at “Every Moment Counts” featuring the charismatic voice of Daniel Hall. “Regrets” featuring Color Theory is one of the most danceable cuts. “Solid Ground” featuring Neil Francis is another attention grabber for the crystalline sound arrangements. But my favorite song is the instrumental “Shadows And Silhouettes” revealing the maturity of this artist. It’s a dreamy song, which sounds as Cinematographic-Pop.

– – – : The album is missing an absolute hit and maybe one singer instead of different vocalists.

Conclusion: Second Complex doesn’t set the world of Electro-Pop alight, but this album is an interesting and promising debut.

Best songs: “Shadows And Silhouettes”, “Solid Ground”, Troubled Mind”, “Regrets”, “Drowned”.

Rate: 7½.  

Artist: www.facebook.com/SecondComplexMusic

Label: www.spaceracerecords.com / www.facebook.com/SpaceRaceRecords Read the news on ‘Therapy’.

About Second Complex

Second Complex is the solo project of Danish musician Dan Beck. Discogs states that Beck was born in the suburbs of Copenhagen in the early 1970s and met his longtime friend Ole Ulrich Jensen of Vaylon and Reliant in late 1984.

The project issued the singles “Solid Ground” and “Powerless” on Liquid Substance Records in 2021 before the debut album.

“Therapy” was released by Space Race Records on 19 November 2021 in digital and CD formats. Dan Beck wrote and arranged the album, Rob Early mixed it at Retrogramme Studios in Washington and Brian Hazard mastered it at Resonance Mastering in Los Angeles. Lars Ludvig Sørensen took the photos and Ole Ulrich Jensen handled cover and design.

The ten tracks are “Drowned” with Color Theory, “Troubled Mind” with Laura Noszczyk, “Every Moment Counts” with Daniel Hall, “Regrets” with Color Theory, “Asylum” with Tomas Gustafsson, “Powerless” with Color Theory, “Lost In A Dream” with Ole Ulrich Jensen, “Solid Ground” with Neil Francis, “Spirit” with Ole Ulrich Jensen and Frank J. Freda, and “A Grain Of Sand” with Neil Francis.

The single “Treatment” followed on Town And Towers Records in 2022.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Out via the EK Product sublabel Space Race Records is the debut album by the synthpop act Second Complex, called “Therapy”. Behind this Danish solo-project we find Dan Beck, better known for being with with Ole Ulrich Jensen one of the two members of Vaylon. Strongly inspired by the 80’s synthpop, this debut album features a wide array of guest vocalists.

The album holds twelve tracks with guest vocals delivered by Brian Hazard (Color Theory), Laura Noszczyk, Daniel Hall, Tomas Gustafsson, Ole Ulrich Jenbsen, Neil Francis and Frank J. Freda (Halovox).

Tracklist:

1. Drowned (Feat. Color Theory) 4:49
2. Troubled Mind (Feat. Laura Noszczyk) 4:17
3. Every Moment Counts (Feat. Daniel Hall) 3:43
4. Regrets (Feat. Color Theory) 5:03
5. Asylum (Feat. Tomas Gustafsson) 3:48
6. Powerless (Feat. Color Theory) 4:13
7. Lost in a Dream (Feat. Ole Ulrich Jensen) 3:27
8. Solid Ground (Feat. Neil Francis) 3:57
9. Spirit (Feat. Ole Ulrich Jensen & Frank J. Freda) 3:46
10. A Grain of Sand (Feat. Neil Francis) 4:15
11. Shadows and Silhouettes (Instrumental) 4:15
12. Humble (Instrumental) 4:49

Here’s already a track featuring Neil Francis. Read the review of ‘Therapy’.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

Since “Wonderful (The Anix Edit)” from Daniel Hall’s 14th album “Dark Horse”, was released on our “Face the Beat 6” compilation, the electropop artist has been very busy.

A new single and EP “The Watchman Remixes” was released with such guests as Wave in Head, Fused, Lord & Master and Screamershock. The original single was supported by an official video which you can see below.

Hall also formed a new group called Emerge with British female vocalist Charlotte Henry and released the album “The trip” last November. Charlotte’s background is country/rock and she is best known for getting to the semi-finals of the 2002 UK Eurovision song contest competition. The recording was quite an endeavor as Hall is based in Sydney, Australia.

The album was released as a custom boxed USB as you can see above. The single “Without You” also has an official video, see below.

At the moment Hall is busy working on his 16th album which was already preceded by 2 singles earlier this year: “The Fireman” and “Corruption” both supported by official videos. Hall was also featured on Vaylon’s side project Second Complex as vocalist on the track Every Moment Counts.

Here’s “Wonderful (The Anix Edit)” from our “Face The Beat 6” compilation.

Videos available now

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro-pop.

Format: Digital, CD + DVD.

Background/Info: “Dark Horse” is the fourteenth (!) full length album released by Australian electro-pop artist Daniel Hall. It also is his second work released by the British label Pink Dolphin Music. The album is once again accompanied with a DVD featuring a clip of twelve from the thirteen songs.

Content: Daniel Hall no longer has secrets for me. His classically, styled electro-pop music is mixing dreamy passages and other, more danceable songs. The Depeche Mode influence is a noticeable element, but throughout the years this artist has established his own, recognizable sound carried by a high-tech sound production. One of the songs (cf. “Wonderful”) is featuring The Anix while there also is a song (cf. “Leopard”), which was previously released as a single, remixed by Screamershock. There also is a song (cf. “You’re The Light”) featuring heavenly female vocals by Charlotte Henry.

+ + + : As I already mentioned Daniel Hall is an artist I’m following for several years now and who no longer has secrets for me. I’m familiar with his polished and professionally produced electro-pop music. But each album again this prolific artist touches me with some cool songs. I remain mainly inspired by his more danceable stuff. The song “Inconvenience” definitely appears to be one of the most club-friendly cuts. But I also have to mention “Losing You’ for its overwhelming sound treatments while “Wonderful – The Anix Edit” has something harder and still dancefloor driven. “Poison Love” is another song I want to mention for the great sound treatments and the progression of song structure.

And Daniel Hall did it again; releasing a clip of each song (just “It Can’t Go On Like This” is missing) that you can find on the DVD. Twelve clips for thirteen songs! The clips again are pretty professional, diversified and giving a real extra to the album. I like the clips of “Poison Love” and “Losing You”.

– – – : I’m still not a huge fan of the softer cuts of the artists. They bring a break to the work, but I sometimes experienced a kind of soporific sensation listening to “Want” or “Skin Deep”.

Conclusion: Pink dolphin Music is a label I’m not familiar with, but I hope they help the artist increasing his recognition. “Dark Horse” is one of the best Daniel Hall’s albums I’ve heard.

Best songs: “Poison Love”, “Losing You”, “Wonderful – The Anix Edit”, “Inconvenience”, “Nothing To Lose”, “Come Back To Me”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/designhallptyltd

Label: www.facebook.com/pinkdolphinmusic

About Daniel Hall

Daniel Hall is an Australian electro-pop artist based in Sydney. “Dark Horse”, his fourteenth full-length album, was followed by the single and EP “The Watchman Remixes”, featuring Wave In Head, Fused, Lord & Master and Screamershock. Hall also formed the duo Emerge with British vocalist Charlotte Henry, releasing the album “The Trip” and the single “Without You”, before returning to his own name for the singles “The Fireman” and “Corruption” ahead of a sixteenth album. He also contributed vocals to “Every Moment Counts” on Vaylon’s side project Second Complex.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Synth-pop.

Background/Info: Australian synth-pop artist Daniel Hall seems to never stop writing new songs. A few months after his previous opus (cf. “Elevate”) he’s already back with twelve fresh songs, “Anomaly” being the man’s twelfth full length. And just like previous releases he also made a clip of each song; the clips being featured on an extra DVD. Daniel Hall is taking care of every little detail and even the landscape painting inside the album. 

Content: If you’re familiar with the sound of Daniel Hall “Anomaly” doesn’t have many surprises to offer. It’s a well-crafted and sweet-sugar like electro-pop work. The songs are mainly dreamy, but feature a few sensual passages. Daniel Hall is also used to bring a few harder cuts. I especially want to mention “I Hunger For You” as most noticeable track in this format. The vocals are quite ‘classical’ as well, revealing Daniel’s sweet and somewhat sensual way of singing. The last song is an acoustic version of “The Main Attraction” featuring guest vocals by ‘Zeus’. 

+ + + : Daniel Hall’s releases always reveal a high degree of professionalism. This aspect that comes through in every little detail from the production; from the songwriting to the recording to the artwork to the clips. But the main reason why we want to buys a CD is for its content! Daniel Hall moves on writing delicate electro-pop songs with a typical dreamy touch on top. I again prefer the ‘harder’ cuts (cf. “I Hunger For You”), but I also enjoyed the sexy-like “Sleeping In Snow” and “Unleash The Dragon” for its great bass line. 

The clips are pretty recognizable as well and reveal a mix of cool effects and sensual models. I especially recommend the clips of “Sleeping In Snow” and “I Hunger For You”. 

– – – : The main challenge with a prolific artist is to hold the attention of his audience. And especially when the sound formula remains pretty similar. Daniel Hall doesn’t really experiment with new ideas and simply moves on writing the music he likes: sensual, sweet and dreamy synth-pop music. The point is that it all starts to become a bit predictable. 

Conclusion: The previous album “Elevate” was my personal favorite one while “Anomaly” sounds like an artist who switched on the autopilot. This is my way tickling the artist to experiment with new ideas!

Best songs: “I Hunger For You”, “Whatever, Wherever”, “Sleeping In Snow”, “Unleash The Dragon”. 

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/danielhallmusic 

About Daniel Hall

Daniel Hall is a Sydney, Australia-based electropop artist who also records as Emerge1. “Anomaly” is his twelfth full-length album, following “Elevate”.

Hall followed “Anomaly” with the 14th full-length “Dark Horse”, preceded by the single “Wonderful (The Anix Edit)” on Side-Line’s own “Face the Beat 6” compilation. He also launched the collaborative project Emerge with British vocalist Charlotte Henry, releasing the album “The Trip”. His “Human” album led into the remix set “Human:Resurrection (The Remixes)” in 2022, billed as his 16th full-length overall and featuring remixers Blaklight, The Brute and People Theatre among others.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro-pop.

Background/Info: Australian electro-pop artist Daniel Hall has released his eleventh full length album. It also became a kind of tradition that next to the album Daniel Hall also made a clip of each song. So “Elevate” features 13 new songs and 13 new clips.

Content: Daniel Hall holds on his familiar sound elements, which are totally electro-pop like. This musician remains inspired by the 80s electro/wave-pop, but also inject a very own –and contemporary, touch to the work. Both debut songs “Elevate Me” and especially “All Night” probably are the best songs he ever wrote. Daniel Hall brings some sensuality to his sound while other tracks are softer and evasive-like. I even noticed a lounge touch emerging from a few songs. “Prisoner Of Love” is another noticeable song for being more danceable. I also noticed there’s one song with female (guest) vocals.

The clips are another way to discover the universe of Daniel Hall, who next to be a musician also is a great video designer.

+ + + : “Elevate” is probably the best album I’ve heart from Daniel Hall. The sound quality and production are simply amazing, but the opus also features some great cuts. “All Night” is a little pearl and also the clip is worthy of examination. The sensuality of the model featured in the clip and the high tech image production create with the music a symbiotic effect. Daniel Hall remains inspired by Depeche Mode, but he definitely has found his own sound, which is characterized by delicate sound treatments and subtle arrangements. The slow, sensual rhythms are leading you into a world of evasion and lust… The vocals are perfectly produced. Last, but not least Daniel Hall is one of the very artists releasing a clip from each of his songs! Respect!

– – – : My only single regret is that Daniel Hall doesn’t really evolve in his style and especially influences. Some songs became pretty predictable.

Conclusion: This is an artist who clearly deserves a wider recognition. He has the skills to catch the international electro-community by surprise. I think it would be interesting to see this artist signed on a label that matches with his music.

Best songs: “All Night”, “You Elevate Me”, “Prisoner Of Love”, “Narcissist”, “The Ghostess In Me”, “Karma”.

Rate: (8½).

Artist: www.facebook.com/Danielhallmusic

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro-pop.

Background/Info: Daniel Hall celebrates his tenth full length album with a real special production. “The Collection” is partly a look back featuring songs from the previous albums “Romantic Tendencies”, “Hope”, “Together Again” and “Maelstrom” plus 8 new songs and a cover version of Depeche Mode.

Content: This ‘compilation’ album is a perfect opportunity to get more familiar with the electro-pop universe of Daniel Hall. The Australian artist is clearly inspired by Depeche Mode and his cover version of “I Feel Loved” only confirms the main source of inspiration. But Daniel Hall also has his own sound approach characterized by a real professional and high tech production. The songs on this album are moving from pure reverie to songs carried by a sensual triphop rhythm to more ‘dance’- passages to groovy cuts.

The work features 26 (!) songs, which have been diversified by the addition of a few female guest vocals and even a guitarist on one of the tracks.

+ + + : The sound production of this musician remains impressive. Daniel Hall clearly doesn’t spare any (financial/technical) effort to get a high tech sound. But he also is a talented musician who perfectly knows how to compose the perfect synth-pop songs. This album also reveals the diversity of his writing skills. I’ve a preference for the more ‘danceable’ and even ‘groovy’ cuts (cf. “One Man”, “Be With You”), but also for a more sensual approach created by the slow triphop rhythmic (cf. “Mysterious Girl”). This sensual flavor also emerges at “Catch You”, which reminds me a bit to Everything And The Girl. Last, but not least the duo together with Janne Villaflor on “Peace” (taken from the “Hope” album and also released as single) is a brilliant synth-pop cut. But the ultimate artistic element of this work is the format; this is not just a simply USB key, but a styled one available as an “X”, which stands for the tenth album of Daniel Hall, while the box wherein the USB key is packed reminds me of a jewel box.

– – – : 26 songs are quite a lot and it’s rather normal there’re several tracks featured which can’t totally convince me. These songs are often standing for the ‘softer’ side of the artist’s sound.

Conclusion: If you’re into synth-pop, Daniel Hall will for sure satisfy your needs. This ‘special’ album and especially the format are once again revealing the skills of the artist.

Best songs: “Peace”, “Mysterious Girl”, “One Man”, “Rescue Me”, “Lost Forever”, “Spider”, “Bulletproof Heart”, “Gravy train”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/Danielhallmusic

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro-pop.

Background/Info: Sydney (Australia) based artist Daniel Hall is already back on track unleashing his ninth studio album! “Maelstrom” is already accompanied by a DVD featuring 9 clips from the 11 songs featured on this album.

Content: Daniel Hall is not only a prolific artist; he also is a talented musician and clip producer. The sound is inspired by electro-pop music, which often sounds sweet and evasive, but still sensual and carried by a slow, danceable cadence.

The songs are well-crafted and you here rapidly will hear the impressive production skills of the artist. Daniel Hall clearly works with professional equipment, but he also is a talented producer. From refined bleeping sequences to multiple sound effects to joining hands with a female vocalist for one of the songs, this work is refreshing pop approach.

The DVD will give you the opportunity to rediscover 9 from the 11 songs a different way. The clips are professional and quite diversified in their script.

+ + + : All of the songs on “Maelstrom” can’t convince me, but the writing- and production skills of Daniel Hall have already convinced me for a while. This guy composes great electro-pop music, which is sometimes a bit smooth and groovy, but always accomplished with a nose for details and without falling into the trap of emulating a bigger artist. Daniel Hall has composed his own style and now clearly claims to have created a very own sound DNA. His particular timbre of voice, which sounds a little less nasal, is reinforcing this DNA. I especially like the most sensual cuts such as “Rescue Me” and “Suspicious Minds”. Just like on his previous work, Daniel Hall also realized professional clips.

– – – : I’m not a huge fan of the smoothest cuts, which are more into a kind of reverie-ballad electro-style (cf. “Godspeed”, “Falling”), but globally speaking this artist is improving his work each time again.

Conclusion: I think to have already said that if you don’t know yet Daniel Hall and you’re into electro-pop you definitely have to discover this talented musician/producer.

Best songs: “Rescue Me”, “Pressure”, “Spider feat. Janne Villaflor”, “Maelstrom”, “Suspicious Minds”.

Rate: (8).

Band: www.facebook.com/designhallptyltd

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Synth-pop.

Background/Info: Last year I discovered Daniel Hall who is based in Sydney (Australia). This musician is a prolific artist who already released an impressive number of productions. “Together Again” is the 8^th studio album; and the 9^th one if you consider the ‘best of’-album “Light & Dark”.

Content: Daniel Hall deals with a sweet electro-pop taste accomplished with great production skills. Some parts are a bit groovy and danceable, but the main tendency remains easy, listening electro-pop music. The vocals match with the sweetness of the music while some parts again feature female backings.

The last part of the work reveals a darker and mysterious approach, which is a kind of innovation for this artist.

This release also features a DVD. Daniel Hall likes to create video clips and he now made 10 clips, featuring 10 from the 13 album songs.

+ + + : Daniel Hall is a unique artist in his genre. It’s not that about his sound, but his independent way of working. But he once again reveals to have great writing- and production skills. The sound is very professional while clearly meant to catch the attention of a wider electro-pop audience. The songs are accomplished with delicate sound treatments while revealing cool and more danceable songs. The few songs that feature male- and female vocals are once again adding this little bonus. “Slave” is a real beautiful track.

Last, but not least, this artist also is a great clip producer. Do you know many bands releasing a professional clip of nearly each song from their album? That’s precisely why this artist is so unique!

– – – : I think that some of the songs are missing a dirty sound touch. Daniel Hall stands for a clear and polished production while I would really wonder how this artist would sound like with some extra dark and underground –although still with an electro-pop approach.

Conclusion: Daniel Hall probably remains a less familiar artist for the international electro-pop community and that’s definitely a pity. This guy is not setting the synth-pop music on fire, but he clearly reveals great composing skills and will please all fans of sweet and clean electro-pop.

Best songs: “Slave – Big Bad Bass Remix”, “Voices In My Head”, “Gravy Train”.

Rate: (7½).

Band: www.facebook.com/designhallptyltd

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Synth-pop, dance-pop.

Background/Info: Hailing from Sydney (Australia) Daniel Hall is an artist who has already released several albums. This ‘best of’ album is a real special work with a great, artistic design. The USB key looks like an electric bulb, which starts to shine when you put it in an USB connection of a PC. There are 18 songs featured on this album.

Content: I wasn’t that familiar with the work of this artist so this ‘best of’ is an interesting opportunity to discover the sound of Daniel Hall. The least I can say is that the music is very pop-like. It sounds sweet and rather evasive. Some songs are driven by a funky touch while others are moving into a kind of dance and lounge style. I also noticed a few groovy cuts and still a kind of electronic ballads.

The songs are carried by electronics, but you will also notice a few guitar parts. The vocals are pretty clear. Daniel Hall reveals to be a talented singer with a very particular and somewhat nasal timbre of voice.

+ + + : Before I heard a single note of this album I got totally wild for the packaging. This is a great artistic design featuring a sober, but great little box with the USB inside.

Sound-wise I discovered a diversified pop release revealing many influences. It’s a quite accessible production featuring excellent danceable pieces with some groovy sequences and other lounge atmospheres. The vocals are quite typical as well and definitely one of the main strengths of the band. The songs are masterly produced. You rapidly hear that this is an artist who didn’t spare any effort to get a high tech sound production.

– – – : Some cuts are a bit too smooth and too sweet and definitely more suited to please dance- and/or lounge lovers.

Conclusion: “Light & Dark” is a real clean and polished pop production. It sounds refreshing and pretty trendy, but not timeless!

Best songs: “The Edge”, “Butterfly”, “Make Believe”, “Breathless”.

Rate: (7½).

Band: www.facebook.com/designhallptyltd  

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Synth-pop.

Background/Info: “Hope”-album is the seventh full length from Australian artist Daniel Hall. This release is packed in a DVD case format including a CD featuring 14 songs and a DVD featuring 12 clips. Daniel Hall already did the same on his previous album “Romantic Tendencies”.

Content: “Hope” is a fascinating electro-pop opus, which once again reveals the familiar ingredients from this artist’s sonic canvas. It’s a sweet pop-format featuring groovy sequences, danceable vibes and a few moody parts. The vocals remain a particular aspect of this artist.

The main evolution on “Hope” is the amazing sound production. It’s not only electro-pop music, but it has been composed with blasting sound treatments and a real professional mixing and global production. Daniel Hall realized a real tour de force. The sound is danceable while some groovy sequences inject a deep, sensual flavor.

I really had a ‘woaw’ feeling after having heard this new opus, but discovering professional and diversified clips from 12 songs of the album is another impressive thing. It’s a different way to rediscover some of the album songs and here I again you’ll rapidly notice the professional and passionate approach of this artist.

+ + + : This is an accomplished piece of music revealing an open-minded and real accessible pop format, which has been mixed with sexy, danceable vibes and irresistible groove parts. I was impressed by the sound production and some irresistible vocal parts (sometimes featuring female backings).

The DVD part is an extra good reason to purchase this work. The clips are diverse, original and perfectly transposing the music into images.

– – – : With the exception of a few songs, which are less convincing, I don’t really see minus points.

Conclusion: Daniel Hall is not reinventing pop music, but he perfectly knows the way to mix different influences together. “Hope” is the right antidote to stereotypical and uninspired electro-pop releases. Respect!

Best songs: Haunting”, “Free Your Imagination”, “Beat Or Bass”, “Bulletproof Heart”, “Turbulence”.

Rate: (8½).

Band: www.facebook.com/designhallptyltd  

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com