Dana Gavanski

When It Comes

New album released 29 April 2022 on Full Time Hobby including limited Dinked edition featuring bonus 7” – Pre-order: https://orcd.co/whenitcomes

There’s something mesmerising about the fingertips of Dana Gavanski. Conducting each note with a light gracefulness, they appear to dance whilst aiding their owner in expressing the stories behind each of her lighter-than-air tones. Stories which, on her new album When It Comes, may never have been heard if not for healing ‘lost’ vocal cords and a lesson in taking the rough with the smooth.

“In many ways, this record feels like it is my first,” Dana tells. “When I could use my voice, I had to focus so there is an urgency and greater emotional trajectory than before… it’s very connected to vocal presence, which extended into an existential questioning of my connection to music. It felt like a battle at times, which I frequently lost.”

Arriving where introversion and extroversion meet When It Comes is Dana’s most vulnerable record to date. A Canadian-Serbian artist unafraid of extremes, she seamlessly blends her love of music from the 50s-70s with mythology. Led by instinct in its purest form, Dana’s latest chapter is an ode to the voice as an instrument – its power, and how intricately it can deliver words to tug at, and tie knots in, every heartstring. “Words can be taken quite literally, but to me, a lot of the time, they are pivots. They point in a direction but don’t necessarily stay there,” she says.

The follow up to her 2020 debut Yesterday Is Gone was started in Montreal, ended in Belgrade, recorded back in London at Total Refreshment Centre, and then mixed by Mike Lindsay (Tunng, Lump). It offers something altogether more atmospheric and widescreen, as heard in the idiosyncratic carnival arpeggio grooves of first single ‘Indigo Highway’: 

Now planning her headline tour with an expanded 5-piece line-up and taking to the stage for the first time since touring with Porridge Radio, Damien Jurado, and Chris Cohen, Dana is currently perfecting her live performance by practicing a voice ever more elaborate and perfecting those subtle hand gestures to match. “I’m so inspired by David Bowie’s performances and discovered he practiced mime with Lindsay Kemp early on in his career,” she says of seeking inspiration. “I’ve done some mime classes since and it’s become good practice to go deeper into the body and be less controlled by the humility of the mind.”

Dana is on tour from later this month, with support on most shows coming from Naima Bock. Full dates + info here: https://www.danagavanski.co.uk/ 

February 

27th – Brighton, Hope & Ruin

28th – Nottingham, Metronome

March

1st – Leeds, Brudenell Social Club

2nd – Bristol, Exchange

3rd – Manchester, Deaf Institute

5th – Newcastle, Bobiks

6th – Glasgow, Hug & Pint

8th – London, The Lexington 

10th – Paris, Le Pop-Up du Label

11th – Koln, Theater der Wohngemeinschaft

12th – Munich, Theaterbar Heppel & Ettlich

13th – Leipzig, UT Connewitz

14th – Berlin, Badehaus

16th – Hamburg, Uebel & Gefahrlich 

17th – Nijmegen, Merleyn

18th – Amsterdam, Paradiso

19th – Brugge, Cactus Club

Quotes for debut album, Yesterday Is Gone:

“A confident and compelling debut” – Loud and Quiet

“Authoritative debut from dulcet-toned Canadian.” – Uncut

     Tracklist: 

I Kiss The Night

Bend Away & Fall

Letting Go

Under the Sky

The Day Unfolds

Indigo Highway

Lisa

The Reaper

Knowing to Trust

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