Daniel Lee Kendall could almost be called the “Accidental Musician”. The young singer/songwriter from the Central Coast only fell back onto music when Uni and real work never quite worked out. Thankfully, for us, when he did give music a red hot stab, the results were a collection of beautifully crafted pop melodies. With an EP on the way and a ton of touring planned, DLK had a quick chat to us about inspirations, music and his renewed interest in sport.
Music Feeds: Talk The Night Away has just been released; tell us a bit about it?
Daniel Lee Kendall: It’s just sort of a selection of songs of a bigger pool of songs that I’d written. My manager, producer and I just tried to choose a bunch that we thought would work well together.
You sort of stumbled into a musical career; how did it all come about?
DLK: Well yeah, I guess I never really actively pursued a career in music, but I found I kept coming back to it when other stuff didn’t work. I tried uni and didn’t like it, and little jobs here and there that didn’t stick, and I kinda found myself gravitating towards my guitar. Which eventually lead to singing, and then to song writing.
MF: Where does inspiration come for you?
DLK: Pain. Love. Confusion. Boredom. Change. Questions. Eternity. Some weird invisible cloud that rains thoughts/music into your brain when you don’t expect it. People who I admire (and may envy ;).
MF: You’ve been hitting the road a lot recently with tours with Georgia Fair and now Hungry Kids Of Hungary; what has all this time performing taught you about music?
DLK: It’s been showing me that I enjoy singing and playing and performing and writing and creating. The more I do it, the more I improve, and the more I enjoy it. It’s like I’ve almost been subconsciously testing the waters a little bit. Seeing if music fits for me. I’ve definitely felt my desire to sing and write increase as everything else seems to be.
MF: How have you coped with the positive publicity you’ve been receiving online and on Triple J?
DLK: It’s been great! More of it I say!
MF: This topic has me interested lately: what can we find you doing away from music?
DLK: I’m recently rediscovering my love for sport. I used to only ever think of sport. Then music came into my life and I thought to be cool and arty I had to do only cool arty things. But at the moment I’m playing indoor cricket, oz tag and squash, and loving it.
MF: What would be the first track you’d put onto a mix tape?
DLK: Right now: It’s alright ma (I’m only bleeding) by Dylan.
Daniel Lee Kendall is Currently on tour with Hungry Kids of Hungary.
