5Q :: Danecdote will have his revenge on Homegrown

For whatever reason, Homegrown’s steering committee decided not to put Daniel Nelson’s electronic-based Danecdote project on this year’s lineup.

Infuriated, Nelson — who until recently recorded under the Bath Aide moniker — posted somewhat of an inflammatory tirade on PerfectDuluthDay.com questioning, among other things, why so many of Marc Gartman’s groups got to play during the seemingly infallible annual festival.

The story could’ve ended there, but, curious about how Nelson’s Danecdote recordings sound, we checked out all his respective Web properties.

And you know what?

We really liked what we heard, and, seeing as how Owl City’s Postal Service-jacking sound has gone on to sell millions of records in the past couple of months, we think you might too.

As such, we chatted with the Homegrown-shunned Nelson in the hopes that you too will discover his interesting take on the IDM (or “intelligent dance music”) genre:

Budgeteer: First of all, what’s your story? Were you in any groups before the Bath Aide/Danecdote project?

Nelson: My story? Hmm ... well, I’ve been working with music software for six years now. I have self-released about five CDs, mostly through net labels — most of which sound like crap. [Laughs] About two years ago I worked on a project called Gleam with local artist Shaunna Heckman, had some creative differences and ended it. I’ve been in Duluth off and on — on for the last four years. Not sure where my music will take me at this point.

I find your sound refreshing, but I’m curious: How does one get into IDM with so many banjos on every stage of every venue? Any particular influences in the electronic-music field?

Well, honestly I have never really been influenced by the Duluth scene. What I’m doing musically is the first thing this city has heard or seen.

My influences come directly from my initial fascination with drums. Then, about four years ago, I stumbled upon IDM/electronic artists such as the Flashbulb and Wisp — out-of-state musicians who share the same creative connection as I. Eventually I found recording with software to be much easier, found a genre that I liked and now I’m still walkin’ that road.

After listening to the Danecdote track “Panda Attack” and thinking back to some of the Chemical Brothers’ sublime collaborations with vocalists, have you ever considered producing tracks for singers? Or doing more collaborations of that nature?

Oh, I would love too! The trouble is finding someone to collaborate with. What I mean by that is there is a lack of artists who are musically traveling in the same direction as myself; I haven’t come across many at least. I’ve found myself to be my own worst enemy at times, because of writer’s block, so working with others really brightens my horizon and allows me to see different lights in different music. Hopefully in the future this could happen.

Not to dwell on your PerfectDuluthDay.com post regarding Homegrown, but are you planning on making an appearance during the festival?

Officially, no.

Unofficially, yes. Not exactly sure where yet … possibly on the street, possibly at a house. I’m open to suggestions, though. It would be nice to find a couple other artists/bands that would fit with my set as well. Once again, I’m open to suggestions.

Finally, are you working on any projects? Will “Panda Attack” and its musical siblings ever make an appearance on an album?

I have too many projects out there. [Laughs] I write poetry and some hip-hop as well under the Full Nelson name; I have an all-live-edit electronic project called Asuka; and obviously Danecdote [is ongoing]. As for any newer material you may be speaking of, yes, I plan on pressing at least 100 CDs through CDBaby.com to give away during Homegrown — just a small initial investment to a much larger plan.