Daley (musician)
Daley | |
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Daley in 2015. | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Gareth Daley |
Born | 29 September 1989 |
Origin | Manchester, England |
Genres | Alternative R&B, soul, pop |
Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, musician |
Instruments | Keyboards, piano, vocals |
Years active | 2010–present |
Labels | Republic Records, Polydor |
Website |
daley |
Gareth Daley (born 29 September 1989),[1] better known professionally as Daley (pronounced day-lee), is a British recording artist and songwriter. Daley first became prominent after co-writing and featuring on the Gorillaz 2010 single "Doncamatic", having been spotted by the band's creator Damon Albarn early in his career as an underground artist on the London music scene. The song exposed him to a wider international audience.[2] In 2011, his mixtape Those Who Wait mixtape was independently released and achieved 150,000 downloads over its first twelve months. Its success saw him promptly signed to Universal Music.
The next two years saw him releasing two top 30 singles on the UK Singles Chart, including 2012's "Remember Me" featuring singer Jessie J and 2013's "Broken". Daley's debut album Days & Nights was released in February 2014 to critical acclaim and generated the Pharrell Williams produced top ten hit "Look Up" on the Billboard's Adult R&B Songs. Next to opening for the likes of Miguel, Maxwell, Emeli Sande, Jill Scott and Maverick Sabre, Daley has headlined venues like KOKO, Highline Ballroom, El Rey Theatre, 930 Club, and the Buckhead Theatre in Atlanta.
Early life
Daley was born and brought up in the suburbs of Manchester in the North-West of England. He completed secondary school, college and University studying Design & Art Direction at Manchester Metropolitan, pursuing music in his free time. He lived in Manchester until age 21, when he quit his job as a Graphic Designer and relocated to London to focus on making music.
Career
2010 – Breakthrough
With just a Myspace page and some early demos, Daley took to the London live scene, performing at open-mic nights, jam sessions and new talent stages including 'Troy Bar' in Hoxton, 'iLuvLive' in Camden and widely respected music industry showcase 'Wired' at Shoreditch House. He would often find himself on the same stages as fellow emerging artists Ed Sheeran, Jessie J, Emeli Sande and Maverick Sabre - who later became his contemporaries and many of which he has since collaborated or toured with.
While steadily making a name for himself Daley caught the attention of Gorillaz co-creator Damon Albarn, who invited him to meet and work on new material for the cartoon band's 'Plastic Beach' album, resulting in their 2011 single Doncamatic which Daley co-wrote and fronted as lead vocalist. It shot him into the spotlight, appearing in the band's first non-cartoon music video and joining the Escape to Plastic Beach World Tour, along with Little Dragon, De La Soul, Lou Reed and Snoop Dogg.
The collaboration enhanced Daley's visibility within the industry, and early radio airplay started largely at BBC Radio 1Xtra, who's DJ's Twin B, Ras Kwame, Ronnie Herel and MistaJam all championed the singer. This eventually lead to him taking part in emerging artist discovery platform BBC Introducing, where he was invited to record three of his songs at the world famous Maida Vale Studios in London, and began to attract the attention of record labels.
Those Who Wait
Daley's first solo offering came in the form of the 'Those Who Wait' mixtape in late 2011, an independently released free-download which was distributed through his official website Daley.TV. The mixtape achieved 50,000 downloads in its first month, increasing to 150,000 downloads over the twelve months that followed and garnered Daley support from UK media including BBC's 'Sound of...' poll[3] and online buzz from bloggers and fans alike. It consisted of ten songs, and showcased a left-of-center, Alternative R&B sound, emotive songwriting style and soulful vocal performance. Stand out tracks included Those Who Wait, Game Over, Smoking Gun, and an acoustic cover of Maxwell's Pretty Wings - which became a viral favourite.
Artistry
Daley has become known for his Alternative R&B sound, which contains hints of Soul, Electronica and Pop. His songwriting is vocal-lead and puts emphasis on vocal performance and arrangement, a trait that has often defined him when compared to his male contemporaries. He has referred to his sound as 'Future-Throwback' in interviews, stating that the music has a familiar, occasionally nostalgic feel, contemporised with a futuristic sonic and production. Daley has stated that he has been influenced predominantly by a mix of US and UK sounds and songwriters, has cited some of his influences as: Prince, Chaka Khan, Radiohead, Maxwell, Sade, Joni Mitchell, Imogen Heap and George Michael.
Discography
Albums
Title | Album details | Peak positions | ||
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UK | US | US R&B | ||
Days + Nights |
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— | 128 | 21 |
EPs
Title | Details | Chart positions | Notes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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US Heat [4] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Those Who Wait |
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Alone Together |
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42 |
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Songs That Remind Me of You |
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— |
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"—" denotes albums that did not chart or were not released. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Singles
Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK [5] |
US Adult R&B [6] |
US R&B [7] | ||||||||||
2010 | "Doncamatic" (Gorillaz featuring Daley) |
37 | — | — | Plastic Beach | |||||||
2011 | "Those Who Wait" | — | — | — | Those Who Wait | |||||||
2012 | "Alone Together" (featuring Marsha Ambrosius) |
— | 5 | 66 | Alone Together | |||||||
"Remember Me" (featuring Jessie J) |
19 | — | — | |||||||||
2013 | "Broken" | 24 | — | — | Days + Nights | |||||||
"Look Up" | — | 10 | — | |||||||||
2014 | "Time Travel" | — | — | — | ||||||||
"—" denotes singles that were not officially released. | ||||||||||||
Appearances
Song | Year | Artist(s) | Album |
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"Long Way Home" | 2011 | Wretch 32 featuring Daley | Black and White |
"Heaven" | 2013 | Nelly featuring Daley | M.O. |
Touring & Live
Daley tours throughout the US, UK and Europe and has sold-out headline shows from London's KOKO, to New York's SOB's and Highline Ballroom, to the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles, 930 Club in Washington DC and the Buckhead Theatre in Atlanta.
Over the last year Daley has completed three largely sold-out headline tours around the US with legs in Europe, as well as a series of festivals and support shows, and has announced plans to be on the road again in Summer 2015.
Artists he has performed with include: Gorillaz, Miguel, Jessie J, Emeli Sande, Maxwell, Jill Scott, Maverick Sabre, Kelly Rowland and Earth, Wind & Fire.
Headline Tours
- Days & Nights Tour (2014) Headline US Tour (30 dates)
- Daley, Unplugged Tour (2014) Headline US Tour (15 dates)
- Look Up Tour (2013) Headline US Tour (18 dates)
- Those Who Wait Tour (2012) Headline UK / Europe Tour (15 dates)
- 2016 tour (2016)
Headline USA (18 dates)
Support Tours
- Maxwell Summer Solstice Tour Opening act (2014)
- Miguel UK Tour Opening act (2013)
- Emeli Sande UK Tour Opening act (2012)
- Maverick Sabre UK Tour Opening act (2012)
- Gorillaz Plastic Beach World Tour Featured artist (2011)
Festivals
- Essence Music Festival New Orleans, LA Mercedes-Benz Superdome (2014)
- SXSW Festival Austin, TX (2014)
- One MusicFest Atlanta, GA (2014)
- Wireless Festival London, UK (2013)
References
- ↑ "New band of the day – Daley (No 1,108)". The Guardian. 19 September 2011. Retrieved 2012-11-22.
- ↑ "Daley speaks about writing Gorillaz' Doncamatic with Damon Albarn | News". NME. 28 October 2010. Archived from the original on 2 January 2011. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
- ↑ "BBC – Sound of 2011 – Daley". BBC. Archived from the original on 2 January 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
- ↑ "Daley – Chart history: Heatseekers Albums". Prometheus Global Media. Billboard.
- ↑ "Daley > UK Charts". Officialcharts.com/. Official Charts Company.
- ↑ "Daley – Chart history: Adult R&B Songs". Prometheus Global Media. Billboard.
- ↑ "Daley – Chart history: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Prometheus Global Media. Billboard.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Daley (musician). |
- Official Website www.daley.tv
- Daley on Facebook
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