A FROME musician has been nominated by a national world music magazine for two prestigious titles.
Dan Harper, who collaborates with musicians under the name Invisible System, has been nominated by Songlines magazine for ‘Best Group’ and ‘Cross Cultural Collaboration’ for his album ‘Street Clan.’
The album was written and recorded in Ethiopia where Dan used to work as an aid worker, and at his home studio in Frome. ‘Street Clan’ is the follow up to Dan’s 2009 critically acclaimed album ‘Punt.’
After the success of the first album, Dan took the opportunity to collaborate with some high-profile musicians as well as local talent. He also utilised traditional Ethiopian singers and instruments to create a unique sound.
He describes ‘Street Clan’ as a fusion of Frome and international culture. Dan said, “There is a huge amount of collaboration on the album, ranging from Portishead; Paul Boswell, a Frome-based street artist, who designed the cover; Ozric Tentacles and traditional Ethiopian music.
“It’s great to be recognised by Songlines. I was up for ‘best newcomer’ a few years before for the album ‘Punt’. It would be great to win the award. The album is a mixture of hard work, luck and coincidence. After ‘Punt’ was released, I found myself receiving emails from the likes of Captain Sensible who wanted to play guitar on the new track – it has snowballed so fast.”
Voting for Dan to win the awards has now closed, with the winners due to be announced shortly. You can listen to Dan’s work by visiting his www.myspace.com/invisiblesystem
