Introducing Fringe Benefits, a new, semi-irregular music column from Leor Galil focusing on local bands and artists who might not be receiving the attention they deserve. This week: Daniel Harris.
Every music fan and their mother must have run to their nearest record store/Internet to pick up the new Animal Collective LP and Bon Iver EP this past week, but Bostonist knows the one guy who can combine the best of both worlds. Daniel Levine has been performing under the moniker Daniel Harris for three years now and recently released his official solo debut, Thirty-Two Bit Isn't Really Eight Bits Better (available online). The product of 18 months of recording in between the cracks of his living spaces with a variety of friends, Thirty-Two Bits has been getting a chunk of postive press, and for good reason. Levine's sound is an amalgam of many a tastemaker's favorite acts: imagine if Sufjan Stevens and Chad VanGaalen were doing covers of hip-hop classics with the aid of a spare string section as Panda Bear randomly screws around with a loop station, and the end product is released on K Records. Bostonist recently asked Levine a few questions to see what makes him tick… musically speaking.
Bostonist: What's your favorite place to record music?
Daniel: I recorded most of Thirty-Two Bit in my bedroom and I really like recording there, especially at night.
What are your favorite gadgets to use while performing/recording?
Gear-wise, I'd be nothing without my Boss RC-20 Loopstation. I bought it in the summer of 2004 and it changed my everything. That pedal is on my pedalboard and I don't play a show without it.
Favorite place to play in Boston?
I don't know... I've only played there once, but I really dig playing at O'Brien's.
Advice to aspiring musicians?
Be nice to the sound guy.
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