October is shaping up to be a busy month for singer/songwriter Daniel Moir.
On Oct. 1, Moir will be releasing his third album titled Monday Mornin’ which saw him take on the duties of producer, engineer and mixer.
“With the last two albums I had a producer for each one. This is the first one that I did totally myself. I had it sent away to get mastered but this is the first one where I’ve done the production myself,” Moir says.
“It just about killed me because I have a habit of taking on really huge workloads and then getting really stressed out and panicked about it. I gave myself two albums to do it and I was really kind of learning as I was going. I had an education I guess by working in studios with producers before but it was first time learning what button does what,” Moir adds. “I basically lived in my basement for two months and didn’t eat or slept much but I think it turned out pretty good in the end.
“I found that in the past I usually had a pretty good idea going into the studio of what each part was going to do. A lot of the time those guys were acting as engineers. So I always thought it would be so much more efficient for me to go and do everything myself because I already know what is going to go where without having to really communicate it,” he says. “That said there is obviously something different that each producer brings to the table. I knew that and it was just a matter of time before I took the plunge and did it myself.
A portion of the proceeds from the Monday Morning will be donated to the Vancouver based non-profit environmental organization Ecojustice. Moir, who is also a guitar teacher, explains that he has always wanted to support a good cause.
“I’ve always wanted to give back to that cause in some way, shape or form but I wasn’t really sure how to do it,” he says. “One of my guitar students is an environmental biologist and he recommended that if I donate money it should be to Ecojustice.”
In addition to the album release, the Edmonton native will also be heading out on tour to support the album, playing in British Columbia, Alberta and Washington state. On Oct. 3, Moir will be performing at The Railway Club in Vancouver to kick off the tour.
“It is mostly places I’ve played before so I’m really excited because it is a little bit less stressful when you’re playing in familiar territory,” he says. “I’m doing the album release party with a band and then the rest of the dates solo.”
Moir has performed throughout B.C. and Canada and recently had dates in Edmonton, Vancouver and at the Islands Folk Festival in Duncan, B.C.
“I would love to go up to the Yukon because that is one place I haven’t visited and I’ve heard really good things about it,” he says. “I’ve pretty much performed everywhere else, except for Newfoundland. I would love to get out there and play in St. John’s.”
Moir moved to B.C. three years ago after a yearning for the province’s natural beauty.
“I’m kind of a natural person myself. That is kind of why I ended up in British Columbia. There are so many things you can do in nature,” he says.
The Albertan says growing up he was really into artists such as The Beatles and Pink Floyd before he found an interest in other genres.
“I was raised on stuff like Pink Floyd and The Beatles. I was always really into the older stuff,” Moir says. “Then I got into the alternative game and started to listen to a bit more folk music as I grew up. Now at this point I listen to everything. Everything from jazz to blues to rock. Anything that I can appreciate.”
When it comes to his writing style, Moir doesn’t like to force things.
“I was always in my own head thinking about stuff and half consciously composing melodies all day. Sometimes I’ll just get a random burst of inspiration about a lyric or something or sometimes you get the lyrics and the melody coming at the same time. I’ve never really been somebody that sits down and tries to force out a song. It doesn’t really work that way for me. It just kind of comes to me naturally in waves. It’s always influenced on what’s going on in my life. It seems to be a personal diary you could sort of say.”
The Canadian landscape also influences Moir’s craft. He says that the West Coast landscape, the prairie of Alberta and the terrain in Ontario have all influences his work.
“Pretty much everywhere in Canada influences me. Every other province has inspired a song at one point or another,” he says.
The folk-rock artist’s music has also made its way onto U. S. network TV. His song “Change the World” appeared in the season finale of the hit NBC TV series Mercy.
“It was pretty cool, it was the redhead girl (Michelle Trachtenberg) from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and she was making out with a guy and my song was playing,” he says. “That was pretty cool because I grew up thinking she was a total babe. I would never expect her to be making out to my song.”
Moir’s music has also received plenty of airplay on college radio stations throughout Canada, including CKUA in Alberta.
“I think a lot of people are starting to turn to college radio as they get frustrated with commercial radio as it’s just kind of a narrow spectrum of songs that are played on the radio,” he says. “Those are the kind of people that are diehard music fans that are listening to college radio and I think it’s crucial for somebody at my level to be on there.”
Moir says that because of the way mainstream radio stations are today, he relies on social media to spread his music to new listeners.
“I find that social media is one of the only things left that you can do as an indie artist. There are so many bands out there and so many music fans that you can easily fall through the cracks and not even be seen as a musician,” he says. “So this way you can connect with people that are kind of already connected to your social group and are going to find it more interesting that you’re making music in the first place.”
For more information on Daniel Moir visit danielmoir.com or follow him on Twitter @DanielMoir.
