First EP for this Taupo blues guitarist
Dan Sharp ditched his corporate career in April 2016 to work as a musician.
Now, 16 months on, Sharp is putting his first EP Ad Lucem out to the world.
Sharp said listeners can choose the price they’d like to pay to download the EP at Bandcamp.com.
The bluesy-folk album features five songs which rose to the top after years of writing music, he said.
‘‘They tell the story of my jump into becoming a musician and give some insight into the innerworkings of it all.’’
Inspired by Bruce Springsteen’s biography, Sharp recorded the songs at his Waipahihi home.
‘‘He did Nebraska, one of my favourite albums, at home on a four-track cassette tape.
‘‘Instead of sending in the demos, he released them. I thought, sh**, he did that in the 1980s. There’s no reason I can’t do the same,’’ he said.
‘‘I didn’t want to be reliant on someone else to be successful.‘‘
Sharp studied a BComm at Otago University and played at the Captain Cook Tavern every second week.
In 2014, he started working for a large accounting firm in Auckland.
‘‘You’re working some pretty long hours and it’s pretty hard to have any energy or creativity at the end of the week,’’ he said.
‘‘After a couple of years, I figured the only way I’ll know what to do is to try it.
‘‘I’m not going wondering,’’ Sharp said. to die
He upped sticks and travelled to Taupo, where his partner lives.
The mountains of Colorado, which Sharp visited earlier this year, provided some inspiration for EP.
‘‘The way it’s weather systems intense,’’ he said. all shaped, are pretty
‘‘It was 5pm, but it felt like midnight with the thunderstorm crashing around us. When you’re out of your comfort zone, the creativity gets flowing,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s quite obvious how folk music is inspired by the environment in the States.’’
The album’s name ‘‘ad lucem’’ translates to ‘‘towards the light’’ phrase that Sharp draws strength from.
‘‘There’s no wrong way to do it. As long as I keep moving towards the light, it’s progress.’’
* To download or order CD copy of visit Bandcamp.com.