Dan Reed Network

Origins Zero one entertainment Four old songs, four new songs, four studios.

Musicians are usually very uncomfortable about outsiders peeping around the curtain during the sacred process of recording. Not the Dan Reed Network. Inverting convention for their second album since rebooting in 2012, they invited audiences in Stockholm, Manchester, New York and Portland to each watch them record one new song and revisit an old favourite.

The fans must have had a ball – they even get to sing backing vocals – and the goodwill is contagious. Ritual and Rainbow Child have undergone the most radical upgrades and both blossom in their new settings, but the new songs are the real jewels. The especially bouncy Right In Front Of Me oozes lifeaffirming joy, and when the choir kick in on Fade To Light’s almost gospel climax it’s clear the audience’s participation was no gimmick. Understandably, Reed is so happy with the results he’s doing two more fans-assisted songs in Berlin in December.