Love the player, love 'The Game': Wilmington singer David Dixon drops new EP
During the pandemic, Wilmington singer-songwriter David Dixon has kept busy. He's played house concerts, made videos (covering Foo Fighters or a fine version of The Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows”) and written and recorded songs for his new, five-song EP, “The Game," which is available on all streaming platforms and as a physical CD.
Dixon will play an album-release party Aug. 19 at Dram + Morsel in downtown Wilmington. Cover includes a hard copy of the EP, a drink from Wilmington business Wine Water and a donation to Nourish NC.
The singer said he recalls times from the past year when he barely left the house, remaining inside to write record all day. Of the material on "The Game," only one song predates COVID-19.
“It was really cool how we found a way to still make live music happen while a lot of venues were either closed or not hosting live music,” Dixon said of playing for people over the last year. “I was performing live so often leading up to the pandemic that it left little time to finish writing and recording original music.”
The inability to performing live was scary for working musicians earning. But Dixon found solace playing outdoors for house shows.
“People needed it," he said. "The pandemic has been really hard on a lot of folks mentally. I feel like live music and camaraderie soothes the soul.”
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The new EP is a shift from the mix of rock and blues found on Dixon’s 2014 debut, a release so varied it sounded like a greatest hits collection culled from a handful of albums. It seemed to illustrate a lot of ideas Dixon wanted to explore versus a musician trying to find his way. For his new songs, Dixon wanted something more stylistically cohesive, focusing on pop and singer-songwriter styles.
“(On) the debut I recorded with musicians in the studio, emulating a live band for the instrumentation," he said. "For this EP, I recorded most of the instruments myself from home, and I used programmed drums (beat making) for some songs with live drums performed on two of the songs.”
The closest through-line from then to now is the sultry, guitar-driven R&B song “Forget Tonight” that echoes new song “Across the Room.”
“'Across the Room' is probably the poppiest song on the record," he said. "So far, it's the most well-received song I've ever released, with over 50,000 streams on Spotify.”
New songs reflect a pop sound, but underneath remains a musician with assorted tastes. The smoky, danceable atmosphere on “Back and Forth” is infused with a soulful guitar solo. And “Better with You by my Side,” written for his wife, sounds like a country song converted to another genre.
“I didn't really notice while I was writing the song, but I totally hear it now," he said. "I think some of the vocal runs combined with the storytelling give it some country undertones.”
This song also features a horn section by Korey Riker (John Legend), who recorded his parts virtually from a home studio in Pennsylvania.
“(He tracked) four different saxophone parts and outsourced trumpet parts to a colleague and I ended up with a full horn section," Dixon said. "I thought it added a lot of fullness and energy to "Better with You by My Side."
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Want to go?
What: David Dixon album release party
When: 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 19
Where: Dram + Morsel, 33 N. Front St. (third floor), downtown Wilmington
Info: Cover includes a hard copy of the EP, a free drink from Wilmington business Wine Water and a donation to Nourish NC.
Details: DavidDixon.bandcamp.com