June 24, 2021: Today, the Grammy-winning producer and songwriter Dan Wilson returns with “Under The Circumstances,” his first new single release of 2021. The song is his first solo release following Semisonic’s first EP in more than 20 years You’re Not Alone and his Words + Music in 6 Seconds card deck that were released last year.
“I wrote ‘Under the Circumstances’ a few months back in a moment of both deep pandemic dread and interpersonal conflict. I was feeling so mad at someone in my life, and I suddenly remembered the dire and bizarre situation we all were trapped in, and I just wanted to make peace with them,” explains Wilson.
Following the release of his critically-acclaimed solo album Re-Covered, where he revisited songs he wrote with other artists including Taylor Swift, Chris Stapleton, John Legend and others, Wilson has opted to release new singles on a (mostly) monthly basis in lieu of a new solo album. Listen to all of his recent singles via a YouTube playlist.
Late last year, he released the Words + Music in 6 Seconds deck: a set of 74 cards designed and written by Wilson distilling insights from nearly 30 years of writing, performing, and collaborating with the world’s most prominent musical artists and writers. Pulled from his popular Words + Music in 6 Seconds instagram series, each individual card contains a brief and inspiring piece of advice for songwriters, musicians, and people in other creative fields. Designed to be a useful tool in sessions and collaborations, the deck is a beautiful and practical gift for the songwriter or creative artist in your life.
“The W+M6S cards are about forging collaborative relationships, seeking a community, testing out ideas in front of an audience, and writing better songs. The world of collaboration is full of mystery for many of us, and the cards put a special emphasis on how to make the most of our time together in creative pursuits. I know those of you who use the deck will agree,” says Wilson.
Recently, Wilson appeared on The Moment with Brian Koppelman and Switched On Pop, where he discussed songwriting collaboration with Teddy Geiger with the Word + Music in Six Seconds deck in hand. About Dan Wilson:Dan Wilson is a Minneapolis-born, Los Angeles based musician, singer, songwriter, producer, and visual artist. Wilson took home an Album of the Year GRAMMY for Adele’s 21, which featured three of his co-writes (including “Someone Like You”), landed a Song of the Year Grammy for The Chicks’ “Not Ready To Make Nice,” and was nominated for Best Rock Song for his song “Closing Time” he wrote for his band Semisonic. Wilson, who is know as the “songwriters songwriter“ and has written with an eclectic range of collaborators including Chris Stapleton, Adele, Halsey, Leon Bridges, Tom Morello, Monsters & Strangers and many others Last year, Wilson reunited his band Semisonic for the release of the EP You’re Not Alone, their first release of new music in 20 years.
*Here’s the classic song referenced in this page’s title. Written and recorded by one of Wilson’s early bands, Trip Shakespeare, “Toolmaster of Brainerd” was epic before the word was in widespread ironic use. Lyrically deconstructed in a fanciful way a listener could hear this song as a metaphor for Wilson himself or any songwriter. The Toolmaster of Brainerd’s skills with the “old machinery” in the Buckeye creamery could refer to Wilson’s innate, sacred, songwriting gifts and the guitar playing and showboating the Toolmaster does when he goes down to Minneapolis Town could refer to the difficult, often insincere, celebrity persona every songwriter must adopt in order for their personal, deeply felt, creative works to get heard by the public. The Brainerd referred to here is a lovely town in north central Minnesota.
