Dan Wilson

Artist Description

"Dan's music touches my soul. He is/has the perfect combination of inspiration and songcraft. He is a timeless artist whose music will feel as good in 50 years as it does today."
- Rick Rubin

Dan Wilson is renowned in music circles for the elegance of his melodies, the intelligence of his lyrics and the purity of his voice. The onetime member of storied cult band Trip Shakespeare and the critically acclaimed Semisonic is now debuting as a solo artist, working with a collective of musicians from the Twin Cities and elsewhere. This new phase follows an intense period of songwriting collaborations-in the past few years Wilson has written songs with the Dixie Chicks, Mike Doughty, Rachael Yamagata, Jewel, Jason Mraz and others. Wilson's recent co-writing work with the Dixie Chicks earned him a "Song of the Year" Grammy® in 2007 for "Not Ready To Make Nice" from the album Taking the Long Way. He co-wrote six songs on the album, which won the Dixie Chicks a total of 5 Grammy® Awards, including "Album Of The Year" and "Country Album Of The Year." Wilson is now ready to unveil his first solo work, Free Life on American Recordings. The collection of songs began as a self-produced project in Minneapolis, and was finished in Los Angeles by Wilson and executive producer and label chief Rick Rubin, and features contributions from Sheryl Crow, Sean Watkins (Nickel Creek), Gary Louris (the Jayhawks), Eric Fawcett (N.E.R.D.) and Benmont Tench (Heartbreakers). While Free Life is in some ways a departure from Wilson's previous work, it also perpetuates certain of his tendencies-the elevated, chill-inducing melodies, the thoughtful yet straightforward lyrics, the striving for honesty of expression.