Today, The GRAMMY-winning musician, songwriter, and producer Dan Wilson announced his new album good night, los angeles, an 18-song collection of piano recordings born out of a regular series of Sunday evening recordings he would post to social media. Recorded entirely on a 1918 Vose & Sons upright piano that was found on the streets of Hollywood, the record marks Wilson’s first instrumental release and offers a rare glimpse into the award-winning songwriter’s raw, unvarnished creative process.
Today, Wilson released the first selections from the forthcoming album, accompanied by an animated video for the three-song medley “deervale / moorpark / tujunga.” Each of the album’s 18 tracks are accompanied by videos from art director Yazz Alali and illustrator/animator Sarah Nelson, who paired the music with hypnotic animations of mushrooms growing and interacting, their mycelium spreading out through the soil and entangling together to create increasingly complex neural networks.
Watch the video for “deervale / moorpark / tujunga” via YouTube.
Stream “deervale,” “moorpark,” and “tujunga” HERE.
About the album, Wilson explains: “Last month, I was scheduled to announce my first instrumental album, good night, los angeles. The album was born out of a weekly artistic practice: late Sunday nights I would sit down at the piano and improvise a simple, peaceful instrumental piece on the spot. Then I’d share it on Instagram with the caption #goodnightlosangeles. It was a calming and meditative practice for me, and I hoped the songs would have the same calming and meditative effect on listeners. I ended up making nearly 200 of them. Late last year, I compiled my favorites into an album for a January release. But then the wildfires hit my town, and I hesitated. I didn’t want to appear tone-deaf - especially given the album’s title. But now I can’t help wanting to move forward and share this music with the world. I'm from Minneapolis, but I’ve lived here since 2010 and good night, los angeles is a love letter to my adopted city. These are late-night improvised lullabies, and I hope they can help someone put down their worries for a moment and feel the peace of those quiet nights here in LA.”
About the video, he adds: “I loved the idea of these songs soundtracking the amazing, hidden life of the forest floor at night. Sarah is a brilliant wildlife artist, and she did such a beautiful job of tapping into the emotional core of these songs and translating that into the natural world.”
An instrumental piano album may seem like an unlikely project for an artist so known for his way with words, who last year alone received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song (“It Never Went Away”), won his first CMA Award for Song of the Year (“White Horse”) and took home the GRAMMY for Country Song of the Year (“White Horse). But in the end, the result is classic Wilson: an evocative work of deep emotion and thoughtful beauty, one crafted purely for the love of the creation and shared in the hopes of forging meaningful connection.
About the forthcoming album, Wilson adds: “The past 12 months have been packed with incredible honors and recognition for my songwriting. Even if these are things I never think about when I’m making the music, it’s sweet to get respect for it afterwards. Mainly though, I’m in it for the inspiration, the process, the moment of creation, the laughs and the seriousness of a recording session, the joy of sharing what we make. I feel luckiest when I’m living the life of an artist. The thing I’m most excited about this year is the release of my improvised piano lullaby album, good night, los angeles. These songs all happened as part of a weekly artistic practice of sitting down at the piano and making up a new instrumental piece on the spot. Sunday night, family is asleep, house is dark, city is quiet; go to the piano and improvise into my phone for just a few minutes; if it’s good, post it online with the hashtag #goodnightlosangeles. Seems like people have found them just as calming and meditative to listen to as they were for me to record. That is its own kind of honor, and one that I deeply appreciate.”
good night, los angeles tracklist:
1) mulholland
2) deervale
3) moorpark
4) tujunga
5) rhinestone
6) volledam
7) beverly glen
8) ambrose
9) van nuys
10) round valley
11) avon
12) alexandria
13) ventura
14) fairway
15) coldwater
16) normandie
17) laurel
18) hillhurst
