Today, Daniel Rossen (Grizzly Bear) releases his solo debut album 'You Belong There' via Warp Records. Alongside this release he also shares an intimate video for 'Shadow In The Frame', which was the first single released of 'You Belong There'. Upon its release the song earned 'Best of the Week' nods from NY Times, Pitchfork and more. The second single 'Unpeopled Space' released last month was called “a fabulous sonic adventure” by Bob Boilen at NPR Music.
The landscape surrounding 'You Belong There' is Daniel Rossen’s sophisticated and visceral consideration of what comes after the restless enthusiasm and public fanfare of your youth. It's a riveting 10-song reintroduction to a voice that sounds both entirely familiar and fully re-energized by the act of unfettered expression and newfound self-sovereignty.
For nearly two decades, Rossen had been a crucial component of Grizzly Bear and is a founding member of the acclaimed folk and electronica outfit Department of Eagles. 'You Belong There' follows Rossen’s 2012 EP, 'Silent Hour/Golden Mile', critically acclaimed and rated an 8.0 by Pitchfork, who called it a “majestic song cycle full of fingerpicked notes that babble like tributaries.”
The video for 'Shadow In The Frame' was directed by Luke Bern Carr, it finds the legendary collaborator performing solo on stage, as the song builds multiple Daniels appear performing in chorus.
Rossen says of the video, “The idea came in part from the 1971 TV special 'The Music of Nilsson' in which Harry Nilsson performs live and then begins to multiply and harmonize with himself at the piano. It’s a ridiculous and also kind of lonely performance. Luke and I felt that something similar but darker and more claustrophobic could reflect the tone of 'Shadow in the Frame'. I also liked the idea of a unique performance tailored to the video itself. It was an opportunity to home in on the anxious inward energy underneath all the layering of the album version. The one part of being a musician that I've never loved is the pressure to physically present yourself to people. I know many musicians that struggle with that aspect of self-promotion. If anything, multiple copies of myself on screen makes this video more horrifying, but I figured that leaning into that horror and discomfort could result in something more honest.”
Listen here to 'You Belong There'.