Danny Mortimer with his vision and passion for music is grabbing attention amongst gig-goers and radio listeners alike. Based in Elgin in Moray, he has played in many bands over the years before finally stepping up to the microphone as the lead singer/songwriter in Alternative rock band, Christie Row. They recorded their debut album "Headlights At Midnight" which utilitsed the lyrics Danny wrote on his backpacking trips around Europe, Canada and the USA. After parting ways with the band in 2015, Danny decided to concentrate on his writing and taking influence from one of his idols, Jim Adkins (Jimmy Eat World) in September 2016 he released ‘Out of the Blue’ from which the first single ‘Stay with Me’ along with its video received high praise and airplay in the UK, Europe and Australia. Live radio sessions, interviews and live performances followed and follow-up single ‘Waiting’ went down a storm and hit the November 2016 Scottish New Music Charts. Becoming increasingly popular and in demand, the end of 2016 saw Danny hit the Scottish New Music Charts once again with ‘Go On’. 2017 brought an even busier year with live radio sessions and gigs around Scotland and winning new fans all the time. 2017 saw Danny playing numerous gigs and festivals including the popular Whisky Stage at Speyfest, Wolfstock in Banff and and the Main Stage at NXNE with various songs, old and new making it onto his playlist. New song ‘Anything but Silent’ was received very well and charted in the Scottish New Music Charts Late 2017 saw Danny entering the nationwide Soundwaves Music Competition of which he made it through to the final round at the 02 ABC in Glasgow. His determination was rewarded with the fact that he had indeed now played that very stage as a musician. 2018 saw the eagerly awaited release of ‘Anything but Silent’ which was grittier/heavier than its predecessor ‘Out of the Blue’. Adding more strings to his bow, Danny wrote/self produced/engineered the album in order to learn about the studio/recording process. June saw the video release of ‘Anything but Silent’ and the track went global with radio airplay and it coincided with the huge and extremely well received 19 date tour over Scotland. The new double sided Single "Just Like Before/Another Light" was released on August 14th 2020, with Producer duties handled by Alan Greer of "In Time Records". Each side of this release showcase both sides of Danny's musical style, one loud song ("Just Like Before") and one quiet ("Another Light"). It received rave reviews on both national and International Radio. During the Covid-19 Pandemic, Danny recorded a rendition of the David Bowie Classic "Heroes" and created a music video utilising footage of how people were coping during Lockdown. The song and Video gained the attention from BBC Scotland and soon resulted in an interview on TV about the track, and the experiences of being a musician during the pandemic. Danny has gone from strength to strength, having re-recorded and released the popular rock tracks "Opener/Waiting" in 2021 and released a new rendition of fan favourite "Jackson" alongside "Alone (Let This Go)" in 2022. Since the end of the Pandemic, he has been back on the touring circuit, playing many live shows and festivals over the country with his band and as a solo act, including return appearances at Speyfest and Belladrum. In the Autumn of 2022, Danny played his biggest solo appearance to date by playing at the incredible P&J Live in Aberdeen, where he was invited to play for VIP's ahead of an evenings entertainment with British Singer/Songwriter, George Ezra. He also made a further two appearances at the P&J Live, playing in the Main Arena in October 2022. In early 2023, Danny was invited to be part of "The Conversation: I Am Me", a group of local musicians who recorded a track to raise awareness for Mens Mental Health and played a huge charity concert at Elgin Town Hall. Between ticket sales of the the Live Concert, profits from streams and downloads, the group raised £2,200 with all proceeds donated to local charity, Mikeysline. With the release of his third solo album, "Songs From The Cutting Room Floor" in August 2023, the future is looking incredibly bright for Danny. With live performances at some well established venues and festivals in 2024 already booked, its going to be another year of incredible highs for the Moray based Singer-Songwriter.
Music gives me a way of expressing myself. I have often struggled to put into words what I am really thinking, and sometimes creating music can offer up that release.
To carry on growing as a musician. When someone listens to my very first songs to something that is brand new, they will be able to hear that journey of improvement and hopefully with every release, continue to hear that.
Thats too broad a question - there would be so much
Probably anything by the Police, Queen or to be more specific, Dr Hooks "Sylvias Mother". My dad didnt have a large listening collection, but he really enjoyed listening to these three bands. When I was younger and we would be going somewhere with my dad driving, it would usually be with one of these acts playing on the stereo.
Im a huge fan of the Goo Goo Dolls, Jimmy Eat World, Richie Sambora, John Frusciante and Tom Petty. I have a huge love for all of these acts, aswell as Blue October, Aerosmith and Pearl Jam. Quite a varied mix.
Anything can inspire me to create music. Playing around on a guitar can spark that idea for a song. But at the same time, I have also seen me writing lyrics while im washing the dishes. I love it when an idea seemingly comes from the nowhere, and is something I want to begin working on immediately.
As cliched as it sounds, "you can find a song for any mood, any feeling that you are feeling". If my music connects with someone on an emotional level, then I have done my job right!
To know me outside of music, Im quite quiet and a shy guy. Infront of an audience with a guitar, I am totally different. I often get nervous before any performance, however speaking to people in the music industry they put my feelings into perspective. They said, "its good to be nervous. It shows you care about what your doing". So I have used that as my mantra for years now. The alternative to that is, If I didnt get nervous, would I try as hard?!
Its hard to be honest. But as long as a musician is setting attainable goals and milestones, its going to be easier to keep momentum going. Be it, I'm going to record this new song, I want to hear my song on this radio station, I want to play a certain local venue etc. Keeping things realistic saves disappointment in the long run.
Only just signed up so I am looking forward to see what Drooble has to offer
Writers block, or being stuck wit an idea when creating.
Yes - by attending local bands and acts gigs when they perform and checking out their latest release when they drop something new.