Wednesday 25 February 2015

ANOTHER MUSICAL HERO: DANNY KROONEN.

Danny Kroonen
Following on from the worldwide success of WILL BLACK ROCKS THE UK; it’s only right and proper that I introduce another musical hero, of whom I cannot hear enough from.

Danny Kroonen (October 21st 1972) is a musician/composer/lyricist from Dordrecht, The Netherlands.

Taken from his website: www.dannykroonen.com

"Danny was brought up in a musical and artistic family and learned to play drums, guitar, piano and bass at a tender age. At the age of 15 he started composing and arranging his songs in his home studio. As a lyricist Danny has been active since the age of 11, already having a good command of and love for the English language then. His style brings a mix of alternative music, electronic, soundscapes, symphonic rock and orchestral arrangements. In 1993, Danny's song The Life of Angie was used in the Dutch motion picture Angie. In 2001 he released his EP/CD Solitary Journey which highlights his ability to create symphonic rock songs with compelling lyrics. Occasionally Danny performs his work on stage as a solo performer."

Sharing something in common with the world famous novelist Peter James, Danny Kroonen has composed a theme for both myself, Taylor’s Theme and for Peter, Sandy’s Theme, based on the fictional wife of Peter’s main character Roy Grace.


Danny was generous enough to compose Taylor’s Theme to accompany my Police and Crime Commissioner Election campaign in 2012.

Equally generous and talented, Danny composed Sandy’s Theme having been inspired by reading Peter James’s novels and has gone on to compose other tracks which delve deeper into Peter James’s Roy Grace world.





Over to Danny himself to describe his musical inspirations and influences.

A Peter James fan
“Although I am influenced by bands such as Pink Floyd, Steely Dan and artists like Dalbello, Rupert Hine and Bruce Cockburn, I am very aware of having developed my own style. And there's more to what I do than just being a songwriter playing his instrument and performing the songs on stage. I love working in my home-studio more than anything else. To me, the big picture is important: arranging, recording, production. With more to learn every day, of course. I love manipulating sound, experimenting with things like stepping away from traditional panning, I like to put in some surprises every now and then and am always searching for the right atmospheric sound effects. I like to create an ominous feel to things. Which blends in perfectly well with my lyrics. Always trying to find that right balance between words and music.”

“TELL A STORY, TAKE THE LISTENER ON A LITTLE JOURNEY.” 

Danny Kroonen & Peter James
“My guitar playing is heavily influenced by David Gilmour. He is absolutely my favourite guitarist! And I just love the way Roger Waters writes and arranges, and of course his lyrics are sublime, so there's your Pink Floyd-influence. And let's not forget Richard Wright's wonderful keyboard-playing and Nick Mason's drumming.

Dalbello had the most influence on me as an arranger, producer and lyricist. I think she's a genius! I especially paid a lot of attention to the way she programmed and played drums on her album Whomanfoursays. I think that is a fantastic album!

Then there's Steely Dan. One might not hear it directly in my music but I like to think I am influenced by them in the sense of lyric-writing and some piano-playing that I do. I am not a jazz fanatic per se but I've learnt a lot by studying Donald Fagen's approach, as he has a very unique style of his own that I really appreciate. I grew up with their music and have always been a big fan. 

Danny & Peter
Bruce Cockburn is also important to me: the man has integrity and writes wonderful songs and lyrics. He knows how to tell a story and is a brilliant guitarist!

As for Rupert Hine: there are three albums that are always in the back of my mind when I am composing and recording: Immunity, Waving Not Drowning and The Wildest Wish To Fly. I've been listening to those a lot in my youth and have always been fascinated by Hine's style of composing, arranging and recording. With this fine mix of influences I would like to think it is ME in the end... “

Danny is currently working on a new album as well as writing instrumental music with a focus on Film & TV.

Let’s hope the long awaited TV series of Roy Grace, comes with the soundtrack written by Danny Kroonen.

For discover more about Danny Kroonen, check out his Youtube video:

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