A few weeks ago I got an email from my friend Jamie Strong who is one of the label heads of Innovative Leisure (Hanni El Khatib, Rhye, Classixx).
He said, “I wanted to hip you to a new artist of ours by the name of Korey Dane. He’s a local kid and we haven’t announced anything yet, but his album will come out in October and I wanted to put [him] on your radar early. He did a cover of Mazzy Star’s ‘Fade Into You‘ that I think you might dig.”
Also in the email was this picture:
Now, I knew Jamie wouldn’t send me just anything. But without even listening to the song, this picture said it all.
You see it, don’t you?
This guy has a look about him that tells you this could be something special.
You hear a bit of Jeff Buckley & M Ward mixed with some Conor Oberst & Sufjan Stevens…just about as classic Americana as this picture looks.
Korey is Cherokee Indian, Japanese & Caucasian and, if that wasn’t enough, he’s also from Long Beach, statistically one of the most diverse cities in America.
He’s also hitched around the country by himself, twice, and he’s only 25 yrs old.
Dane’s music is sourced from a wealth of influences and he possesses the vocal presence of someone twice his age.
Given his life experiences thus far, I’m eager to to hear what else this young man has to offer. I have a feeling once enough people find out about Korey Dane, they will be just as captivated as I am.
The guys over at IL have allowed us to offer “Fade Into You” as a free download.
Check it out, share it and let me know what you think!