DANIEL GUM
(KANSAS CITY)
photo by Rachel Cionitti
Daniel Gum is a singer-songwriter based out of Kansas City, KS who has been active since 2017—releasing a couple EPs before putting out his debut album ‘Thirteen’ in 2020. In 2021 he released a one-off single and music video for his song “The Wolverine”, and in 2022 a cover of Big Star’s “Thirteen” and The Beatles’ “Julia”. In addition to working with his band on his solo projects, Daniel has worked with other local groups—playing bass and engineering for the band Pillow (a post-punk/shoegaze group) and playing drums behind singer-songwriter Chloe Jacobson—as well as producing some of her music. Although Gum has been writing songs since he was 12, he has doubled down on songwriting in the last couple of years—most notably writing over 60 songs in preparation for his LP debut. Channeling the likes of Elliott Smith & Andy Shauf, he co-produced his new record Thirteen with Mike Crawford, playing almost everything you hear on the album and mixing it himself. He is currently working on writing and recording his next 2 albums.
Daniel had great response from his album ‘Thirteen’—being featured on multiple Spotify Playlists such as Spotify Fresh Finds, Fresh Finds Indie & Fresh Finds Rock. And he was named artist of the week in November 2020 by Kansas City radio station and NPR affiliate 90.9 The Bridge. In 2022, his cover of “Thirteen” by Big Star was placed on New Commute’s Spotify Playlist.
Here’s what reviewers had to say about Daniel’s album ‘Thirteen’:
“Gum has an obvious knack for turning his pain into something elegant, drifting from cautious sparseness to subdued urgency — with a folk backbeat, twinkling pedal steel and reverb-drenched undertones. It’s reminiscent of Elliott Smith, whose music Gum found a close kinship with.” - Michelle Bacon of 90.9 the Bridge (NPR)
“Daniel Gum’s Thirteen feels like the soundtrack to figuring out life in your twenties– a portrait of transition, reflection, and gratefulness (with a hint of cynicism). The album shifts back and forth from optimism to mellow reflection, finding a sweet spot for introspection somewhere between despondence and joy . . . While the record is full of deeply personal and honest reflections of Gum’s young adult life, I think everyone who listens can create their own internal universe based around the Andrews, Marys, and Sarahs of their own life." - Coco Lashar, Manor Records blog
LISTEN NOW.
PRESS
[Daniel Gum] takes you back and grounds you in moments you can’t help but wonder about on a rainy day — the loneliness of words left unsaid, a meeting that didn’t happen, or encountering someone phenomenal at the worst point in time. - Woozy Magazine
Untarnished with the emotional filter that comes with age, [Danie Gum] conveys a sincere softness. - Melted Magazine
Gum’s music exists in a delicate atmosphere between beauty and disintegration, portrayed here in his new single and music video for “The Wolverine.” - 90.0 The Bridge
…delicate finger-picked guitars…brush against his wispy voice… - Look At My Records!