Who Is Blue Child?
Easy; we all are!
Regardless of where we were born, who raised us, the ideas we have or the lives we lead, we are all children of this beautiful little Blue Planet in the infinite cosmos; in essence, a Collective.
Story of a Blue Child
Dan White
Founder & Composer
Music is such an integral part of my being and purpose; there's so much that needs to be shared with a modern world that's asleep to the universal song.
I've been playing since I was a young fella, bred on blues and folk from years far before my own. The journey so far has been crazy, and I've found inspiration from endless sources over the years which have grown from my roots in coastal childhood on the wild Indian Ocean.
I learnt guitar as a kid from Ronnie Domp, a bluesman from South Africa, and started playing shows and sharing my music as a young teenager through much of Rockingham, Fremantle and Perth, WA.
The decision to come away from a university education for me was profound; the resulting pathway not one I could have found through generic conditioning and structured learning, but the fruit borne of travelling, growing and finding perspective in my own, real way. If you open yourself to change and the unknown, you will find purpose and the ability to distill a vision of what you want and where you want to go. Hold this in mind and the world throws endless opportunities your way.
I spent much of my time since finishing school travelling around the world and making music, yet always supporting this lifestyle with standard grindstone jobs - a mistake I came to realise was actually holding me back from making the music and living the life I really love.
I finished up working for big business in early 2014, and began putting all my
energy into my own life, exploring and enjoying beautiful Western Australia before
heading off to Europe again; a trip that manifested many opportunities and on which
I really found direction, connecting with my creative flow and purpose as a musician.
Moving to Margaret River (see the story behind "Rivermouth") with high school mate
and groovy drummer Matty Edmond on my return came as another step forward in
the right direction, immersing myself in music, nature and good vibes in this truly
sacred part of the world. I continued to pour myself into the guitar with mentor
Richard Khin, and developed my innate power, learning to channel it through tones
and rhythms, words and feeling, dedicating myself to true sound healing.
Over that summer I connected with so many incredible people - all amazing artists in
their own rights - amongst the tightknit Margies community, including local legend
Lindsay Baker (harp & sax), who joined Matty and myself to extend the Collective.
Epic jams, waves for days and adventures a plenty, it was a hugely formative and
productive period in my life, recording and releasing two EPs, playing over 150
shows and touring around the state before flying to Europe to play another summer's worth of shows on the magical island of Corsica.
"A Reason, A Season Or A Lifetime" is a song I wrote at the start of 2015 discussing our natural tendency to drift in and out of each others' lives; the Corsican summer was an incredible musical and personal chapter from which we all learnt many lessons, but also a journey which made clear to us as individuals the seperate directions our lives were inevitably taking.
So now here I stand, my purpose unchanged, still with an immense, loving creative family from all parts of the globe around me, but comfortable and resolute in my unique personal journey to continue creating and sharing music from my heart, balanced harmoniously in its makeup of land and ocean.
Having returned from touring the East Coast of Australia and enjoyed another epic summer of music in Margs with the Collective - which I came to realise is far more than just 3 - my focus shifted to the creation of the Collective's debut solo album. 150 shows between October 2015 and June 2016 served as invaluable practice, helping me hone my craft, continue to connect with crew and prepare myself for the task ahead.
This period saw the release of my first ever feature film, "Blue Child" shot on tour in 2015 and created with David Owen Blackley of Her Name Is Murder Productions. Revealing much about the lives of touring musicians, artistic and interpersonal relationships along with offering many ideas on our relationship with our environment, it received multiple cinema screenings and opened my mind to the possibility of significant collaboration both involving or completely excluding my music.
Getting involved with South West creative body Creative Corner and the Emergence Creative Festival strengthened my belief in collaboration - artistic and otherwise - and encouraged me to seek other working partnerships, from which resulted sponsorships with The Axiom, Von Boards and Mudstone Spa Retreat.
Setting off again to the magical island of Corsica in June to record "Saturn Saw The Seaside", I relished a full month of creative lockdown at Studio L'Angelina high in the mountains with producer Jean-Bernard Rongiconi and renowned French musos Roger Biwandu (drums) and Kevin Reyverand (bass), with Her Name Is Murder Productions joining us again to document the making of the record.
After a solid writing and recording break with minimal shows, I jumped back on the tour circuit with my partner (and talented creative artist) Emjay, for a 45 date Australian Tour to promote the release, having the pleasure of meeting up with many amazing artists who we collaborated with along the way!
During this time, the Collective continued to grow in strength, with many more artists and supporters getting involved, notably Kelsie Miller of Good Nights, who jumped on board to manage bookings and marketing for the Australian region and is a major advocate for South West music and arts, which she pushes through regular intimate popup shows throughout the area, drawing both local and touring artists and providing opportunity for collaboration and cross promotion.
My love and respect for the natural world grows with each and every day, as does my intention and ability to continue channelling music and creativity in order to contribute my part to the creation of a New (blissful) World for the whole of humanity.
Nature is the connection. Regardless of what we find ourselves doing during this
lifetime, we must not unconsciously stray too far from the source, this little Blue
Planet of which we are all born.
We all have our own incredibly unique stories;
the sharing of them through our individual artforms
helps forge connections between all of us,
reminding us of the interwoven nature of collective humanity,
and, indeed, the universe as a whole.
