‘Dry Daniel’ is Buke and Gase’s “lost” album. Only a pair of tracks from the LP are on commercial streaming services. So technically it might still be lost. Maybe that’s the point?

𝗛𝗪𝗬-𝟬𝟲𝟲 ‘Dry Daniel’ by Buke and Gase
𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: May 1, 2020
𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 "Bubbles"
𝗥𝗜𝗬𝗟: DIY prog ~ math rock meets Cocteau Twins ~ chaos and control

🖇️ orcd.co/drydaniel #Brassland20

Upon surprise posting 'Dry Daniel' during the depths of Covid-19 era quarantines, the male half of the Buke and Gase duo, Aron Sanchez, made a rare public announcement that it was to honor collaborator Arone Dyer's special birthday.

However, the reasons for the LP's sudden appearance were a bit more complicated. Originally planned as a quick follow-up to their 2013 sophomore album ‘General Dome,’ it instead inspired a crisis of confidence. As Aron put it:

“We made Dry Daniel way back in 2014, when the world was a little different. B&G was in a transitional moment, trying to figure out what the hell we were doing and scrambling to arrive at an answer quick. What we ended up with was a snapshot of a process that eventually taught us how to make music better. Upon finishing ‘Dry Daniel,’ on the very day we were to release it, Arone and I both looked at each other and said ‘it’s no good, is it?’ and with a big sigh of relief, decided to shelf the whole thing... This is a testament to how dedicated we are and especially Arone is to making something that really is authentically what we want.”

They didn't put out new recordings until 2019’s ‘Scholars’ even though, over the intervening years, they'd tour as an opening act for artist-admirers The National, Lou Reed, Battles, and Shellac. Along with ‘Scholars’ came the birth of the Scholars Alliance—a membership offering on the Bandcamp platform, where they post demos, live tracks, and side projects for an ever-shifting group of fans who fuel and fund their ongoing activities. i.e. new collaborations with So Percussion and Rahrah Gabor...or their eponymous concert film.

Maybe this LP marks the moment the duo accepted their place not as also-rans failing at mainstream crossover, but as leaders of their own loyal cult.