DAN THE MAN

'Circadian Circus' is the second solo album from Daniel Haggis, drummer and multi-instrumentalist for The Wombats. The record was written while Dan was hopping between Liverpool and Paris and was later produced and recorded by Dan and Rob Whiteley (Clinic, The Night Cafe, The Wombats) and mastered by Greg Calbi (The National, Tame Impala, Father John Misty). 

Here's what Dan has to say about it:

“ 'Circadian Circus' is a collection of songs from the past 4 years that made the enigmatic, inexplicable journey from my subconscious and needed a place to rest. It's an album of acceptance, of coming to terms with things we can't always control.

I spend most of my time playing drums, keys and making warbling sounds in The Wombats. Over the last few years, whenever we weren't recording or I had a few days off tour, I would go into the studio in Liverpool and work on ideas I had lying around on my phone or computer, and gradually this album emerged. 

Songs often have an interesting way of reflecting the life of the person writing them. They are sonic sieves , filtering thoughts and feelings that sometimes you didn't even know you had. The process can be like having a consultation with a therapist or a conversation with a good friend, cathartic and revelatory. 

Thank to the Chief Fairy at the bottom of the garden, I've not experienced too many deaths in my life, but over the past few years a couple of people very close to me have passed away. Both were drawn out, traumatic, sad experiences, and this inevitably leads to questions surrounding one's own mortality. I don't think anyone has the answer for how to deal with these parts of life but, for me, music is the place I can just about make sense of the world. 
 
The world is a strange place.  

Certain people, organizations and media outlets seem to delight in spreading their negative, hate filled version of the world to as many people as possible. 
Our screens and minds (almost one homogenous thing these days!) are continuously bombarded with stories and images of war, refugees with nowhere to go, child abuse, climate change, preposterous and unnecessary amounts of plastic in the oceans… the list could go on for way longer than any of us would want of the problems and injustices in the world.

Sometimes it's just too much to take in. Sometimes you can't be the best lover or friend because you've no space or energy left to even be the best version of yourself. 
Again, when the valve starts to go, I usually find myself at a piano, guitar or in the studio trying to find the words, melodies and sounds that relieve some of the pressure and usually, everything feels a little better in my head, just for a moment, and I remember the world is also a beautiful, awe inspiring place. 

There is hope everywhere. People are continually doing amazing things, fighting for what they believe in and trying to leave the planet and all those who share it better off than it was before they were born. There's always more to do, more to learn, ways to improve. 
'Circadian Circus' came from this head-on car crash of the negative and the beautiful that we all encounter.

As Don Quixote said, '…and maddest of all: to see life as it is, and not as it should be!'. 

Well that's more than enough rambling from me. Really hope you enjoy it...”