“Lay Low” Video Still
Today, Dan Mangan is sharing the new video for “Lay Low” from his 2018 album, More Or Less. Shot over the span of a year during a global pandemic by director Deryn Robson, we follow the experience of a toddler confronting emotions of frustration, sadness, fear and happiness amidst life in lockdown.
“Deryn’s beautiful capturing of his little Auggie throughout the pandemic perfectly captured the listless feeling of floating through moments,” says Mangan. “Sometimes, dealing with yourself is enough workload - such that dealing with others as well as yourself feels like an unmanageable existential obligation. Though toddlers are more demonstrative and erratic, I think that we all basically share the same emotions as Auggie. Sometimes it’s not enough, and sometimes it’s all too much.”
WATCH AND SHARE THE VIDEO FOR “LAY LOW” FROM MORE OR LESS
“I had the pleasure of connecting with Dan almost a year ago when he reacted to a instagram story of August, my then 2 year old child singing along to ‘Lay Low’”, says Robson. “Dan’s music had become a staple within our ‘quarantimes playlist’. August particularly loved the song, and would sing along unaware of the meaning or how it related to our current context.
As was the case for many people, the slow down in work and the sudden, jarring pause to normal life provided lots of time for introspection and observation. It immediately became apparent to me that much of my own internalized feelings of uncertainty, frustration and fear were freely expressed by August on a daily, sometimes hourly basis. August, or Auggie as he would introduce himself, provided us with a perfect abstraction of our own, sometimes unspeakable frustrations with the world we suddenly find ourselves in as we grapple with an uncertain future and a past we can't return to.”
MORE ABOUT DAN MANGAN
Mangan’s latest release, Thief, is a diverse collection of covers that've been released sporadically over the last decade collected into a single compilation. Including renditions of songs from pop superstars like Robyn and Lauryn Hill as well as 90s alternative favourites like Neutral Milk Hotel's "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea" and Elliott Smith's "Waltz #2 (XO)" (performed with Blacksmith and Zeus) the interpretations have amassed over 10 million streams worldwide.
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Over the past 10 years, Dan Mangan has transitioned from a bearded 20-something troubadour playing open mics to earning top ten radio hits, scoring Hollywood films, winning multiple JUNO Awards, and selling out legendary venues like Massey Hall. In November of 2018, Dan Mangan released, More Or Less, his most personal album to date that grapples with being a new father in an increasingly tumultuous world. He followed that release with two world tours, his debut appearance on American late night television (Jimmy Kimmel Live!), and the re-release of his breakout album Nice Nice Very Nice (10th Anniversary Edition), which serendipitously was certified Gold the month it was released.
Mangan had planned to tour the reissue in celebration of its 10th anniversary, but the Coronavirus shutdown put a stop to that. However, as the co-founder of Side Door Access, an alternative concert booking start up, he pivoted the business to host ticketed livestream concerts and has been holding regular events for thousands of fans throughout the pandemic.