Daniel Quayle
manx trad musician.
Multi-instrumentalist Daniel Quayle was born and raised in the Isle of Man, where he was immersed in Manx traditional music from a young age, studying composition and performance under some of the genre's most well-respected musicians.
His versatile accompaniment skills on guitar, bouzouki and piano have taken him all over the world, performing with various groups, and he now plays in the duo Elizabeth Davidson-Blythe & Daniel Quayle, whose debut album was released last year.
who is daniel?
elizabeth davidson-blythe & daniel quayle.
Combining the rich tradition of Manx music with the vibrant sounds of the Irish, Scottish and Estonian traditions, Elizabeth Davidson-Blythe and Daniel Quayle have forged a sound that is both dramatic and compelling.
The Isle of Man-based duo released their highly anticipated debut album, The Coast Road, in September 2022. The Coast Road has been hailed as “a hell of an album” by Folk Wales Magazine and “an exhilarating journey from two bright and inspired talents” by At the Barrier.
The duo began touring together in Summer 2021, performing in France and Estonia as part of music festivals, as well as cultural events and standalone concerts. Their travels helped to shape their distinctive sound — blending old melodies with new rhythms and ideas that are presented with a powerful conviction that continuously brings audiences to their feet.
A recent review of their album wrote that the traditions "flow seamlessly in glorious union".
upcoming gigs.
past gigs.
what's new?
My current live bouzouki setup with Elizabeth Davidson-Blythe & Daniel Quayle is quite complicated. I use my Richard Osborne Guitar-Bouzouki with this set of strings, put together for the instrument by Tad Sargent (Crossharbour). On the instrument itself is an LR Baggs pickup/mic combi, which I tend to have mostly on the mic setting, as well as a separate pickup just for the bass notes. The pickups both send their signals out of a stereo jack output on the zouk, allowing me to split the signal again using a Y cable.
my gear.
This Y cable plugs into my Presonus Studio 1810c audio interface, and then into my MacBook Pro, where MainStage is running. The bouzouki signal is largely unprocessed, as I quite like the way the pickup sounds, but the bass signal is put through a plugin called Submarine, by Waves. It essentially allows me to add sub-frequencies of either one or two octaves lower than the acoustic sound!
I use a few other things on my Keith McMillen SoftStep 2, such as a kick drum/stompbox, some sub-drops and a whole load of synths (far too many to list here, but if you're interested, feel free to send me an email!)
My (far simpler) guitar setup is a Faith Jupiter FJCEHG Guitar with Elixir Polyweb 80/20 Bronze strings (13-56), which I use in combination with a Boss OC-3 Super Octave pedal to provide bass below my playing, without the need for the laptop (it tracks much better on guitar than on bouzouki). I occasionally make use of some Mooer Audio pedals for more effects, depending on the project.
My banjo is a flat-top tenor banjo of unknown maker with a Mastertone tone ring and a black Deering banjo head. Over the years, I’ve tried a million different string combinations and eventually settled on D’Addario BW042, BW032, NW020 and PL013, which I buy here. These seem to have the right combination of lifespan and tone, as I prefer my strings to have a ‘played in’ sound on the banjo, as it’s naturally very bright.
teaching.
As well as performing, Daniel also teaches guitar (DADGAD and standard tunings) from beginner to advanced levels, and bouzouki (GDAD) and banjo (GDAE) at beginner to intermediate level.
Private lessons can be taught in person in the Isle of Man or wherever Daniel is currently touring, but Skype/Zoom lessons are also available.
Daniel is also available to teach workshops worldwide.
For pricing, to organise a lesson or to book Daniel to teach workshops, get in touch at enquiries@danielquayle.com
book elizabeth davidson-blythe & daniel quayle.
estonia.
Kadri Laube
Kõrvipalu Loometalu
kadriglaube@gmail.com
Tel: +372 511 7348
italy.
Jacopo
KeltIT Booking & Management
jacopo@keltit.com
Tel: +39.348.5423671
denmark.
Martin Strange Lorenzen
martinstrangelorenzen@gmail.com
uk & worldwide.
Daniel Quayle
eadbdq@gmail.com
all other projects.
Daniel Quayle
enquiries@danielquayle.com