Since the whole Biggie versus Tupac thing (God bless both their souls) emerged in the 90’s, there has always been a sort of East coast- West coast rivalry that exists in the music industry. Though the Canadian music scene predominantly hovers and lends its ear amongst the conundrum of Toronto’s concrete jungle, the West coast is slowly but surely brimming with growing and eclectic talent that will inevitably grasp not only Canadian, but International ears.

One of these talents is BC native Dan Mangan. Armed with his guitar and husky and deep croon, Mangan strips music into something raw and organic, resulting in a perfect reflection of the relaxed and nonchalant nature that is the West Coast.

Though he released various independent albums and LP’s, Mangan’s latest record “Nice, Nice Very Nice” –a follow up to his 2005 debut album, “Postcards and Daydreaming”- demonstrates his growth, experimentation and progression as an artist and musician. “This record was 3 or 4 years apart from the first, and I’ve done a lot of growing at that time. I’ve certainly done a lot of travelling and touring. I was a lot more of a mature person and I’ve done a lot of thinking and it [the album] was a little bit more sure of itself. I think the first record was really dramatic and really big and epic. Every song was trying to be the big epic song. With the second record, I got a little bit more comfortable with myself in letting songs be what they are and not trying to force something different. Generally, it was more of a light hearted record too lyrically, and musically it kind of has a kick to it.”

The translation of his artistic growth to his record resulted in a warm reception from both industry and everyday folks. The album put Mangan’s career on overdrive, topping the iTunes Canada Charts, earning him “Artist of the Year” in XM Satellite’s Verge Music Awards and giving him massive, continuous airplay for numerous local radio stations such as 100.5 The Peak. This year will also see a proper international release for the album, as it gears for both the US and European market. Amidst all the rapid media attention and acknowledgement, Mangan maintains a level of composure (which, let’s admit, for many of us would be hard to contain if we got all this newly found fame) and takes it all in with a sense of humbleness and humility:

“I had my high hopes but very low realistic expectations …in a very modest way it kind of blew up but still in a very niche market. But it got a lot of attention in terms of blogs and independent print media. It got a better reception than I ever expected.”

Aside from getting massive amounts of press attention and rave reviews for his album, things are definitely on the rise for Mangan in other facets of his career. Having been nominated for four “Rosies” (Alberta Film and TV Awards), his music video for “The Indie Queens are Waiting” (click on it to see the vid!) serves as a perfect medium to showcase not only Mangan’s creative dexterity as an artist, but also those who associate themselves with him. “Once the name started to get out there and people were kind of listening to the record, it was amazing to see how many people would come to me about making a video. That was a real shift and it was amazing. And the amount of work that I had to do for that video was nil. It was like one day of my life and they did everything: they produced it, funded for it, found actors for it, lighting for it. It’s cool to be at a point where that I don’t have to be at the helm of absolutely everything. I can have my creative control at the end of it, but I can give up a little bit of creative control to different artists that I trust and they can make cool art.”

And so we return back to the ever so controversial debate over East coast- West coast connects. With such a distinct illustration of what the two opposing coasts possess amidst the music industry, folks could assume that the East definitely has an edge over us West coasters right? I had to take this question and to one of the sources (aka. Dan Mangan) to confirm its validity…

“Well for years I thought I had to move to Toronto, because so much of the music industry and media is based there. For years I was debating it. This past year, I feel like I no longer need to. I’m feeling a little bit more happy staying in Vancouver. There’s lots of places I’d like to go but I never expect to settle down anywhere but Vancouver. I love the city too much. There’s a lot of difficulties and obstacles about being from city in that was a little bit harder to grab Toronto’s attention, but at this point Vancouver has an amazing music scene right now and I think there are a lot of great bands coming out and everybody’s so supportive and creative and help each other. It’s a very momentous time in the City.”

Dan Mangan plays Saturday May 8th at The Vogue Theatre with guest artist Jesse Sykes (we’d love to shamelessly promote all you readers to come out and watch…but it’s a sold out show!)
To know more about Dan Mangan check out http://www.danmanganmusic.com/