Daniel Emond

Lives and works in Astoria, NY, USA

Artist statement

It’s not a controversial take, but foundational in principle: I contend that artists are defined by their creative practice, not their resume or the source of their income (I think that money can poison the well). If you have created art, and continue to do so, you are an artist. It doesn’t matter whether you do it for a paying audience, or go it alone for your own enjoyment or catharsis. I call myself a composer/performer first. I make big lush things that resemble musicals, and follow many rules and bedrock principles associated with musicals. However their scores are their engine, and they defy preconceptions around sound and genre. I have three original musicals in varying stages of development. All of them have, or will have accompanying concept albums, similar in relationship to their properties to the original Hadestown concept album and its future theatrical adaptation. My first musical is an innovative rock opera based on Moby-Dick, titled Kill The Whale. Begun ten years ago, the show is written and is currently in pre-production for a 29-hour workshop. Its concept album is released on all platforms. My sophomore musical, Mind Canary: A Freudian Musical, is about Sigmund Freud and the Freudian dream space. begun six years ago, It exists as a first draft, and I have been commissioned to produce a second draft. Its concept album is in development. My third and most inchoate project is MOTH (working title), and demands my attention at present as an artist in...

Artwork