Daniel Holdsworth (musician)

Daniel Holdsworth is an Australian musician and composer. He is a co-creator of the music-theatre production, Tubular Bells for Two, and has performed in bands such as Darks Common Underground, The Maple Trail and The Saturns. He has also composed music for film, television, theatre and dance.

Daniel Holdsworth
Born	(1981-05-22) 22 May 1981 (age 43)
Origin	Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia
Genres	Rock, alternative, folk, classical
Instrument(s)	Guitar, piano, organ, bass, drums, mandolin, ukulele, harmonica, vocals
Website	danielholdsworth.com

Biography

Daniel Holdsworth was born on 22 May 1981, in Penrith NSW, Australia, and has lived most of his life in the Blue Mountains. He began playing music at a young age and attended Blaxland High School where he was heavily involved in school productions and other music programs, performing several times at the Sydney Opera House. During this period he also began formal training as a classical guitarist.^[1]

At the age of fifteen, Daniel began professional work within the music industry as a session musician, notably recording with Yothu Yindi for the closing ceremony of the 1996 Atlanta paralympics,^[2] and singing a duet for the same ceremony composed by Garry Hardman from Australian Screen Music.^[3]

After high school, Holdsworth attended the University of Western Sydney where he studied with Bruce Crossman as a post-graduate in composition and music technology.^[4] During his university years he worked as a music teacher in the Blue Mountains,^[1] whilst also playing in many bands.^[1] His main focus was as singer/songwriter/guitarist of the award-winning rock band, The Saturns, who released several recordings and toured Australia extensively between 2005 and 2008.^[5] He recorded and toured with other bands, including The Maple Trail. During this period Daniel began composing music for theatre and dance productions, leading to a position as musical director and performer in William Yang's My Generation, which was commissioned for the opening of the National Portrait Gallery (Australia) in Canberra in 2008.^[6]

In 2009, Holdsworth premiered a music-theatre collaboration with Aidan Roberts, Tubular Bells for Two.^[1] The production involves the two musicians recreating Mike Oldfield's 1973 album, Tubular Bells, with over twenty instruments. Roberts and Holdsworth received a Sydney Fringe Award for 'Best Musical Moment' in the Sydney Fringe Festival 2010.^[7] The duo have since gone on to tour the show internationally, winning a Herald Angel Award^[8] and a Sixth Star Bobby Award^[9] at the Edinburgh Fringe 2012, a Weekly Award and BankSA Best Music Award at the Adelaide Fringe 2015.^[10][11]

In 2013 Daniel composed the music for the feature film, William Yang: My Generation which premiered at the Sydney Film Festival.^[12]

In 2015 Holdsworth formed a new group, Darks Common Underground, working on his first original material as a songwriter since the Saturns broke up in 2010.^[13] The band released their debut self-titled album in 2020.^[14]

Awards

Year	Award	Category	For
2015	Adelaide Fringe Award	BankSA Best Music Award	Tubular Bells for Two[11]
2015	Weekly Award	Adelaide Fringe Best Music Category	Tubular Bells for Two[10]
2012	Broadway Baby Bobby Award	Sixth Star Award, Edinburgh Fringe	Tubular Bells for Two[9]
2012	Bank of Scotland Herald Angel Award	Music, Edinburgh Fringe	Tubular Bells for Two[8]
2010	Sydney Fringe Award	Best Musical Moment	Tubular Bells for Two[7]
2006	Blue Mountains Music Award	Best Rock Song	The Saturns I Could Be The One[15]

Recordings

Year	Band/artist	Title	Label	Release	Role
2024	Daniel Holdsworth	Morning Star[16]	Independent	Single	Songwriter/producer/performer
2024	Daniel Holdsworth	Close Encounters[17]	Independent	Single	Songwriter/producer/performer
2024	Daniel Holdsworth	Memory Dust[18]	Independent	Single	Songwriter/producer/performer
2024	Daniel Holdsworth	The First Song On Spotify[19]	Independent	Single	Songwriter/producer/performer
2023	The Absolutely Incredibly Amazing Penrith Band	Sam Delivers[20]	Independent	Album	Songwriter, engineer, vocals, guitars, drums, keys, percussion, recorders
2020	Darks Common Underground	Darks Common Underground[21]	Independent	Album	Songwriter, engineer, vocals, guitars, bouzouki, banjo, mandolin, organ
2019	Yeevs	Yeevs[22]	Independent	Album	Producer, engineer
2017	Darks Common Underground	Meteorites and Other Things[23]	Independent	Single	Songwriter, engineer, vocals, guitars, banjo, mandolin
2012	The Maple Trail	Cable Mount Warning[24]	Broken Stone Records	Album	Drums, Guitar
2009	The Saturns	Sweet Distractions[25]	Snare Music	Album	Songwriter, Vocals, Guitars, Piano, Bass, Synthesizers, Harmonica
2008	The Maple Trail	Dirty Echo Spark[26]	Broken Stone Records	Album	Drums
2007	The Saturns	Here's The Saturns[27]	Snare Music	EP	Songwriter, vocals, guitars
2003	T. Malfroy & The Guests	T. Malfroy & The Guests[28]	Independent	EP	Engineer, bass guitar, vocals
2002	Snare	See You Somewhere[29]	Thin Annoying Blokes	EP	Songwriter, engineer, vocals, guitars, bass, drums, keyboards
2001	Snare	Never See The Sun[30]	Thin Annoying Blokes	EP	Songwriter, vocals, guitars, drums, bass, keyboards
1996	Yothu Yindi	World Turning: In Celebration of the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games[2]	Mushroom Records	Single	Vocals

DVD

Year	Title	Label	Role
2012	Tubular Bells for Two Live at the Sydney Festival[31]	Birdland Records	Performer

Theatre

Year	Production	Producer	Role
2009–2023	Tubular Bells for Two	Shortwalk / Craft Music / The Leighton Pope Organisation	Co-creator and performer
2009–10	Hansel and Gretel[32]	The Acting Factory	Narrator and Musical Director
2008–10	William Yang's My Generation[6]	Performing Lines	Musical Director and performer

Film

Year	Film Title	Type	Director	Role
2013	William Yang: My Generation[12]	Feature	William Yang	Composer
2003	Home: Refugio TX[33]	Feature-Documentary	Anne-Marrie Hess	Assistant composer to Andree Greenwell with Tim Malfory

Television

Year	Program	Producer	Network	Director	Role
2013	William Yang: My Generation[12]	Felix Media	ABC	William Yang	Composer

References

1. Madigan, Damien (27 June 2012). "From Humble Beginnings, Duo Take Tubular Bells to Edinburgh". Blue Mountains Gazette. Fairfax Media. p. 46.
2. Yothu Yindi (Musical group); Yunupingu, Mandawuy (1996). "World Turning: In Celebration of the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games". Mushroom Records. Retrieved 19 July 2012. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
3. "Garry Hardman". Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
4. Purnell, Freya (June 2012). "Tubular Bells for Two" (PDF). GradLife. University of Western Sydney. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
5. "The Saturns". 24 October 2007. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
6. "William Yang's My Generation". Retrieved 19 July 2012.
7. "The Sydney Fringe Announces 2010 Award Winners". Australian Stage. November 2010. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
8. "Edinburgh Fringe Show 2012". Retrieved 11 August 2012.
9. "Tubular Bells for Two, Broadway Baby". Archived from the original on 20 September 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
10. "Fringe Weekly Winners". Adelaide Fringe. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
11. "Adelaide Fringe Awards 2015". Adelaide Fringe. Archived from the original on 29 March 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
12. "Sydney Film Festival 2013". Archived from the original on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
13. "danielholdsworth.com". Retrieved 26 February 2015.
14. "danielholdsworth.com". Retrieved 21 June 2020.
15. "Daniel Holdsworth Biography". Retrieved 19 July 2012.
16. Daniel Holdsworth. "Close Encounters". Xelon Digital. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
17. Daniel Holdsworth. "Close Encounters". Xelon Digital. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
18. Daniel Holdsworth. "Memory Dust". Noisehive. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
19. Daniel Holdsworth. "The First Song On Spotify". Noisehive. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
20. The Absolutely Incredibly Amazing Penrith Band. "Sam Delivers". Daniel Holdsworth. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
21. Darks Common Underground. "Darks Common Underground". Darks Common Underground. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
22. Yeevs. "Yeevs". Yeevs. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
23. Darks Common Underground. "Darks Common Underground". Darks Common Underground. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
24. The Maple Trail. "Cable Mount Warning". Broken Stone Records. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
25. "The Saturns Sweet Distractions". Retrieved 26 February 2015.
26. The Maple Trail. "Dirty Echo Spark". Broken Stone Records. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
27. The Saturns. "Here's The Saturns". Independent. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
28. Self-Titled. Independent (Media notes). T.Malfroy & The Guests. 2003.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
29. See You Somewhere (Media notes). Snare. Thin Annoying Blokes. 2002.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
30. Never See The Sun (Media notes). Snare. Thin Annoying Blokes. 2001.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
31. "Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells for Two". places+spaces, inc./Birdland Records. Archived from the original on 31 December 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
32. "Hansel & Gretel". Australian Stage. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
33. "Andree Greenwell". Retrieved 19 July 2012.

External links

• Official website of Daniel Holdsworth
• Official website of Tubular Bells for Two