Goldbug

Goldbug is the moniker of Irish/French artist Danilo Ward. Goldbug’s story starts in the stagnant waters of an abandoned well, thriving but neglected since many summers ago; in the web at the corner of the bedroom ceiling that has still gone unnoticed; in the ugly oak tree, hollow and dying, yet a house for the living. Fascinated by insects, but just a little more by music, he relocated from the rural French countryside of Provence to Dublin city. It is there he patiently crafted a collection of songs inspired by the isolated landscape of his upbringing, and all the creatures that call it home. Now living in the city, but nostalgic for his quiet youth, Goldbug found peace in creating songs that twist and turn to unfamiliar places, lush with sweeping strings, splashes of brass, dusty mellotrons, and his soft, hazy voice.

Co-produced with Chris W Ryan, and mastered by Heba Kadry, his upcoming debut album follows an art rock tradition, with a sound that nods as much to the lo-fi sampling of downtempo electronic music as it does to the orchestral compositions of old Disney soundtracks. Through nine delicately woven songs, Goldbug learns about the world and his places in all of it. Ambient sound collages, sprawling piano sonatas, and heavy reverb soaked guitars are all a part of the one organism, hellbent not on surviving, but on thriving, in the murky waters of adulthood.

Goldbug was one of four artists picked to showcase a collaboration with Crash Ensemble at MusicTown in the National Concert Hall. He was also selected as part of the Perform Together Now acts at All Together Now festival.

Goldbug has garnered early support from BBC6Music, BBC Introducing, Dublin City FM's John Barker, The Thin Air, GoldenPlec, Genuine Irish, The GOO Dublin, and Joe.ie.

''Exquisite debut single from Goldbug. There are so many glorious twists and turns in Losing The
Swing, I never knew where it was going to go next, kept me on my toes'' - BBC6Music's Emily
Pilbeam

''I am blown away by Losing The Swing, I have fallen so very deeply'' – BBC Introducing's Abbie
McCarthy

''Goldbug has something of the old ways in it. Losing the swing is throbbing with melancholy.
There's a hint of Duke Special in Ward's breathy, languid vocals, while the instrumental shows all
the hallmarks of an artist who has cut their teeth in Ireland's famous Dream Pop scene, most notably
in the form of Chris W Ryan's signature vibrato, pick scraping wail. It's an exciting debut'' - The
Goo Dublin