Dante

Dante was initially the creative output of songwriter, Seán McLaughlin who released The Monochrome E.P. (10" vinyl only) under the Dante moniker in 2009. Although this was essentially solo output, the release features Dante veteran Vicky Gray on fiddle. The Monochrome E.P. received far greater critical acclaim than expected, receiving BBC Radio 1 play and notable press coverage. The E.P. also become very popular in Scotland's independent record stores, and a band of Edinburgh folk musicians was assembled for shows. The line-up changed fairly frequently in the following years (at one point including McLaughlin's brother, the notable visual artist, Liam J McLaughlin, on bass), but it was with the release of Dante's first full length LP, Wake in 2013 that the line-up began to solidify beyond McLaughlin and Gray with Stephen Thom on mandolin/guitar, Ruaridh Kidd on drum kit, Stuart Hosking on bass and, in 2014, Craig MacLeod on guitar/keys. Dante's sophomore album, I Wear your Weight with Mine was released in March 2018. The album was recorded at Slate Room Studio, and saw Andy Monaghan (Frightened Rabbit) in the production chair, it was mastered by Howie Weinberg (Nirvana's Nevermind) and featured artwork by the Juno Award winning artist, Tracy Maurice (Arcade Fire's Funeral/Neon Bible).

Dante are currently on hiatus while Seán's side-project (Seán R McLaughlin and the Wind-Up Crows) work on their debut release (see www.windupcrows.com).