About
Drew Daniel (b. 17 July 1971) is an American experimental musician based in Baltimore, Maryland. He is best known as ½ of the acclaimed electronic duo Matmos and solo as The Soft Pink Truth. Daniel is an Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies at Johns Hopkins University. Before joining the JHU English Department, Drew Daniel taught Renaissance literature, critical theory, and aesthetics at San Francisco Art Institute and . He also held seminars at Tate Modern, CalArts, Princeton, and Harvard University. Born and raised in Kentucky, Daniel grew interested in punk rock as a teenager, publishing "The Conqueror Worm" DIY punk fanzine at sixteen and later participating in local bands, including Crain (2) and Cerebellum (4). Drew performed his early solo noise gigs as Western Blot while attending U.C. Berkeley in California. From 1992 to '94, Drew Daniel studied English literature at the University of Oxford in Britain, receiving his Bachelor's from Brasenose College. In 2007, Drew earned his Ph.D. from UC Berkeley with a doctoral thesis “I Know Not Why I Am So Sad:” Melancholy and Knowledge in Early Modern English Portraiture, Drama, and Prose.
Around 1992, Daniel formed Matmos with his partner Martin Schmidt. The duo gained prominence and numerous accolades, with international tours and 12 full-length studio albums released on their private imprint Vague Terrain, Matador (1999–2008) and Thrill Jockey (since 2012) — and numerous EPs, collaborations, and side projects on other prominent independent labels. Drew and Martin played together in "occult avantgarde" band IAO Core and released several records as with Miguel Depedro/Kid606 and Lesser. In 2001, Drew Daniel started The Soft Pink Truth solo project dedicated to techno, house, and other "club music" genres, which often records electronic covers of notable British/American hardcore, crust punk, and black metal bands. Under the SPT moniker, Daniel released several EPs and two full-length albums on Matthew Herbert's Soundslike label and is currently on Thrill Jockey's roster. The Soft Pink Truth also self-published two digital "name-your-price" releases via Bandcamp.
In May 2018, Daniel's first-ever album under his real name came out, LP recorded with John Wiese and released by Arizona-based . Their second collaboration followed in July 2021, with a limited edition 7" on John's label . As a solo artist, Drew Daniel produced remixes for a wide range of artists and bands across genres, from , Roots Manuva and Grizzly Bear to and . He collaborated with Horse Lords, Negativland, Steven Stapleton/Nurse With Wound and many other renowned musicians and composers.
Drew Daniel wrote three books: "20 Jazz Funk Greats" (2008) for Continuum's 33 ⅓ series (an essay on Throbbing Gristle's eponymous album), followed by "The Melancholy Assemblage: Affect and Epistemology in the English Renaissance" (2012) at Fordham University Press and his latest manuscript, "Joy of the Worm: Suicide and Pleasure in Early Modern English Literature" (2022) published by . Daniel was also a contributing writer to Pitchfork Media and authored liner notes on multiple records, from People Like Us, Patrick Cowley and Zeena Parkins albums to 30th-anniversary reissue of Love's Secret Domain by Coil.
Around 1992, Daniel formed Matmos with his partner Martin Schmidt. The duo gained prominence and numerous accolades, with international tours and 12 full-length studio albums released on their private imprint Vague Terrain, Matador (1999–2008) and Thrill Jockey (since 2012) — and numerous EPs, collaborations, and side projects on other prominent independent labels. Drew and Martin played together in "occult avantgarde" band IAO Core and released several records as with Miguel Depedro/Kid606 and Lesser. In 2001, Drew Daniel started The Soft Pink Truth solo project dedicated to techno, house, and other "club music" genres, which often records electronic covers of notable British/American hardcore, crust punk, and black metal bands. Under the SPT moniker, Daniel released several EPs and two full-length albums on Matthew Herbert's Soundslike label and is currently on Thrill Jockey's roster. The Soft Pink Truth also self-published two digital "name-your-price" releases via Bandcamp.
In May 2018, Daniel's first-ever album under his real name came out, LP recorded with John Wiese and released by Arizona-based . Their second collaboration followed in July 2021, with a limited edition 7" on John's label . As a solo artist, Drew Daniel produced remixes for a wide range of artists and bands across genres, from , Roots Manuva and Grizzly Bear to and . He collaborated with Horse Lords, Negativland, Steven Stapleton/Nurse With Wound and many other renowned musicians and composers.
Drew Daniel wrote three books: "20 Jazz Funk Greats" (2008) for Continuum's 33 ⅓ series (an essay on Throbbing Gristle's eponymous album), followed by "The Melancholy Assemblage: Affect and Epistemology in the English Renaissance" (2012) at Fordham University Press and his latest manuscript, "Joy of the Worm: Suicide and Pleasure in Early Modern English Literature" (2022) published by . Daniel was also a contributing writer to Pitchfork Media and authored liner notes on multiple records, from People Like Us, Patrick Cowley and Zeena Parkins albums to 30th-anniversary reissue of Love's Secret Domain by Coil.
Discography
142 releasesThrough Mazes Running
Drew Daniel, John Wiese · 2023
Clouded Shrine
Drew Daniel / John Wiese · 2021
Continuous Hole
Drew Daniel, John Wiese · 2018
Revisionist: Adaptations And Future Histories In The Time Of Love And Survival
June Of 44 · 2020
Hidden Cities Remix
Horse Lords · 2015
Horn Of Plenty
Grizzly Bear · 2005
Wandering
Brooks & Dani Siciliano · 2003
Return To Archive
Matmos · 2024
Is It Going To Get Any Deeper Than This?
The Soft Pink Truth · 2022
The Rose Has Teeth In The Mouth Of A Beast
Matmos · 2006
Sónar 2005
Various · 2005
Do You Party?
The Soft Pink Truth · 2003
Acting Crazy
The Soft Pink Truth · 2003
Trax #56
Various · 2002
Promofunk
The Soft Pink Truth · 2002
Greatest Hits
Björk · 2002
A Little Help For Your Friends
Tiefschwarz · 2002
It's In Our Hands
Björk · 2002
The Soft Pink Truth
The Soft Pink Truth · 2001
Soft Rules
True Neutral Crew · 2016
Metallic Life Review
Matmos · 2025
Shall We Go On Sinning So That Grace May Increase?
The Soft Pink Truth · 2020
Plastic Anniversary
Matmos · 2019
Ultimate Care II
Matmos · 2016
Why Pay More?
The Soft Pink Truth · 2015
Why Do The Heathen Rage?
The Soft Pink Truth · 2014
Cockles And Mussels (Molly Malone)
Matmos / Clodagh Simonds (Fovea Hex)* · 2012
Do You Want New Wave Or Do You Want The Soft Pink Truth?
The Soft Pink Truth · 2004
Quasi-Objects
Matmos · 1998
Matmos
Matmos · 1997
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