Dan Mangan | It's Cool to Care

Hidden Track

Dan Mangan is fond of summing up his whole approach to a creative life in music with a simple axion: "It's cool to care."

Dan models that approach in everything he does. Whether he's starting his own label, Madic Records, or co-founding community concert platform, Side Door Access; acting as a longtime vocal advocate for the de-stigmatization of discussions around mental health; or through his countless epic live performances over the years and seven albums to date... it's very clear that Dan cares, and he doesn't mind who knows it.

Ever since he first burst out of the Vancouver scene with his debut album, nearly two decades back, Dan's been deeply interested in trying to involve people in not just his music, but what music can do; drawing people into that shared experience. Sometimes he's bringing his dynamic range all the way down to whisper-quiet, making audiences lean in closer. Sometimes - as on the giant Going Somewhere tour which brought him to Alberta in Fall 2023 - it's sending out a phone number to fans and asking them to text him their song requests before the shows. The point is, he cares about those moments of real human connection, and he hopes that you think it's cool to care, too.

Dan's latest Juno-nominated and Polaris Prize-shortlisted album Being Somewhere is a distillation of his whole ethos. And this autumn, he brought some of that music to CKUA.

Amidst the stacks of vinyl and shellac in CKUA's legendary music library, Dan shared an insightful and occasionally hilarious conversation, and performed beautiful, intimate, solo acoustic versions of two songs: Being Somewhere standout "Fire Escape" and as his latest, a single called "Say When."

The Hidden Track Podcast is produced by CKUA Radio and made possible by the generous contributions of our donors. Thank you for your support!

Producer: Scott Zielsdorf | Host: Grant Stovel | Graphics: Shaun Friesen | Music: Doug Hoyer

Sound mixing for this Hidden Track session provided by Brendan Cross. Videography assistance from Bailey Richards.