Biography
Daniel Rossen, a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, channels a genre-blurring aesthetic and a signature voice rich with vibrato across his projects with Grizzly Bear, Department of Eagles, and his solo output. Elements drawn from folk, psych-pop, jazz, and classical sources registered with equal force on Grizzly Bear’s acclaimed albums, which extended from the 2006 breakthrough Yellow House to 2017’s Painted Ruins, and on Department of Eagles’ 2007 release In Ear Park. Working alone, Rossen uncovered additional layers of his craft; the 2012 Silent Hour/Golden Mile EP balanced personal expression with technical command, while the 2022 full-length You Belong There followed his instincts through luminous, reflective pieces.
Born in Los Angeles in 1982, Rossen began composing and recording seriously in 2000 after rooming with Fred Nicolaus at New York University as freshmen. The pair first operated under the name Whitey on the Moon UK before adopting Department of Eagles a few years and several EPs later. Rossen entered Grizzly Bear in 2004 as the group’s second singer/songwriter following the release of their debut Horn of Plenty; at the time he shared an apartment with bassist/producer Chris Taylor and had previously attended jazz camp with drummer Chris Bear.
Over the ensuing years Rossen balanced these commitments. The U.K. label Melodic issued a compilation of Department of Eagles’ early material, The Cold Nose, in 2005 (with bonus tracks added for its U.S. arrival two years later). He first appeared on record with Grizzly Bear on September 2006’s Yellow House, whose layered harmonies, guitars, woodwinds, and electronics supported songs by both Droste and Rossen, while Department of Eagles delivered the odds-and-ends EP A Johnny Glaze Christmas: Classical Snatches and Samples a Go-Go. Rossen and Nicolaus kept writing until they had assembled enough material for a full album by late 2007; Chris Taylor, Christopher Bear, and bassist Nat Baldwin participated in the sessions, yielding In Ear Park, a collection of elegantly eccentric pop shaped by Rossen’s memories of his late father and issued by 4AD in October 2008. That same year Grizzly Bear toured with Radiohead and began work on May 2009’s Veckatimest. The album combined clearer melodies and structures with contributions from contemporary classical composer/conductor Nico Muhly, Beach House vocalist Victoria Legrand, the Acme String Quartet, and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus; it reached the U.S. Top Ten and later earned gold certification in Europe. July 2010 brought the Department of Eagles anthology Archive 2003-2006, which gathered tracks from their abandoned second album alongside pieces later adapted by Grizzly Bear.
Once the Veckatimest tour concluded, Rossen started songs meant for a new Grizzly Bear album yet ultimately tracked most of them solo, enlisting horn arrangements by Ian Davis and Kris Nolte, lap steel player Scott Hirsch, and Dr. Dog drummer Eric Slick on selected cuts. The resulting Silent Hour/Golden Mile EP appeared on Warp in early 2012. That September Grizzly Bear released their fourth album, Shields, whose direct yet intricate sound highlighted interplay among the band members. After the ensuing tour the group members again dispersed. Rossen settled upstate New York, focused on his own material, and toured performing songs from Silent Hour/Golden Mile and Department of Eagles. In 2016 he joined the National for a cover of “Terrapin Station (Suite)” on the Grateful Dead tribute album Day of the Dead. Grizzly Bear reconvened for August 2017’s Painted Ruins, pairing wide-ranging lyrics with expansive arrangements inside playful, rhythmically driven tracks. During the band’s subsequent hiatus, Droste stated he had left Grizzly Bear to pursue work as a therapist. In this period Rossen issued the 2018 single Deerslayer, moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and, alongside Christopher Bear, contributed to Fleet Foxes’ 2020 album Shore. Bear also played drums on Rossen’s debut solo album, April 2022’s You Belong There, a kaleidoscopic collection on which Rossen himself handled strings, clarinet, and every instrument except drums.
Born in Los Angeles in 1982, Rossen began composing and recording seriously in 2000 after rooming with Fred Nicolaus at New York University as freshmen. The pair first operated under the name Whitey on the Moon UK before adopting Department of Eagles a few years and several EPs later. Rossen entered Grizzly Bear in 2004 as the group’s second singer/songwriter following the release of their debut Horn of Plenty; at the time he shared an apartment with bassist/producer Chris Taylor and had previously attended jazz camp with drummer Chris Bear.
Over the ensuing years Rossen balanced these commitments. The U.K. label Melodic issued a compilation of Department of Eagles’ early material, The Cold Nose, in 2005 (with bonus tracks added for its U.S. arrival two years later). He first appeared on record with Grizzly Bear on September 2006’s Yellow House, whose layered harmonies, guitars, woodwinds, and electronics supported songs by both Droste and Rossen, while Department of Eagles delivered the odds-and-ends EP A Johnny Glaze Christmas: Classical Snatches and Samples a Go-Go. Rossen and Nicolaus kept writing until they had assembled enough material for a full album by late 2007; Chris Taylor, Christopher Bear, and bassist Nat Baldwin participated in the sessions, yielding In Ear Park, a collection of elegantly eccentric pop shaped by Rossen’s memories of his late father and issued by 4AD in October 2008. That same year Grizzly Bear toured with Radiohead and began work on May 2009’s Veckatimest. The album combined clearer melodies and structures with contributions from contemporary classical composer/conductor Nico Muhly, Beach House vocalist Victoria Legrand, the Acme String Quartet, and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus; it reached the U.S. Top Ten and later earned gold certification in Europe. July 2010 brought the Department of Eagles anthology Archive 2003-2006, which gathered tracks from their abandoned second album alongside pieces later adapted by Grizzly Bear.
Once the Veckatimest tour concluded, Rossen started songs meant for a new Grizzly Bear album yet ultimately tracked most of them solo, enlisting horn arrangements by Ian Davis and Kris Nolte, lap steel player Scott Hirsch, and Dr. Dog drummer Eric Slick on selected cuts. The resulting Silent Hour/Golden Mile EP appeared on Warp in early 2012. That September Grizzly Bear released their fourth album, Shields, whose direct yet intricate sound highlighted interplay among the band members. After the ensuing tour the group members again dispersed. Rossen settled upstate New York, focused on his own material, and toured performing songs from Silent Hour/Golden Mile and Department of Eagles. In 2016 he joined the National for a cover of “Terrapin Station (Suite)” on the Grateful Dead tribute album Day of the Dead. Grizzly Bear reconvened for August 2017’s Painted Ruins, pairing wide-ranging lyrics with expansive arrangements inside playful, rhythmically driven tracks. During the band’s subsequent hiatus, Droste stated he had left Grizzly Bear to pursue work as a therapist. In this period Rossen issued the 2018 single Deerslayer, moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and, alongside Christopher Bear, contributed to Fleet Foxes’ 2020 album Shore. Bear also played drums on Rossen’s debut solo album, April 2022’s You Belong There, a kaleidoscopic collection on which Rossen himself handled strings, clarinet, and every instrument except drums.
Albums
Live in Pioneertown & Santa Fe
2023
Past Lives
2023
You Belong There
2022
Silent Hour / Golden Mile
2012
Singles
Live
