BIOGRAPHY

The last ten years have seen a flurry of change for Dave Brandwein: he got married, and got divorced. He got sober, drunk, and sober again. He oversaw the growth of Turkuaz, the nine-piece funk band he’s fronted since college, into an international touring powerhouse. Finally in the fall of 2021 he saw Turkuaz disband, halting upcoming tour dates and bringing the band’s future into question. His new solo project, Band For Sale might sound like the biggest change of all, but in fact, it’s just the opposite.

“People are going to hear this music and think it’s some kind of departure for me,” says Brandwein, “but the truth is that Turkuaz has always been the departure. I grew up on The Beatles, Paul Simon, Jackson Browne, and the sounds of the 60’s and 70’s. This album is who I’ve always been deep down.”

Recorded on and off over the past decade, ‘Sleeping Sun, Waking Moon’ is indeed a revelatory and deeply personal record for Brandwein, who produced and mixed the entire album himself. Blending British Invasion charm with classic rock grit and folk intimacy, it’s a timeless, breezy collection, one that manages to feel both deliberate and spontaneous, polished and raw, modern and retro all at once. The record’s arrangements are warm and lush, at times calling to mind everything from Harry Nilsson to The Jayhawks, and the lyrics are similarly amiable, never giving up hope even as they reckon with loneliness, isolation, and doubt. Brandwein wrote and re-wrote much of the album several times over the years, and the benefit of hindsight proves to be a blessing here, both for the material and the performances, which are bolstered by appearances from former Lucius vocalist Andrew Burri, Train drummer Matt Musty, Grace Potter bassist Kurtis Keber, Stepkids drummer Tim Walsh, and original London Souls bassist Kiyoshi Matsuyama, among other special guests. The result is a captivating, charismatic debut that collapses ten years into forty minutes, a mature, heartfelt ode to growth, discovery, and finding peace in your present circumstances, whatever they may be.

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Turkuaz | New Originals