Dany Horovitz eyes a shameful chapter in Canadian history with his latest single Downward Into the Dark — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
“This song has a different feel to a lot of my other songs,” the Toronto singer-songwriter says. “There is the subject matter, which is not my normal songwriting style. I don’t really do news-oriented or protest songs, but also, we added strings to create different effects and add emotional depth,” Horovitz says. And he delivers.
“A thousand bodies buried shallow, never deep,” the song begins. It’s a line that sets the tone for the entire track. Horovitz is ready to sing the truth — no matter how uncomfortable the truth in the lyrics makes you feel. “For more than a century, an estimated 150,000 Indigenous children were taken away from their parents and communities to isolate them from their past,” says Horovitz, adding, “Canada is a wonderful place to live for a lot of reasons, but this will forever be a great blemish on our history.”
While remaining an indie-rock anthem, Downward Into The Dark is melancholy in its melody, haunting in its delivery. A shocking bridge including pieces of The Lord’s Prayer drives home Horovitz’s message. “I really hope that Canadians across the country and beyond our borders can connect with this song. I’ve long wanted to work with Métis visual artist Lilly Mason, so I’m honoured she said yes.
“Each of the singles from the EP and the EP itself used the same image she created but with differences to give it rouse different emotional responses. For Downward Into The Dark, you can see through the window little graves, subtly visualizing how easy it is for humans to ignore the sufferings of others when that suffering is not directly in front of us. The banality of evil, as it were,” Horovitz says.
Produced at Dreamhouse Studios in Toronto by Calvin Hartwick, Horovitz is joined on guitar and bass by Sean Royle, Colanthony Humphrey on drums, strings by Mike Tompa and harmony arrangements and background vocals by Métis singer Kara MacKinley.
A long-time Toronto musician, Horovitz and his debut album Free Times have enjoyed radio time across Canada, the United States, Europe and Australia. His single Free Tonight earned him Top 20 honours on Cashbox Radio. Downward Into The Dark introduces a new chapter in his songwriting — written from a third-party perspective as he lends his voice to those pleading to be heard. “I do not know if the damage can ever be repaired,” he says. “But we must always remember what happened, and far from merely preventing anything like this from happening again we must make sure to actively recognize and honour the original caretakers of the land we live on.”
Check out Downward Into The Dark above, sample more from Dany Horovitz below, and find him at his website, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
