“Revered for his ability to craft emotive, intricately layered compositions, David Cloyd has enjoyed a decorated musical adventure that’s seen him become an indie cult hero.”
—Plastic Magazine
“With his first record in over a decade, Red Sky Warning, due out next year, this first single reminds us exactly why the music scene is a much better place when David Cloyd is taking an active part in it.”
—The Big Takeover
“Cloyd’s return promises not only a continuation of the distinctive artistry that made him a cult figure but also a deeper dive into the emotional terrain he’s been traversing throughout his career. As he navigates themes of time, love, and identity, this new material reflects the emotional complexity of someone who has lived through both the highs of indie stardom and the quieter, more personal victories of life outside the spotlight.”
—The Indie Grid
“‘Ocean Of Hours’ compels in its spacious range between folk-laden contemplation and anthemic rock/pop heights… [it] is a strongly memorable success from Cloyd; we’re now firmly anticipating his upcoming album.”
—Obscure Sound
David Cloyd returns to the national spotlight with his first record in more than a decade, Red Sky Warning (out in early 2025), and its lead single, “Ocean Of Hours,” out September 24th. “Where did the time go?” asks Cloyd in this anthemic new song co-produced and mixed by Blake Morgan (Lenny Kravitz, Lesley Gore, Janita). Answering that question lies in understanding why his initial and striking ascent to indie-music cult-figure status was so remarkable, and unique.
Before moving north to Buffalo, Cloyd had made a stunning splash with his 2009 debut album, Unhand Me, You Fiend!—an album he’d recorded in his 9-foot by 9-foot apartment in Sunset Park, Brooklyn on a personal computer he’d built by hand. After being discovered by—and subsequently signing to—Morgan’s ECR Music Group record label, Cloyd’s debut went on to hit #1 on the world’s second-largest streaming service at the time (eMusic), culminating in a major feature about the artist in New York Magazine. Multiple TV music placements followed, his work becoming a regular fixture on MTV’s Real World, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, and Bad Girls Club. His follow-up record, I Could Disappear, showcased his extraordinary musicianship with a set of live-in-studio performances of the material from his first record. His re-imaginings of Radiohead’s “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” and Paul McCartney’s “Dear Boy” won him an even broader audience, with the latter being licensed by McCartney’s own company, MPL Communications.
“David’s as special a musician as I’m likely to encounter,” says Morgan. “And frankly, that anyone’s likely to encounter. It’s no surprise he has this rabid indie-music following, because the people who ‘get’ him get how special he is too. He’s a foundational artist here at ECR. I’m so glad he’s back with this new record, his fans are going to absolutely love it.”
A move to Buffalo to start a family was next for Cloyd, with the artist branching out as a producer himself and founding the Buffalo-based ECR imprint Hook & Ladder Records. In the years since, he’s become a tentpole music figure and producer in Buffalo’s music scene, producing Caroline Fenn’s Fragile Chances (2013) and Buffalo Tango Orkestra’s acclaimed debut Ecos Del Pasado (2018), while also becoming ECR Music Group’s VP of Creative Operations.
“I’ve dug deep here in Buffalo, raising a family and embedding myself here in this region’s musical landscape,” says Cloyd. “And I’ve loved all of it. But, it’s also meant I’ve had to step back from the ‘artist’ part of me during these years, and that’s been hard too. That juxtaposition—the love of what I’ve been doing, and the ache of what I’ve been missing—is precisely what this album, and what the song ‘Ocean Of Hours,’ are about.”
This new record finds Cloyd hitting the same brilliant note his earlier work struck, but at a higher yet deeper emotional octave. His artistry will draw comparisons to Radiohead, Beck, Nick Drake, Jeff Buckley, and Peter Gabriel as it always has, but Cloyd’s distinctive voice—both as a singer and as a record maker—continues to be completely his own.
“This album is a love story,” says Cloyd. “I’ve been in love with making music for as long as I can remember. It’s a deeply mysterious love to me, and exploring it is not the search for an answer—for me, the exploration is the answer. I felt the same thing when I met my wife, and I’ve watched the two great loves of my life dance through it all together. It’s not always graceful, but it’s always beautiful.”
Red Sky Warning, written and performed by David Cloyd, mixed and mastered by Blake Morgan, is out in early 2025. The album’s first single “Ocean Of Hours” is out September 24th on ECR Music Group.
