Daniel Knox unveils new slow-burner "Room Key"

Knox's new eight-minute track "Room Key" arrives after last month's "Hollow".

Speaking about the new single, Knox says, "I’ve written a lot of songs people think are sad. Some of them are, but I think there is triumph in co-misery. I’ve always felt uplifted by hearing someone tell a painful story that I see myself in. "Room Key" is about one of the worst things that ever happened to me, but instead of being an account of that, it’s a song about the telling and what comes after."

Discussing his forthcoming mini-album, which is his first LP since last year's Chasescene, Knox says, "I Had A Wonderful Time was written away from the piano. I wrote most of these songs walking around Chicago at night. I’m no fan of crowds. For me, the city at night is the most inspiring. I take a lot of pictures, and I walk in the places you’re not supposed to walk. I’m no prowler, but I enjoy investigating places not meant for pedestrian traffic."

He adds, "Since completing my self-titled LP several years ago, I’ve been trying to find a way to make my songs sound more like my pictures look, which is to say; empty places or a scene without characters. Contrary to belief, I actually like people a great deal, I just prefer them one at a time, or better yet, after they’ve gotten up and left. Chicago at night feels like a different city; like a city turned upside down with all it’s people shaken out. It becomes quiet like a movie set or a theatre stage just before the curtain rises."