Dan Deacon (b. 1981) is a Baltimore-based recording artist and performer renowned for his five studio albums of innovative electronic music, his live performances in both contemporary and classical settings, and his extensive body of work in film scores.
Deacon has premiered compositions at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, and collaborated with artists and institutions including Kronos Quartet, Sō Percussion, The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the LA Philharmonic, and Justin Peck with the New York City Ballet. Deacon performed alongside artists such as Sting and Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino for the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s virtual concert Space Songs; his other national performances include Jimmy Kimmel Live! and NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts. Deacon has also toured internationally with popular recording artists including Miley Cyrus, Future Islands, and The Flaming Lips.
Deacon’s original film and television scores include Twixt (Francis Ford Coppola, 2011), Rat Film (Theo Anthony, 2016), Time Trial (Finlay Pretsell, 2017), Well Groomed (Rebecca Stern, 2019), And We Go Green (directed by Fisher Stevens and Malcolm Venville, produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, 2019), and the ESPN 30 for 30 production Subject to Review (Theo Anthony, 2019). Three projects scored by Deacon premiered at Sundance 2021: Strawberry Mansion (Albert Birney and Kentucker Audley), Philly D.A. (Ted Passon and Yoni Brook), and All Light, Everywhere (Theo Anthony). A fourth, Jessica Kingdon’s Ascension, premiered at Tribeca 2021, where the film won Best Documentary Feature; Ascension was also nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 2022 Academy Awards. In 2022, Deacon scored Jeremiah Zagar’s Netflix film Hustle, starring Adam Sandler.
Deacon’s most recent studio album is Mystic Familiar (2020, Domino Recording Company), featuring the tracks Become a Mountain, Fell into the Ocean, and lead single Sat by a Tree, the video for which stars comedian Aparna Nancherla. His albums Spiderman of the Rings and Bromst were both named Best New Music by Pitchfork, and his album Gliss Riffer received 4-star reviews from outlets such as AllMusic and The Guardian. The animated video for Deacon’s breakout song When I Was Done Dying, made in conjunction with Adult Swim, has recorded over seven million views. His recording collaborations include work with Dustin Wong and Matmos, producing and co-writing the Ed Schrader’s Music Beat album Riddles (2018), and remixing the Future Islands single For Sure (2021).
Watch a behind the scenes take on Become a Mountain with stager Jeanette Delgado.
View the original Become a Mountain: A film from Justin Peck and On
