Biography

The J. Arthur Keenes Band is the project of multi-instrumentalist and singer Dan McLay from Oakville, Ontario, Canada. He has released music over the Internet since 2006, incorporating in guitar, melodica, glockenspiel, and more alongside his own Game Boy programming.

After years of contributing songs to 8bitcollective, McLay released his debut EP, Pamplemousse, on II in October 2009. Written and recorded while still in high school, the EP was warmly received and praised by many of the chipmusic community’s most well-known members. The follow-up, Computer Savvy, was released on 8bitpeoples in May 2011, touted as a “long overdue new album of old things” and containing several reworked versions of older songs. A “new album of new things”, The World’s Smallest Violin, followed over a year later on August 18, 2012, featuring added emphasis on non-chiptune instrumentation.

In addition to his main albums, McLay has also put out three short EPs written entirely in 48 hours (48 Hour EP Vols. 1, 2, and 3); scored a short film (Xinyue Yam and The Mystery Level Original Soundtrack); released tracks on Metrodub (“Footsteps / The Shrine”); and contributed to various compilations (Including II’s Sea of Ice, Chiptunes = WIN’s Expansion Pack, several CalmDownKidder Records releases, and 8bitpeoples’ Reformat: A Tribute to Bit Shifter’s Information Chase).