LIPA student wins writing award

Dan creates folk and world music in his home studio in Liverpool

A student from Liverpool has received a national award for songwriting.

Dan Croll, an undergraduate at Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA), received the Musician's Benevolent Fund (MBF) Songwriting Award for his acoustic folk music.

He performed in front of industry experts and beat five other musicians at the finals in London in January.

The MBF award funds musicians living and working in the UK and Ireland as well as British Nationals abroad.

Dan will also receive a £5000 cash prize which he plans to spend on improving his home studio and releasing a debut EP.

Speaking to BBC Radio Merseyside, he said he first started writing pop-acoustic songs when he was 14 years old.

"My mum, who has always been a jazz and blues singer, was a big inspiration for me starting to write," he said.

"She has always been singing around me, and she always put music in front of me that I could listen to like Irish music and folk.

"I don't think my music came out of its shell until I started studying with other students at LIPA though.

"One of my best friends is from Gambia and really influenced me with a lot of African music.

"A large amount of Norwegian students brought over their Scandinavian folk too, and then I later became interested in French music."

Dan is the fifth LIPA undergraduate to win the award in eight years, following previous winners including Fables, Hannah Rei and The Wombats.

To listen to Dan Croll's music visit MySpace: Dan Croll