Lion Dance, Dan Webb's fifth album, finds its philosophical centre in the Taoist and Buddhist concept of death and rebirth — frameworks Webb embraced as a metaphor for his relocation from Melbourne to Singapore in 2023. A new city, a new culture, an unfamiliar rhythm of everything.
The album's title emerged from a chance encounter on a street corner in Da Nang, Vietnam — a lion dance performance, vivid and unannounced, that stopped Webb in his tracks.
Around 200 people gathered, motorbikes pulled to the side of the road, a whole community momentarily suspended. That sense of magic — vibrant, percussive, alive — became the visual and spiritual touchstone for the entire record. A visit to Singapore's Haw Par Villa, an open-air theme park of vivid, often visceral scenes from Chinese mythology including the Ten Courts of Hell, deepened Webb's engagement with death, rebirth and what lies between.
Those themes run through the album from start to finish. Opener "Soup on the Bridge of Oblivion" references the mythological broth said to erase memory before reincarnation. "Hungry Ghosts" draws from Singapore's annual Hungry Ghost Festival. "Things Rise And Fall" and "The Self Watches Their Return" draw on Taoist philosophy from Laozi's Tao Te Ching. "Hoi An" captures the particular beauty of arriving somewhere entirely new.
Those themes run through the album from start to finish. Opener "Soup on the Bridge of Oblivion" references the mythological broth said to erase memory before reincarnation. "Hungry Ghosts" draws from Singapore's annual Hungry Ghost Festival. "Things Rise And Fall" and "The Self Watches Their Return" draw on Taoist philosophy from Laozi's Tao Te Ching. "Hoi An" captures the particular beauty of arriving somewhere entirely new.
“A household name in the psychedelic fusion scene, mixing jazz, rock and electronic music, Webb once again proves his ability to create music that defies categorization.”
Earmilk
What began as metaphor became, during the final stretch of production, something closer to reality. The loss of three family members in quick succession cast the album's themes in a different light entirely. Lion Dance carries that weight without being defined by it.
The record also represents the most ambitious collaboration of Webb's career. Among the contributors: drummer Michael Bland — a core member of Prince's band across ten albums — bassist Tim Lefebvre (David Bowie's Blackstar), drummer Clive Deamer (Radiohead, Portishead), keyboardist Dennis Hamm (Thundercat), percussionist Nate Werth (Snarky Puppy, Ghost-Note), and horn players Ron Blake and James King, whose credits include The Rolling Stones' Hackney Diamonds and Foreign Tongues. It marks a telling step forward from Sunshine/Dialogue, Webb's critically acclaimed 2023 album for which he interviewed Grammy winners. Here, he collaborates with them.
Lion Dance is released November 13, 2026
Produced, Arranged, Composed & Performed by Dan Webb
With:
Bob Lanzetti - electric guitar
Clive Deamer - drums
Dennis Hamm - synthesizer, piano
James King - saxophone
Logan Kane - bass
Micah Hummel - drums
Michael Bland - drums
Nate Werth - percussion
Nicole McCabe - saxophone
Robin Mullarkey - bass
Ron Blake - trumpet
Stevie Blacke - cello, violin, viola
Tim Lefebvre - bass
Additional engineering by Colin Loynachan
Mastered by Joe Lambert
Artwork and design by Chris Yee
Photography by Ya Ting Kee
With:
Bob Lanzetti - electric guitar
Clive Deamer - drums
Dennis Hamm - synthesizer, piano
James King - saxophone
Logan Kane - bass
Micah Hummel - drums
Michael Bland - drums
Nate Werth - percussion
Nicole McCabe - saxophone
Robin Mullarkey - bass
Ron Blake - trumpet
Stevie Blacke - cello, violin, viola
Tim Lefebvre - bass
Additional engineering by Colin Loynachan
Mastered by Joe Lambert
Artwork and design by Chris Yee
Photography by Ya Ting Kee