Words: Mateusz Niesmialek | Photography: Courtesy of Isabelle Offer

On 13th February, Dan Whitlam will play an in-store at Rough Trade East, marking the release of his debut album, Strangers (Again).  No gap between announcement and arrival. The songs land, and that night, he sings them a few feet from the racks.

Whitlam’s path into music is well documented because it changed everything. At sixteen, on his way to an acting audition, he intervened in a fight and was stabbed. Recovery shifted his focus. He started writing poetry. The poems became songs. What began as private processing grew into a body of work that draws directly from loss, healing and the uneasy stretch of your twenties when nothing feels settled.

Strangers (Again) pulls from the past fifteen years of his life. That scope could feel heavy, but the writing stays plainspoken. He doesn’t hide behind metaphor when a straight line will do.

The new single, “Hear You Speak”, featuring Tamzene, shows that restraint. A soft breakbeat ticks underneath spare piano chords. There’s room in the mix; his voice sits close, almost dry, like he’s speaking across a table rather than into a mic. Tamzene answers him in gentle counterpoint, her tone steady, never overpowering. The song hinges on listening — what it means to stay with someone’s words instead of waiting for your turn to speak.

The video keeps things simple: the two of them walking through central London, talking and laughing. No storyline, no set pieces. Just time shared.

Whitlam has already tested these songs in larger rooms. His recent headline run included a London date at the Roundhouse, where Raphaella joined him on stage. Paris, Berlin, New York and Dublin sold out. Those shows proved he can hold a crowd at scale.

Rough Trade East asks for something else. The floor is tight. The crowd stands shoulder to shoulder between the vinyl bins. You hear the scrape of a shoe, the shift in breath before a chorus. If a lyric lands, you feel the silence after it.

The album runs fourteen tracks and includes appearances from Raphaella, Tamzene, SAPPHIRE and Jordan Mackampa. The production leans into soul and electronic textures without crowding the writing. Whitlam remains at the centre, steady and direct.

For a debut that looks back over fifteen years, the launch feels grounded. One record shop. One night. Songs played in the open, a few feet from the listener.