Dan Szyller Brings Red Lights Into the Dark

I always end up reading the lyrics after the first listen. Call it curiosity, or professional deformation. Or maybe it’s because, as a songwriter myself, the lyrics usually point me towards the real direction of a song. Either way, Red Lights became far more interesting once I realised Dan Szyller‘s focus had always been the people behind the neon signs and city streets.

Red Lights is Dan Szyller‘s new original single, released on 26 June 2026. The first verse tells me exactly where we’re heading: “When I get this feeling / a state of emptiness,” then quickly throws us into the street with “an average joe hitting the bricks.” I couldn’t find a superhero cape in there. Just take it as it is. Don’t go looking for mythology. Just a man outside, perhaps lonely and confused, searching for an escape.

From Rock To Dark Dancefloor

Red Lights originally started as a rock track. Providence, however, had different ideas. Dan Szyller brought the draft to Yannick Horner‘s studio, where it became a darker, dance-driven synthpop production. What I enjoy doing, though, is a bit of reverse engineering. I like trying to hear the original rock skeleton still hiding beneath the synthpop production. Go on, give it a try. Just close your eyes.

Dan Szyller had to hold back vocally during recording, because the song needed a different restraint for this genre. This one needs control, otherwise too much fire over the mystery burns too quickly.

São Paulo, NYC, And The Look Back

Dan Szyller grew up in São Paulo, Brazil, and those memories clearly left some fingerprints. He mentions places like Augusta Avenue, plus his fascination with the hidden corners of city life. Cinema, poetry, documentaries and comic books all feed into Dan Szyller‘s imagination, while years spent between Brazil, Israel, the United States and France found their way into his songwriting too.

I also went back to the official video. That’s another habit of mine. Once I think I’ve understood a song, I watch the visuals again. The red lights, the clubs, the city… they simply confirm what the lyrics had already told me.

Dan Szyller Opens Another Door

Based in Metz, France, Dan Szyller keeps building an interesting catalogue. I went back and listened to a few of his earlier releases. I’m glad I did. His influences stretch from The Doors, Iron Maiden and Pink Floyd to Legião Urbana, while his upcoming album, The Great Escape, points toward a wider chapter ahead.

Do like me: follow Dan Szyller here, because – even the red lights usually mean stop – this time clearly means press play.

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