He's been in the game for two decades (and counting...) and his name can easily be positioned among the world's top dogs in house music. Danny Howells: DJ, producer, label owner but most of all an entertainer pur sang who still single-handedly raises the roof of clubs across the globe. His Dig Deeper imprint has been releasing some of Howells'finest work till date, and next month sees the release of a genuine Dig Deeper Phase One compilation with tunes from a wide range of artists on which Howells redefines his musical vision. We went for a chat to talk Phase One, Dig Deeper, his current view on all things electronic, and his future plans...
Hello Danny, thanks for taking the time to talk to us. How is life treating you lately? Really good thanks. Just had a lovely South American tour, and been home a little bit and now relaxing in Miami - the calm before the storm!
Let’s start with your upcoming Dig Deeper Phase On compilation. What’s been the main idea behind the compilation? How do you feel it differs from other compilations? The label's been going for a couple of years now, but was initially set up just to release the plethora of tunes I'd made during a rather productive period! More recently I'd been reaching out to other producers and a lot of them were very forthcoming with sending me tracks which they felt would suit the label. I didn't really know at first whether these would just be single releases, but after a short while it was clear that there were so many gems there, and adding to that some of the remixes that were being done, it just felt that the natural thing to do would be to focus on making these into a compilation.
As far as how it differs, well, it's certainly quite eclectic. Whilst I'm unsure that everybody will love everything that's there, I do feel that there's absolutely something for everybody, whether you're into the deeper end of the spectrum or the drum and bass end!
You released quite a few compilations, if you had to make a top 3, which ones would you include and why? Well, excluding this one (as it's my latest therefore obviously is my number one!) I have to say:
24/7 Day Disc. It's just something that wasn't planned and just really came together so naturally, and I just feel it has a mood and a flow which really takes me back to a state of mind in was in when it was recorded. It wasn't a bad state of mind at all, in fact the opposite, and it's something I can still listen to now without thinking of things I should have done differently!
Choice on Azuli. It's hard to exclude this as these tracks were my inspiration, and I'm really proud of the way disc two flows, even though it's obviously a very personal and possibly self-indulgent selection!
Finally, my 2002 Essential Mix. Not officially a CD, but if I could have released this as a CD I would have done. There's not many genres of music that I'm passionate about that I wasn't able to include in this mix somehow, and at the end of it, even though were a few small things I wish I'd done differently, it still stands as something I'm very proud of.
How did you go about the track selection for this compilation? Obviously I had my backlog of productions to dip into, but really, once we'd started signing the new music to the label and getting remixes done, the whole thing just kind of fell into place really! The 18 track mix touches on all the genres of music that the label has represented so far, and for the DJs, there's over 40 individual tracks to pick from.
Can you tell us what equipment you used to record and mix Phase One? Is it similar to what you use live? Well, for my live sets, I made the switch from vinyl and CD to SD-cards via the Pioneer CDJ 2000s over the last year. Most of the running order of the actual mix was done on the Pioneers, but when it comes to actually recording the mix, this was done with Pro-Tools.
You’ve chosen to release two different versions, a physical mix album as well as a more extensive digital release. Why did you choose to make the two different versions and didn’t you go for a two disc compilation/digital release? These days everybody just releases digitally. I wanted some kind of physical product at the end, even though it means a lot more effort and money. People aren't that fussed about having something to hold onto, but for the luddites like me it's quite important! I could have done a two disc mix but really felt that in terms of putting the best mix possible together, the one disc mix was the best option, rather than trying to spread it out just for the sake of spreading it out.
You’ve got a pretty impressive launch venue for this compilation. How did you get the Liverpool Cathedral to drop this release in? Well, you'd need to speak to the promoters, Freeze about that! I have no clue how they pulled that off but it's so impressive - the cathedral is absolutely stunning!
What is going on around it, with SAE classes and stuff like that? Are you going to do some workshops yourself? I'm hoping so - it's such a great opportunity but the only thing that might hold me back is my schedule for that weekend - it's pretty tight. I did actually do a workshop in a local school a few years back, and talk about stage-fright! I was literally shaking, before AND after the gig!
The Dig Deeper imprint comes from the events you organized under the same name. Can you tell us something about that? Why did you start your own series of events? I think I was touring my Global Underground Miami CD, and it was relentless. Short sets every night, warm-up DJs playing tunes that I'd even included on the CD etc. I was playing marathon sets on a regular basis in New York around then, and wanted a way of taking that all-night long thing to other clubs and countries.
Really, it works better in the more intimate venues, and I don't do it too often as my body gets battered, but it just gives me the chance to really delve into the music that I can't always play in a 2 hour set - especially the deeper, slower stuff that I love so much.
Dig Deeper Phase One is the first time you are working with other artists on your label. Will you be releasing EPs by others via Dig Deeper the coming months? And if so, could you name drop a few? There'll be a series of vinyl samplers from the album, to keep the old fuddies like me happy! Vadim Yershov's Cottage Industry will get a standalone release. There's been a huge buzz on Dave Angel's mix, which is astounding, but I also want people to realize what an utterly timeless and genius slice of melodic techno the original mix is too. I hope people pick up on this track - I can imagine myself still playing this in ten years time. There will be an album from Art Bleek later down the line, which is stunning. The tracks on Phase One are a little taster of what's to come.
You’ve been in the business for over 20 years now. How do you look back on this all? With a lot gratitude and disbelief I suppose! I'm very realistic and know only too well how people have their "moment", and I know I had my moment back in the early 00's, so to still be around, playing at clubs I love and to still be involved in music is pretty amazing.
How would you describe your own music at the moment and in which direction do you feel it’s moving? It shifts all the time - it's always hard to predict. I just always follow my ears and my heart, even if it means I'm frequently out of fashion or out of step with the rest of the world. If I hear a bit of an old set, from 5 or 10 years ago perhaps, I'm quite shocked at how fast I used to play, but I put that down to being younger then as well as the fact that a lot of the music WAS a lot faster in those days. My first ever track was 136bpm I think .. I rarely produce anything over 124 these days!
What are you up to in the studio yourself at this moment, any chance on an artist album anytime soon? I'm hoping I'll get my focus back onto that at some point, but it's not something I will ever force, as I've never found I really do anything worthwhile in that manner. I'm sure one day soon I'll find myself back on Logic 24/7 and before I know it I'll have the foundations for something that I'll hopefully be confident enough in to let the world hear!
When you are producing music, what software and equipment do you like to use? I do all my production in Logic - I don't use any hardware except for when it comes to the final mix down, which I do usually with a guy called Greg who lives nearby. I don't trust my ears enough to master a track myself so I will do the writing and arranging etc, and let Greg's ears make sure my kick and bass etc are going to stand up in a club environment. I occasionally trust my ears, like on Everything's Here, Right Off etc, but for things like Laid Out I'm really not good at analyzing frequencies and getting all the elements in their right place. Off the top of my head, the synths I love include Arturia's Jupiter and CS-80, G-Force Oddity, M-Tron and String Machine are favourites. I love Sylenth, most of the Native Instruments and Rob Papen synths. I do think I need a clear out as I probably have TOO many synths to choose from right now. I've always loved sampling as well - not really things like Stylus or Apple loops, but sampling old records at the wrong speed, etc.
Let’s start with your upcoming Dig Deeper Phase On compilation. What’s been the main idea behind the compilation? How do you feel it differs from other compilations?
How would you describe your own music at the moment and in which direction do you feel it’s moving?
