Danny JD is a 19 year old producer based in Nottingham. I had the pleasure of meeting Danny last year when Bonobo played at Rock City and ever since I’ve admired not only his skill as a producer, but his talents for networking. We chatted this week about musical awakenings, getting tracks signed and this years Hockley Hustle.
You started making music at a young age. How did you start producing and who inspired you?
My Dad was one of the first Ableton tutors in Europe, so there was always music around me. I’ve had prolific musicians and creatives around me my whole life, so its difficult to say when I actually started. I went on a journey to find an instrument that resonated with me. I can’t sing but I gave that a go first, then I went through piano, guitar and drums. I tried beatboxing with an RC-505 Loop Station. Every Sunday, me and my Dad would explore a different sub-genre. He’d show me the tracks he thought were most important from each genre and we’d bookmark our favourites. It wasn’t until I found The Prodigy and realised Liam Howlett used Ableton that I started to explore that a bit more. I have this discussion with my Dad every weekend. I say I was 15 when I started properly using Ableton, he thinks I was younger.
You’ve got a few years of experience now since you released your first track. How have you seen your music change?
Between 15 and 17 I was very much into Deep House but I’ve always had a really eclectic music taste. Around 17 I started working on a lot of Two-Step Garage before eventually going into more Jazz, Soul and Funk. Now I have a mix of all these genres in my music. I’m currently working on a Garage track that’s got loads of mad synthesis and basslines but with me playing an MPC Sitar sample over it.
Networking has always been a great skill of yours, I think its a big part of why you’re so involved in the Nottingham music scene. What would be your advise to somebody wanting to do the same?
There’s quite a few things I think. First, I went through my Dads Facebook friends and added his musical contacts. It was around this time I released one of my first house tracks and I posted it. One of them got in touch with me and asked if they could share it to their friend in Ibiza. It turned out this friend was one of the old managers of Metalheadz and we arranged for there to be this big planned release that never really happened. From then I started to go through all of their Facebooks and add their musical contacts as well. I’d get in touch with music producers and label owners and start messaging them asking for advice and having general conversations with them. This opened up a few doors with people.
Another thing I’d say is if you’re approaching people within the industry and you’re being false or exaggerating your abilities then its very quickly noticed. It’s best to be as honest as possible. Whenever I see an artist I know walking through town I always say hello to them and whoever they’re with. You never know who one of their friends could be. The same goes at gigs, especially grassroots ones, there’s lots of contacts to be made. I also enjoy just having genuine general conversation with like-minded people.
You’ve clearly adopted a lot of different styles into your music. Who would you say is your is your biggest musical influence?
It’s always a struggle for me to think about this. Because I have such an eclectic taste I never know who to say. I find as I go through different phases I have a different answer. Obviously when we first met at the Bonobo gig I was really enjoying his music. Then I’ve already mentioned prodigy. They were a big influence. But then there’s also acts like Erykah Badu or even smaller producers like Matt Mclarrie. Matt has one of my favourite tracks “Groove is in the Air” which is quite a diverse, deep house style track. He’s been in touch with me recently about a collaboration which will be really interesting. There’s going to be a soulful house track in there which I’m really excited about and I’ve tried writing some Afro house.
You’ve managed to get multiple tracks signed, something that people often struggle with. What would be your advice to anyone hoping to do the same?
A lot of the oldies in the scene are on Facebook and nearly all of my releases have come from me sending people my music on there. You can also find peoples emails. The Unsigned Guide is great for that and worth checking out. Labelsbase.net is a great site for finding record labels. A friend of mine got signed after getting in touch with a label he found on there. I think it also opened a door to Armada Music for him.
You use Ableton when you’re producing and are an advocate of the software. What is is about the DAW you find best to work with?
I suppose its just what I know best. If you’re brought up speaking a certain language that’s what’s going to be easier for you. That’s kind of what Ableton is to me. It just feels natural. I used to cheesily say I could express myself better through Ableton than through English. I find it easy to get the ideas from my brain into an Ableton project because the workflow is so good. It’s also fantastic for using as a controller for live performances whereas most DAWs struggle with that.
You’re yet to release any music this year. Is there something coming soon that we can be looking our for?
Yeah there is. There’s so many tracks ongoing. I did the Phlexx and Mimm collective where I got some funding to work on some music with an amazing instrumentalist called Pete Beardsworth. We went to the elements and booked it out for the night. He was on the flute and a Moog synth and I was just encouraging him to go crazy. We ended up with this Jazz, trip-hop track. I wanted to create something that I knew AI couldn’t make. I think its quite a strong track for creativity but we’ll see what I do with that. I’ve also been working on a garage track that I started working on when I was 16. Its using lots of guitar one-shots, I was really proud of it because it sounded like someone live finger-picking a guitar. I’ve got JayaHadADream MCing on that which will be coming soon. I’ve got the house track with Matt Mclarrie that I mentioned earlier. Some other stuff. We’ll see.
I know you’re quite involved with Hockley Hustle. What do you do for it and how did you get involved?
I volunteered last year as part of their promoter mentorship. I was split between two venues and I worked my bloody arse off. Following this they asked me if I would be in a paid role this year as one of the main crew members. When they asked me I really didn’t expect to be in such a vital role. I figured I would just be one of many, but they ended up making me Venue Liaison. We’ve gone up from the 30 venues we had last year to having 42 this year so it was part of my responsibility to be checking in with these venues and making sure everything was okay. I also had to match the right promoters to the correct venues. Part of this required me to find a church like venue to house an 82 piece orchestra. This is going to be in Pitcher and Piano and will be for the Vicky McClure dementia choir. They’ll be on the top floor, 360 degrees around the venue, so the audience will be fully immersed.
I’m sure a lot of people reading will be attending Hockley Hustle. What should people check out throughout the day?
There’s a huge block party in Sneinton Avenues. The recording studio Can’t Stop Won’t Stop have teamed up with V Rocket Soundsystem. There’s a rapper called Large Professor who’s being flown in from America. There’s Basslayerz. It’s just going to be a massive party. Then there’s string quartets at broadway accompanied by loads of different singers. They’ll be so much to check out.
Are there any other projects you’re currently working on that you can tell us about?
I’ve got some things popping off soon with New Art Exchange where I’ll be trying to do art packages for young carers. Its going to be a day festival where you come and reuse recycled material to make stuff like Poi or something else that’s useable in an artistic way. In return you have to make an arts package to send to a carer with some words of encouragement in. That’s going to be happening from November to January. I’ve also put an idea in for Nottingham poetry festival where I’ll be working with young carers to get a published anthology of 50 poems that will be launched at the next Nottingham poetry festival.
The Nottingham music scene is incredibly talented. Is there anybody in Notts you’d like to work with in the future that you haven’t already?
There’s lots of singers I’ve got on my radar. I often watch Acoustic Rooms, the open mic at Rescue Rooms. I really like DavinaSongbird. She blows me away, her poetry is so powerful. Then there’s Phe B. I’m surprised she hasn’t worked with more producers yet. She performed at The Old Bus Depot last year for Acoustickle and all the producers in the room went mad over it. She’s going to be working with Blackadder soon so keep an eye out for that. Molly Hindley, she’s just released her new EP ‘Burning Bridges’. There’s a lot of people who would be great to work with.
You’re building a name for yourself within Nottingham. What’s the dream? Where do you want to be?
I actually had this question about a year ago and I had to write down my ambitions. I wrote stuff like I wanted to do community projects and live performances as well as working with other musicians and recording various world instruments. It’s interesting because what I wrote down a year ago I feel like I’m doing now, especially working with new and exciting technology within music accessibility. I think I just want to use music as a release. I never meant for music to be a job. It just sort of happened. I definitely want to play with more live musicians but the goal for me isn’t to be big in music. I’m content just meeting the beautiful souls I get to meet and constantly being inspired by all the creative people around me.