Miami's own Danny Daze is a multifaceted artist with a career spanning releases on various labels. Ranging from Miami bounce to driving techno, Danny has continually reinvented himself while remaining the same at his core. With a career spanning releases on various labels, from Hot Creations to Ultramajic, and ranging from Miami bounce to driving techno, Danny has continually reinvented himself while remaining the same at his core. In an industry so fixated on labeling, categorizing, and packaging an artist's sound, Danny's had to create his own path, and in turn, has opened the door for other artists who refuse to be labeled.
I had a chance to catch up with Danny on the heels of his new weekly podcast launch titled Sunday Mornings -- reminiscent of our very own Sunday Night Chill column (which could use some expert mixing -- hint!). Over some fresh fruit and sunshine, Danny imparted some details related to his career's trajectory and offered up some wisdom to young and ambitious artists all over the world.
Although Danny's been on the scene since the late 90's, the broader public first began to learn about him in 2010-11 after some big releases on Hot Creations and Nervous Records. While at first, it seemed like his releases were all over the place, he explains that at this point in his career, "it's becoming a cohesive body of work that has a vibe all together." Danny owes the versatility of his music to his roots.
"Being raised in Miami, where it's such a multicultural world, I was influenced by salsa, opera, classical music, hip hop, electro. All these things are coming together into what I'm doing. I'm always sticking to dance music, but it's also more experimental."
Miami is a topic that continually comes up in talks with Danny; his connection to his roots is one of the few underlying constants as he continually expresses himself against a back drop of southern bass and bounce.
While Miami has a rich history of dance music and probably more parties and promoters per square capita, Danny is one of the rare locals who's been able to break out and make a name for himself internationally. When questioned, Danny explains that his "productions made [him] stand out." He adds, "I used to be a hip hop DJ, a scratch DJ, and people used to tell me I had to change my name because it was synonymous with scratch, but I just stuck with it and did things my way."
Opportunities have continually presented themselves to him, offering the ability to sky rocket into fame and success (Katy Perry, for starters), but he's remained true to the artistry and only collaborates when it makes sense. Danny's self aware, and admits that his career would be in a different place if he had made some choices differently, but he stands behind the "freedom to work with artists of his choosing."
For Danny, it's "about the longevity, it's not about blowing up, making a load of money, and then falling off, it's always been about being able to do this when I'm 60 years old." He explains further, "You get to a certain point where it doesn't matter if you're making $50,000, $100,000, or $5 million--as long as you're doing what you love, it's about being happy. As an artist, I'm just trying to be happy."
Among the things that bring him happiness are the collaborations and friendships he's been able to foster. Another constant theme with Danny is his trust in collaborators. He's always going back to the formulas that work, whether in music or friendships, releases on Omnidisc or his buddy Jimmy Edgar's Ultramagic -- loyalty is a constant. As you talk with Danny, you come to learn that his main priority is self-expression and bringing an awareness of his story to as many people as possible. Always trying to shock and change people's minds with what they think dance music is -- not too much to scare them, but just enough to keep people feeling alive.
Now that Danny's come into his own, he's preparing for a slew of releases this year. He just dropped a remix for Marc Houle's "Talk to me Baby" on Minus. He just dropped a four-track collaborative EP with relative newcomers like Drvg Cvltvre, 214, Deroboter and Phillip Gorbachev -- the highly anticipated debut Omnidisc release.
Danny's also got some releases with usual suspects Ellum Audio (Maceo Plex), Ultramagic (Jimmy Edgar) and a personal favorite: Kompakt.
Most importantly, Danny's also adding the finishing touches to his first ever full-length album -- a journey through trip hop, laidback electro, and experimental beats made to listen to in your car. In Danny's words, "this will explain why my dance records sound the way they do." In Danny's music and conversations, you get a sense that there's honesty and vulnerability wrapped in warped blanket of 808s and 303s. And for someone from the 305, that's the kind of warmth you want from your techno.
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