Dan Thompson is no stranger to dance floors in Europe. With a stream of hits being released on the likes of Armada and Coldharbur, he is reaching ears around the world. I had the chance to interview Dan and it was such a pleasure to learn more about a man who is as personable as he is talented.
Dan was born in the small town of Liss and grew up in Aldershot. It wasn’t until 2001 that he would move to Havant. Two years later, Dan’s life would change and the trance community would be all the better for him deciding to take the reigns of his destiny.
When asked if he liked DJing or producing more, he asserted he loved both as much as the other, and finds time in the studio is as rewarding as smashing it in front of a crowd for the first time. There are artists who are better at one than the other, but Dan’s consistently solid productions and DJ performances makes him a force to be reckoned with.
I noticed that you are married to a very lovely lady. It is nice to have the support of someone you can call a lifelong friend. How did you all meet and has she gone on tour with you before?
We met at a Boxing Day rave at Slinky in Bournemouth in 2010. She loves trance music and partying just as much as me and after the event I got in contact with her to get to know her better and found out she lived 5 minutes away. I eventually ask her on a date and we have been inseparable ever since. She comes to all of my gigs and has only missed one in all the time we have been together due to it being in the Czech Republic and her being pregnant. Pretty good going I’d say. As she says, she’s my number 1 fan 🙂
What places or events should an American like myself who has never been abroad check out?
Here in the UK my favourite Trance event is without doubt The Gallery at Ministry Of Sound, London. This is held nearly every Friday night and always has a great line up. The atmosphere is something else, but the best thing about it is the unbelievable sound system. It’s just been upgraded too, and is simply amazing!
Who were/are your music influences?
I have so many to be honest. I used to really like Orjan Nilsen’s stuff, but now I’m more into the darker sounds like Markus Schulz, Arkham Knights, MaRlo and Beat Service to name a few.
Where and how did you first get involved in the scene?
Well, it all started for me when I was 16 and used to spend my Friday nights partying at an event hosted by my friend. This was the year 1999 when I think trance was born. When I saw the crowd going crazy for the tunes and the DJ, I wanted a bit of the action!
I practised mixing for years at home before deciding to enter a DJ competition called Vinyl Meltdown in Portsmouth. I managed to finish third out of 36 DJs, losing out to someone who could scratch with their feet! After playing to this crowd and buzzing off the atmosphere, I realised that I wanted to do this seriously. After that I had a lot of gig offers come in which I happily took. After a few years on the scene I began to think that I was never going to progress and become a headlining DJ by carrying on doing what I was doing, and I realised that if I needed to start producing my own music if I was to make a bigger impact on the scene. I wanted to be one of the names on a lineup that would have some meaning. It was then I started learning production.
Fortunately my friend was already producing House music so I had a lot of help from him in showing me the ropes. After a good solid year of barely leaving my room and knuckling down I got grips with how to use Logic. I eventually produced a track that I was happy enough to send out to some labels and it was Digital Remedy that I signed my first track, “Bipolar,” to. In the first week of promo it received support from none other than the legend himself Armin Van Buuren on A State Of Trance 567. I honestly started to shake when I heard the news as I never dreamed something like this could ever happen to me! I was buzzing! Obviously this gave me the determination I needed; I wanted another play on ASOT.
I carried on making tracks but it wasn’t until early 2014 that I produced a track that I was really happy with and felt had the potential to do some damage. This song was “Altitude.” I sent it to the A&R department of Armada and within a couple of weeks I had an email from Ruben De Ronde asking if the track was still available for release. I emailed back straight away, once again shaking like a leaf saying yes, and his reply was that it was awesome and they would love to take it for the ASOT branch of Armada! I honestly couldn’t believe it! After that I went on to release “Outcast,” “Chronicle” and my top 10 hit “Propaganda” on the ASOT label in the same year.
Obviously there has been growth from the time you started producing to now. I mean, look at all the tracks you have released under big labels like Armada, Coldharbour, and Black Hole. Looking back to the first attempts at producing, what would you advise your younger self?
The only advice I could give to any beginner producers is to never give up and keep practising. Never give up on your dreams because it will happen eventually if you work hard enough.
Of all the tracks you released, “Skywalker” would probably be my favorite, followed by “Welcome to Earth” that you made with Craig Connelly. “Skywalker” makes me just want to hop in my car and go for a late night drive while “Welcome to Earth” just makes me want to sit back and hug myself. It’s so good! Are there any particular tracks you have made that hold a special meaning?
First of all glad you like “Skywalker” and “Welcome To Earth!” Most of my tunes hold a lot of meaning to me, but if I had to pick a couple that really stand out they would have to be “Propaganda,” because it is always the track that seems to connect me with the crowd the most when performing. As soon as it hits those big synths in the breakdown everyone goes crazy and it makes me feel very emotional. Secondly “Stealth,” which was the first track I signed with Coldharbour. I love the arrangement of that track and this always gets a great reaction from crowd too.
Do you have a ritual you go through before sitting down in the studio?
I expect most producers like to grab a coffee, but I usually like to have a beer. Ha ha.
What is your current studio setup? What piece of equipment would you like to own that you do not currently have?
I work in FL Studio with a MacBook Pro. I think it’s every producer’s dream to own The Virus so I’ll say that. It’s the best hardware Synth there is in my opinion.
How do you get past writer’s/producer’s block?
I just walk away from the studio for a bit and go listen to some podcasts etc for inspiration. It’s better to walk away and come back with a fresh head at another time than to try and force creativity.
What is the funniest or oddest thing that has happened to you or you have witnessed at an event?
I went to Ibiza with my wife in 2011 and we went to Cream at Amnesia on a night when Eddie Halliwell was playing. He got a bit cocky and threw his headphones across the decks, accidentally turning the sound off! It was very surreal to be in a club like that with no music playing. That gave me a good giggle and shows accidents can happen to the best of them!
What has been your favorite event or festival to play?
Three stand out for me more than others at the moment. Obviously ASOT 700 Utrecht. Playing on a stage like that with a huge production behind it was incredible, not to mention playing to the biggest crowd I had ever played to at the time. When they started to cheer and roar after I filtered out the last track of my set it was a very special moment! I played a gig in the Czech Republic for Trancesated in November last year and met a really great group of people who made me feel so welcome. The crowd was loving it! Last but not least I finally fulfilled a dream to play in the Box at The Gallery, Ministry of Sound in London in January this year. As I mentioned before, it is one of my favourite UK events and club so it has always been a dream of mine to play there.
Your set at ASOT 700 in Utrecht really stood out for me. You brought your own productions to the decks and then there was that fantastic rework of the classic Strange World by Push. What did you feel when you were told you would be playing at ASOT 700? How was the atmosphere there?
Honestly, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing when my manager phoned me and said, “You had better be sitting down for this…” When he said I was on the ASOT 700 lineup, I honestly couldn’t stop shaking, it was amazing! I phoned pretty much everyone I knew to tell them the news. As I said before the atmosphere was something else! Just a sea of clubbers going crazy to every track that I played.
What do you do with the free time you do have?
Most of my free time is spent in the studio! Other than that love to party with friends, watch films and eat good food!
What are you currently working on and what are your goals for 2016?
I’ve literally just finished a new original track so I’m looking forward to sending that out to labels and hopefully getting it signed. I also recently finished two reworks, Dennis Sheperd & Cold Blue featuring Ana Criado – Fallen Angel and Binary Finary – 1998, so keep your ears open for them in my sets if you haven’t heard them already. My goals for 2016 are to get more global gigs and become a good dad to my little boy due in April!
I was listening to electronic dance music without even knowing it when I was listening to Jock Jams in the 90s. Fast forward to my senior year in high school and I had discovered Fatboy Slim. I have been listening to edm ever since and love writing about new sounds, good sounds, and the music that makes us move.
