Danny Howard

Radio 1’s perfect start to your Saturday night out

Welcome to DMCWORLD towers young man. Congratulations on this past year, you must wake up every morning thinking ‘shit I hope that all this hasn’t been a dream’?

“Thanks DMCWORLD…and yes it is (as cliché as it sounds) a dream come true and something that whilst working as hard as I can to make the most of this amazing opportunity, I will never forget. I’m a very lucky boy!”

We have your brother to thank you for the area of EDM you love, you decided a much more refined tone of house music was up your street rather than his taste of hard house coming through your bedroom walls…

“Haha… well yeah, I guess it does come down to him! He had a pair of belt drive box decks with an old skool telephone handset for headphones! Was comical but that’s where it started…that was the first set of decks I ever saw!”

When you decided to have a go at becoming a musician, was the goal to become a DJ a producer – or both?

“My dream was to be a DJ and play in all the big venues but as I got more and more into the music and industry, it made sense to start producing as well and there’s no better satisfaction than dropping your own record in a club… so I guess I surpass my original goal by doing both”

What were the early clubs that you learnt your disco ropes at, did you catch the club buzz immediately? 

Aside from DJing for friends at their birthday parties and I think I even did a wedding once!! My first club was my uni student union and yes…I caught the buzz instantly! Playing my favourite tunes and seeing all my mates going crazy on the dance floor was amazing and something I wanted to do every week…and I did, after getting them to all go up to the manager at the end of the first gig to say how good the music was… a classic blag, but you have to get your foot in the door some way!”

Who have been your DJ heroes over the years?

All the big guns really, from watching Tiesto videos in my bedroom after school when I was younger to eventually seeing the likes of Erick Morillo (my actual god!) tear Pacha apart in Ibiza was where I discovered what electronic music is really about! Also…more recently 2manyDJs are amazing…I love how they create the ultimate party vibe playing across the board… genius!”

So tell us the story. You enter the Radio 1 Superstar DJ comp and win, jet off to Ibiza and have the time of your life – how did the whole becoming a household name on Radio 1 with your own show six months later happen? What’s the story?

The story AFTER the competition is that one of the producers at R1 who looked after me in Ibiza thought it would be a good idea to get me to record a demo as soon as we got back! So we did and it got me a one off ‘Ibiza Rewind’ show over Christmas and it went really well! Following that and also a few other projects that R1 involved me in, I was then invited down to do a series of pilots over a week’s period and literally the following Monday (after a heavy weekend)…I got the call!! Everyone at R1 has been so supportive since winning the competition and I always kept in touch with everyone… that was the most important thing!”

You host the Dance Anthems show every Saturday, following in the very large footsteps of Dave Pearce. We interviewed him last week and he wished you well. For people who haven’t tuned in yet, tell us about the format of the new show…

That’s nice of him and all the best to him for his new show as well! Dave Pearce is a legend in his own right and could educate anyone in the industry as to what ‘dance’ music is all about, but this is a brand new show, I’m a brand new presenter and this is brand new ‘Dance Anthems’. The new concept for the show is to play all the biggest ‘club’ tracks on the planet! It is set out to appeal for a wider audience than some of the specialist dance shows on Radio 1 with the fact we play both ends of the scale from ‘Pop’ to ‘Upfront & New’…it really is all about feel good tracks to get you ready for a big Saturday night out and the best bit for me is for the final hour, I hit the decks and mix up my favourite tracks that are destroying dance floors all over the world!”

Tell us your all-time dance anthems top 10

“Mainly House but a couple of trance tunes that remind me of my first clubbing days…”

10: Art of Trance – Madagascar (Richard Durand Remix)

9: Tomcraft – Loneliness

8: Super8 & Tab – Needs To Feel (Wippenberg Remix)

7: Azzido Da Bass – Dooms Night

6: Royksopp – 49percent (Steve Angello & Sebastien Ingrosso Remix)

5. Armand Van Helden – You Don’t Know Me

4: Bodyrox – Yeah Yeah

3: Candi Staton – You Got The Love

2: Daft Punk – One More Time

1: Axwell – I Found U.

And there’s soooo many more I could name but we’d be here all day!

Your new single ‘Twenty-Nine’ has been snapped up by Spinnin Records – talk us through the tune…

This was my first official release and to be released by the likes of ‘Spinnin Records’ was just an amazing start! The track itself is a big room, hands in the air progressive monster and when the drop comes… it sends any crowds energy through the roof! Even if you’re the most static person in the room, you won’t be able to help yourself from giving it the 1 finger – toe tap combo of approval! It’s also named after my dad’s police collar number and he’s no longer with us (R.I.P) so when I finished the track on his birthday… it just seemed fitting.”

What are the plans for the next release?

I’ve got some big projects in the pipeline and I’ve just done a re-work of Tiesto classic – ‘Adagio For Strings’ and when the man himself played it on his radio show, I was completely blown away with getting such support! It’s due out for release in the coming months on Black Hole Records.”

Your diary must be looking like a winning lottery ticket for the rest of the year. Where have you been DJing these past few months that have blown you away?

The gig that stands out the most for me so far is supporting Fatboy Slim on his UK tour last December. It was also in my hometown which made it amazing for me to have all my friends and family there. Apart from that it’s hard to pick out individual gigs as I love them all…I’m really enjoying playing in different towns in different venues that really tests you as a DJ… a challenge I relish!”

What are the big dates for the Spring and Summer that are getting you excited?

The big dates for me that are really getting the juices going are the international dates. Ibiza fortnightly for Judgement Sundays, BCM in Majorca and Papaya Beach in Croatia are all going to be huge for me!”

What is the current top 10 you are spinning?

“Sooooo many amazing tunes but here goes:

10: Sander Van Doorn – Nothing Inside

9: Tiesto & Wolfgang Gartner Ft Luciana – We Own The Night

8: Cedric Gervais – Molly

7: Chuckie – Together

6: TJR – Funky Vodka

5: R3hab – The Bottle Song (Dyro Remix)

4: Pryda – SW4

3: Ferry Corsten Ft Ben Hague – Ain’t no stoppin

2: Avicii – Last Dance

1: Danny Howard – Twenty Nine

Who at Radio 1 have been really kind, who has given you some great advice?

Without trying to be too vague…everyone! They genuinely have all been so supportive and helpful but if I had to pick some out I’d say Vernon Kay and Trevor Nelson gave me some handy inside pointers before the first show went live!”

Were you starstruck at meeting any of them?

One person! And that was Fearne Cotton but I’m guessing it’s because of Celebrity Juice!”

What has been the biggest thrill since winning the comp?

The biggest thrill is the story behind it all and representing every DJ out there with a dream! The morale here is to take EVERY opportunity and work as hard as you can to achieve your goals!”

Where were your family and friends listening to the Chris Moyles show when it was announced you had won?

Many of my friends were still in bed and to this day still complain about getting them up and making them spend all their hard earned 10ps on texts! Haha…no they’re all really happy for me and if I’m really honest…I think everyone was in their cars on the way to work when it was announced and thankfully, there were no accidents!”

And finally, why do you think you won?

“I think I won the competition because I wanted it the most! I just put absolutely all my energy into every task and that was all I could do! I guess the years of DJing in the clubs prior to the comp obviously was key to being able to deliver the skills but yeah…I just went all out and hoped for the best!”

http://www.djdannyhoward.com