Danny Howells needs no introduction. With his choice of records, his mastery of the decks and his on-stage presence, he remains a firm fixture for the quality house music audience.

His critically acclaimed Nocturnal Frequencies series, three Global Underground releases including his Nu Breed album, the first edition of the 24:7 concept and his most recent Miami compilation, alongside his productions as Science Dept, together with studio partner Dick Trevor, have given Danny a niche of his own.

Hailing from Hastings, UK, Danny has been surround by music since his birth in 1970. At the age of 19, he started throwing his own parties bearing the name Totally Funked. This led to a residency in local Hastings club, until Mr. Howells was asked to play with the likes of Pete Tong and John Digweed at a Bedrock night, after a successfully posted mix tape. Very recently new mixes of his Breathe track appeared, alongside the news that he'd been asked to mix a Choice album of his favorite classics.

Time for 365Mag to give one of dance music's true characters a call as he sat in his car in the aftermath of a hectic recent tour. Read on for the full lowdown on whats on the horizon for the ever-smiling Danny, nightmare airports, hearing damage and giant Spongebob outfits.



You are back in the UK after touring South America. Can you tell us a bit about the time you had there and what the scene is like?

I did the annual Halloween (Howelleen!) bash in Miami, it went really well. I played in the Dominican Republic, which was amazing, and then did Central and South America, Peru, Chile and Argentina. I'm just relaxing now in the UK, just had a weekend off. I did three Creamfields events, Santiago one in Peru and the big one in Buenos Aires, amazing!

For New Years Eve you are off to Canada, to play Toronto with Sharam from Deep Dish and then Montreal for a late one?


I'm really looking forward to both of these nights, I love Toronto but Montreal will be amazing, I start at about 10am, which is my favorite time of night, you can go really crazy. I particularly love it when the crowd starts thinning out around midday and you can go on till 2pm.

You are one of the most travelled DJs this year, touring extensively to promote the Global Underground Miami CD in particular. How has being on the road constantly been for you?


Well, as far as flying to gigs is concerned, post 9/11 America is always tough; everybody is treated like a criminal at customs. Check-in staff and security are like 'Get you shoes off, get your belt off', treating everyone really badly. On one occasion I had a member of United staff shouting at me. I know there is pressure on the airlines now, but the attitude is horrible. The US is not the worst of it, however, I was strip-searched in New Zealand once and put in a cell for the night in Tel Aviv for not having the correct work visa. Thankfully it goes smoothly most of the time. At some X-ray machines people are surprised that I am carrying vinyl, everyone says 'Oh I have some of those of at home', and I'm like 'Yes they do still make them mate!' It's cool when you can have a chat about the Stones or the Beatles with security!

Is it true you once played The End in London and went straight to LA for a gig the very next day?

Yeah, I did all night at The End, left at 6am, had two hours in the hotel and went straight to Heathrow airport. I always try to crash out on the plane, but it is hard to sleep. The summer is difficult, when you are playing all over Europe, for example going from Macedonia to Greece or Turkey can result in three hours wait, even longer for short flights with bad connections. In that respect America is easier because it's always just one flight and sometimes you land and go straight to the club, not even having time for a wash! You spend all day travelling and then you land and it's straight to the venue. It can go either way when you get their though, sometimes you are so exhausted and you haven't eaten all day but you play a wicked set. And there are other times when you have slept, eaten and had a lovely shower and you turn up really refreshed and then it goes badly! You can never really tell what's going to happen really...

Do you ever get sick of the lifestyle; travelling, being awake all night, delays?


Well it's a necessary evil, I do get sick of going through metal detectors and huge queues, but when you weigh it all up it's a pretty small sacrifice for a great job. I'm in my element behind the decks and it's my happiest moment. The only other option is to stay in one country and just play there but then I'd be missing out on so much elsewhere.

A lot of people would be disappointed if you only played in one place Danny.

Well I hope so (laughs) but I do get inspiration from going to all these places, it keeps me on my toes, makes me improve as a DJ. Sometimes I go to a country with no record shops, where people can only purchase legal downloads and they don't have the access to record shops I have in LA or UK and the privileges that I get, but they still blow you away as DJs, so you have to improve all the time.

I read recently that you said that UK clubbing has been back this year. Can you explain a little more about your views on this?


I have done more gigs in the UK this year than in the last five years, I've had a wicked time playing Basics in Leeds, Colours in Glasgow, The End in London, Sankeys Soap in Manchester; musically it's been great, no pressure to play big hits, Paul Woolford at Basics is a great resident. I think that personally it's been a great year for UK clubs, there are still problems about how the music is being distributed and record sales and all that, but the crowds and the clubs in the UK have been wonderful.

You are one of the DJs who dares to make an effort with your appearance. Have you bought any more of your infamous shirts recently?


Amsterdam is a good place for cool 70s and vintage stuff, I like shopping there, I was there recently because my girlfriend is Dutch. Japan is great for gadgets and stuff.

You are one of the DJs whose possesses a high level of technical ability. How much importance do you place on this aspect of performing?


It is important, but it's not everything. A lot of being able to mix well has to do with the sound system, sometimes you are battling against dodgy record decks, bad monitors and faulty mixers, it makes your job really hard. I do try and mix well, but I also like to have a bit of a dance and interact with people. When people come and see me they know they might hear the odd dodgy mix, but their are some nights when you're not thinking about it and it goes so smoothly, and other nights records skip when you are mid mix! The music is what matters though, and having a good time of course. Sometimes you are literally in the mix and someone is trying to talk to you and someone else is offering you a shot of tequila. I'm not going to turn down the tequila for the sake of a smooth mix! (laughs)

You mentioned the importance of a good set-up in the clubs. The quality of monitors has gone up in recent years, limiting those dangerous high frequencies, but do you still worry about your hearing as you play out so regularly?


I don't like talking about it as I have been saying that I will get earplugs for about four years! I still haven't done it, sometimes I'll turn up to play and walk in the booth and be like, damn, the previous DJs got it cranked up loud! I try and keep it moderate. I did have my hearing checked a while back and there was a very tiny bit of damage. But as a kid I always had my headphones on, my first Walkman in the early 80s was always at full blast, with the loudest pair of headphones I could find. I've abused them all my life in a sense. To be honest a lot of clubs don't take care of their sound systems, people seem to let their sound systems go to pot. Some of the monitors I have played on have been horrific. Certain promoters take real pride in the their DJ boxes. Mike Bindra in New York, he used to do Twilo and Arc and now Spirit, there was one night when I was about to start a ten hour set and he noticed that there was dust on the mixer and had it cleaned. It's this attention to detail that important. It's also about the whole club, the layout and the sound, the whole package; I wish more people would make an effort. The best systems I have played on are Spirit in New York and Womb in Tokyo, they are both Steve Dash systems as well. The new sound system at Space in Miami is pretty hot too.

So what follows 'deepsexyfuturistictechfunkhouse', or is this a sound that you will always be known for?


I don't know if it's a sound but it's a word that is another word for eclectic; not everything I play is funky or sexy or futuristic or whatever. I like pretty much everything electronic you can chuck at me (except trance) and I make an effort to appreciate it. The only thing I don't really like is the Judge Jules sound (trance/hard house-365Mag Ed), but I guess it gets people into dance music. Nu-beat, jazzy house, experimental techno, tech house, progressive, whatever, I feel it.

With 2005 drawing to a close, what have been the highlights of the year?


Womb in Tokyo, Creamfields in Buenos Aires, Made in Bed in Miami; all incredible gigs. There has been a lot of highlights this year. The nights at The End have been brilliant too.

What does 2006 have in store for Danny Howells?


I'll be promoting the new Choice album, with a series of launch parties across the world for the first part of the year, as well as doing the Dig Deeper night. People initially thought I would be playing oldies and taking requests at Dig Deeper, but it's more about doing what we do in New York or Montreal, where we go in and musically take control of the whole night from open to close. We have hand-picked some clubs around the world, ones where I feel comfortable at, enjoy playing at, with good sound systems and a good connection with the crowd, so Dig Deeper will go to various cities over the course of the year. Hopefully more productions will come in the New Year, because that's the one things that's suffered this year..

Final question, what's this I heard about you buying a Spongebob outfit?

Oh God! Well I wanted to dress up for Halloween, as I never dress-up for that and everyone else does, but I saved up and got this really big, amazing Spongebob costume, but I wasn't able to take it to Miami because it was too big, so all I've done so far is walk around my town! Everyone was coming up saying, 'Can we get our picture taken with you?'. It was hilarious. We got kicked out of Virgin Megastore and caused a riot, got kicked out of a bookstore because some old lady said I tried to knock her over, but I couldn't see where I was walking so it was accidental!

Thanks for speaking to us at 365Mag Danny and all the very best for 2006!

Paul Sparkes (NL) (2005-11-29)


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Last edited by bobba lou on Nov-30-2005 at 18:56