Danny Howard: 'It's all about the biggest sounds in dance music'

Photo: Danny Howard

Fresh off the back of his biggest year yet, culminating in the release of best selling compilation Dance Anthems, Danny heads to Newcastle's premier rave space Digital for the latest edition of Eddie Halliwell's world beating 'Fire It Up' on Feb 28th. We grab five minutes with the country's taste maker of dance music and grill him about 2013, his hottest records at the moment, and what lies ahead.

First up, Happy New Year, hope you enjoyed the festive period, what’s your favorite thing about Christmas?

Happy New Year to you to! My favourite thing has to be spending time with the family. This last two years have been crazy for me with DJing and work commitments meaning I’m away from home a lot, especially now I live in London. So it was nice to go back to Blackpool and see everyone. 

You have just released your BBC Radio1 Dance Anthems album, what were the standout tracks of 2013 for you?

As far as the big anthems go I’d say Eat Sleep Rave Repeat was a huge track and you couldn’t escape it…My biggest festival tune of last summer for sure! Also, the MK remix of Storm Queen – Look Right Through (above). I was the first to play it on Radio 1 which made me quite proud and it went on to be a hit scoring a number 1 position in the UK chart. 2014 was a great year for dance music.

Another year coming up for you heading up the BBC Radio1 Dance Anthems show, what can we expect this year from you and the show?

It’s been a great start to the year with the album heading up the number 1 spot on the iTunes dance chart, which was an incredible feeling. Going forward it’s all about continuing to showcase the biggest sounds in dance music every week. The radio show is growing all the time and is reflective of the popularity of how much people are on board with electronic music. 

Personally, I’m ready to put out more of my own productions which I’m excited about, as well as doing more across the pond in the States. 

You're playing at the Fire It Up event at Digital in Newcastle on February, how do you find the crowd in the North East?

There goes the saying that the further North you go… the crazier the party! I think that theory is true to form, as last time I played in the ‘Toon' it got a bit sweaty! They really like to party and love dance music so I’m really excited about this night. 

You have played alongside Eddie Halliwell numerous times, how is he different to some of the other big name DJs you have played with?

Eddie has long been one of my heroes and someone who I regard as a huge influence on my early interest in DJing. The reason for that is his pure energy behind the decks, connection with the crowd and on the spot technical brilliance that really sets the vibe off at any club he plays. I’d struggle to name any other DJ that manages to achieve all three of those attributes at the same time. 

Finally, can you give us any hints to what we might hear in your set at Fire It Up?

I’m really looking forward to seeing the reaction of the crowd to my new track ‘Mug’. It’s collaboration between myself and my Dutch buddies Glowinthedark, it also features Holland based UK producer T3nbears. It’s got a really hooky melodic breakdown with a dangerous drop and is sure to cause havoc on the Geordie dance floor! It’s coming on Spinnin’ Records on 21st February.

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