Danny Howard has been a household name for dance lovers for the past three years, starting his rocket to fame on the white isle where he won the BBC Radio 1 Superstar DJ competition and soon after secured himself a slot on Radio 1 with ‘Dance Anthems with Danny Howard’. At an admirable 26 years old, it’s fair to say that Danny’s done pretty well for himself. We caught up with the man himself ahead of his performance at Global Gathering this year to talk camels, Paris Hilton and his brand new record ‘Vargo’.
Your record with Futuristic Polar Bears came out last week. Talk us through the video – our theory is that it is loosely based on Harry Potter under the imperious curse. Can you confirm or deny?
Ha! I’m afraid that that’s a ‘deny’! The video is actually based on what I was like at primary school! I was always being naughty and being a trouble maker (and a wicked dancer, naturally) – and no, I didn’t go to Hogwarts before you ask!
Our dreams are shattered! It’s a pretty cool sounding word, but what does ‘Vargo’ mean?
Haha, it’s actually a typo. When we made the track I thought had a certain gypsy-esque sound to it so was Googling related words and came across ‘Vardo’ which is a traditional horse-drawn wagon. We liked the sound of it so originally named it ‘Vardo’, but when the track came back from mastering they’d got it wrong and the track was named ‘Vargo’ – we couldn’t remember which was the original word so we just went with Vargo!
This may be slightly off-topic but we have to ask – in an interview with Independent a few years back, you said you’d be curious to go back to back with Paris Hilton. Can you explain exactly what you meant by ‘curious’?!
Haha, did I really say that?! I was probably being facetious… 😉
Just checking! You’re playing the widely anticipated Hangar stage at Global Gathering this year, sharing a stage with David Guetta. That must feel like a pretty big deal! Have you got anything up your sleeve to share with us this year?
It is definitely a big deal! Global was my first ever festival so to be playing it is really special for me! As for my set, I’ll be testing out a few new productions and making sure that the place is rocking and full of energy alongside some of the best DJs and on what’s looking to be a monster stage and production set up!
Aside from your set, what are you most looking forward to at Global 2014?
Definitely Green Velvet – I saw him on my first trip to Ibiza 6 years ago when he was playing with Carl Cox and haven’t seen him since, he’s one of the coolest DJs I’ve ever seen!
So apart from Green Velvet, If you could spend one day in the studio with anyone who would it be?
It’d have to be Erick Morillo… He’s a bit of a hero of mine and I’d love to just sit and chat with him and hear the stories he has from his career about the highs and lows of his journey – I’m sure he’s got more than a few great stories to tell!
What advice do you think you would give to budding music producers that are keen to get into the music industry?
Don’t copy other people’s sound! I get loads of promos and it’s so frustrating to hear someone who obviously has talent but is just ripping off someone else’s sounds… Keep working at it and find your own niche – it’ll be easier to progress and develop your own sound if you found it yourself!
… And if your life hadn’t taken you down the music path, where do you think you’d be today?
I’d always planned to be a sports psychologist because that’s what I studied at university. My original plan was to be working with the athletes at the 2012 Olympics, but when 2012 finally arrived I was actually working at Radio 1! I don’t think anyone could have guessed that, least of all me!
And finally – a question from TNG’s editor – “Did you ever wonder how cool it would be to mount a set of decks on a camel’s hump, with a second camel carrying the sound system for a roving Middle Eastern disco?”
It’s funny that you should say that actually… When I was a resident at Ministry of Sound in Egypt, nobody took me seriously when I suggested a ‘hump party’. In all seriousness though, imagine a camel wearing ear defenders. Go on – imagine it.
Danny Howard will be playing The Hangar arena at GlobalGathering on Friday 25th July. Long Marston Airfield, Stratford Upon Avon.
Danny Howard & Futuristic Polar Bears’ single is available on Spinnin Records now. You can buy it here from Beatport.
If you want to check out what Danny’s doing, visit his Facebook or say hello on Twitter.
