Lexicon Issue 006 - Danny Byrd

The on-going resurgence of those funky, soulful grooves, coupled with the continual development of original vocals in drum & bass, has to be one of the most keenly discussed topics at the moment. One such instigator of just this culture is Danny Byrd, he is one such producer who is committed to pushing this side of the scene forward. ‘Manhattan’ on DJ Ron’s now defunct Picasso label marked Danny’s debut release and laid the path for a handful of releases in the mid nineties on Bristol’s Tribe imprint too.

But it was since bowling over Tony Coleman and Chris Goss, the chief sound surgeons at Hospital, that Danny’s career really began to take off. I caught up with the all-praising, ever-positive Danny Byrd for a brief chat about the scene and a little digging into his beginnings of making music.

“I have always been into drum and bass, right back from the hardcore stuff. I suppose it was the trading of mix tapes in the school yard, that introduced me to it. I’ve always had an interest in music though, when I was a lot younger I would always be checking Top Of The Pops or the radio, but my real passion came with breakbeat / jungle. I would always tape anything I could.

In Bristol there is a station called Galaxy FM and they used to have Roni Size and Krust on there every week, on a thursday. Man I tuned into that show religiously! In fact I still have every tape. That was really when I started to take things seriously by getting together a small studio set up. Although this was difficult because I was still at school and studio kit back then cost a fortune.”

“Ever since I heard those early hardcore tunes I wanted to have a go at making them myself. I loved the thought that you only needed minimal kit but with good idea’s you could make music that people would dance like crazy to. I thought it would be easy to do, but spent about four years trying to get it perfected (he he!). My parents managed to get me an Atari and a sampling package for my thirteenth birthday, from there on that was it.

I was always locked away cutting up beats, learning the skills, etcetera. When I left school, I went on to do a Music Technology Course at college. This was a wicked course, it taught me about writing and playing other sorts of music other than drum and bass. I was also learning about mic’ing up instruments & vocalists, stuff I wouldn’t of had the opportunity to do otherwise.”

“The Apple G4 running ‘Logic Audio’ and ‘Pro Tools LE’. That’s the basis of my set up, all my sequencing is handled by Logic. I use Pro tools for recording the vocals and the final mix down. I also have use of my ‘Akai MPC2000Xl’ for sequencing, sometimes if I’m doing a hip hop or R&B type of tune. I just love the groove the MPC gives you.

The MPC is the heart of the hip hop sound you hear so much these days. I use a ‘Akai S5000’ as my main sampler and various other bits and pieces. Then a lot of hard work is done on my digital desk - a ‘Yamaha 01V’. I feel analogue and digital both have their advantages so that’s why I intend to use both for many years to come.”

“Soulful drum and bass? Uplifting? Definitely vocal led. I’m not really into making instrumentals anymore, it’s the whole picture for me. I’m definitely more into collaborating with vocalists, it’s so exciting for me. It adds another angle on your music and character too. I love it, producing and recording vocals is one of the most satisfactory parts of making music.”

“The drum & bass scene is definitely healthier than ever. For instance I was on the bus the other day and a girl was sat in front of me with her walkman on and you could make out a nice busy drum & bass beat from her headphones. Stuff like that makes me realise this music is everywhere. I think Shy FX breaking into the charts was a beautiful thing. For a proper drum and bass tune to get into the charts at number eight like that was excellent. I loved that tune from the moment I heard it. I heard Peshay’s single even being played by Chris Moyles! So it’s all looking really positive.”

“There are loads and I know I am going to forget them all now! But I listen to a lot of hip hop and R&B. I really like the new Brandy album, Angie Stone, Nas, Dre, Music Soul Child, Tweet… there’s too many to mention. But there’s a lot of good production with some of the ones just named.”

“All the Hospital crew: London Elektricity, High Contrast and Landslide. Also Roni Size, Shy FX, Peshay, Carlito & Addiction, Marky, Patife & XRS.”

1. Michael Jackson – ‘Thriller’
2. Dr Dre ‘The Chronic’ & ‘2001’
3. Goldie – ‘Timeless’
4. Roni Size - ‘In the Mode’
5. D’Angelo – ‘Voodoo’

Danny’s current release is the remix of ‘Expanded’, original by Tungsten, on Sound In Motion. Following that you can catch his remix of High Contrast’s ‘Music Is Everything’ out on Hospital very soon.