Dan Carey

When Dan Carey was eight he took apart two tape recorders and rebuilt them as a primitive multi-track studio. At 10 he was into a band with his best mate at school and recorded four albums of punk reggae before the age of 15, flogging tapes for a quid in the playground.

Going to University on Manchester in 1988, you might have expected the familiar outside interests of raving at the Hacienda and slavish adherence to the Roses or Mondays. Dan got into clubbing: but ever contrary took 1988 as the perfect time to get into hip hop. "I used to go to a tiny club called Man Alive, while everyone one else was going to the Hacienda! It's weird that people look at '88 as such a great time for house, 'cos it was equally brilliant for hip hop, with all those great Mark The 45 King Records," he enthuses.

Dan left Manchester in 1991, and played guitar for funk band Pushmepullyou and South London dub reggae producer Nick Manessah. "It was Nick that first made me realise the studio was the most exciting place to make music, rather than the stage," Dan enthuses: "the way he played the mixing desk like it was an instrument in its own right."

He produced the beats for hip hop group Unsung Heroes first releases, delivered chill out room favourites on the Sunday Best label and made dancefloor winners for Dust II Dust.

He then became (and still is) one half of leading breakbeat terrorists Danmass with breakbeat DJ Massimo. Their debut album 'Freak Forms' came out in April 1999 to universal critical acclaim, with the NME declaring it 'was more essential than bog roll at Glastonbury'.
Danmass continued to release a spate of 12" singles and mix albums; to play clubs such as Big Beat Boutique, NY Sushi, Fabric, Sonic Mook and Blow Pop; to remix for artists such as Afrika Bambaataa, 187 Lockdown, Dub Pistols.

However, 2001 saw Dan sign to Virgin Records as Mr. Dan and release his debut album 'How Things Work'. It displayed both a manifesto and masterwork, a 'How To' for producers and songwriters tired of the narrow constraints of both rock and dance. A mix of lullabies and calls to arms, of broken beats and broken dreams, the no-man's land between imagination and initiative. It was the debut album all mad scientists had been waiting for.

The following year was an extremely busy one for Dan. Danmass' classic 'Happy Here' (featuring vocalist Harriet Scott), had huge exposure when it was chosen for Sony Ericsson's advertising campaign to launch their latest mobile phone. This was quickly followed by Skint records snapping up and releasing the single 'Haze', which went to rock crowds around the world and finally ended up on Fat Boy Slim's 'Big Beach Boutique II'

Mr. Carey then decided to create The Rules, and subsequently released 'In The Bag'; a 10 track album of dynamic techno and electronica made by following these rules. Every Sound Must Be Electronically Generated - Four Separate Sources Of Sound Must Be Used In Each Track - Each Track Must Be Between 100 And 120 Bpm - Every Track Must Be Completed Within 24 Hours - Tracks Can Only Be Played Outside The Studio When Complete.

Aside of his many guises, Dan has also found time to write & produce music for film & TV, including Tales From A Hard City (dir Kim Flitcroft), Building Sights USA (BBC2) and the feature film Entropy starring Stephen Dorff (dir Phil Joanou)

Always a busy man you can keep up to date with what Dan is doing next by checking out our NEWS page or www.danmass.com