Dan Stein (DJ Fresh)

Congratulations to ex studio sound diploma student Dan Stein (aka DJ Fresh) who in July 2011 hit No.1 in the official UK singles charts with the track ‘Louder’.

This was massive news as its the first ever DnB/Dubstep song ever to get to number one! Check out the awesome video here.

Alchemea’s Mike Sinnott had the pleasure of speaking to Dan to find out more about his musical journey to the top and indeed how Alchemea helped him on his way:

MIKE: Why did you choose Alchemea?
DAN: When I was looking for a place to study, Alchemea seemed like the most intimate environment and from what I remember other options like SAE and the more obvious based London options weren’t open 24/7. I remember having so many periods of not sleeping. When people tell me they are getting old because they can’t get through one night without sleep I mention my days at Alchemea and tell them how it is really possible to really deprive yourself of sleep for a ridiculous amount of time.

MIKE: What would you say you learned at Alchemea that helped kick start your career?
DAN: Apart from the obvious stuff like getting your hands onto loads of amazing gear, I would say the main thing is that the working environment at Alchemea is similar to what you would find in the real world. As well as being interesting and challenging it was also intensive and relentless at times. I also got to meet some really interesting people including one of my idols, Drum & Bass MC “Stevie Hyper D ”, who happened to be recording at Alchemea at the time. So – I think that away from learning about the specifics of how a compressor or a digital mixing desk works it was invaluable to get a feel for the kind of people you end up surrounded by and working with.

MIKE: Do you think that having a basic grasp of the theory of sound was important.
DAN: Yes it is very important but it was the practical hands on work that gave me the confidence to work in a studio. Knowing my way around the SSL really helped when I started to collaborate on my first studio productions work. I have never been a big fan of written exams and getting bogged down in a classroom, so for me there is much more to be said from having lots of hands on experience in a real world environment. This was one of the greatest things about my time at Alchemea.

MIKE: What is your take on having the best gear?
DAN: My philosophy is that if you know what you are doing you can achieve decent results with pretty much any equipment, well maybe not really rubbish gear but for example different producers use different EQ’s that have subtle differences but as long as it is clean it should do a job for you. It’s not what you’ve got it’s what you do with it at the end of the day.

MIKE: Which DAW do you prefer to use.
DAN: I have used pretty much everything over the years, Pro Tools, Cubase even Sonar and DP4 and I’m kind of a geek when it comes to the latest thing coming out however the thing that I have stuck on and am really excited about right now is Ableton. A lot of people write it off because of the algorithms but the bottom line is it is quick and easy to make tracks and at the end of the day if you’re not making any music then who cares what sounds best.

MIKE: MAC OR PC?
DAN: Mac! – I have had some pretty bad experiences with PC’s. Nuff said!

MIKE: What do you think are the most important skills to be a successful producer.
DAN: That’s a difficult one. I think if you are talking about being a producer / artist the main thing is to be really tenacious, knocking on every door and not giving up. Artists or bands will appear and everyone knows they are really talented, but years and years go by but nothing really happens, then all of a sudden when you’re least expecting it they come up with a massive track and everything kicks off. When I ran the label in the early days we brought Pendulum over from Australia and were involved in Chase & Status early stuff so I have seen some now big acts be rewarded for sticking at it. You need to be prepared to stick at it as unless you are very lucky it’s not something that’s just going to happen overnight. If you are really talented and you work really hard the chances are that you will break through.

MIKE: How important do you think the live side is now to artists and producers.
DAN: It is a pretty bleak phase at the moment. The internet has revolutionised the music industry and to be honest it is easy to be pessimistic about where things are going. People always say it is all about live, but to be honest in a way that’s all that’s left. That said there is probably just as much work as there always has been. When you look at the overall structure of entertainment at the moment, social networks, the web, You Tube etc there are actually a lot of opportunities for guys behind the scenes in companies that straddle the media and technology sectors. The old school music industry model looks like it has just disappeared and its all doom and gloom, but it’s not. You still need people to make it happen.

MIKE: How important do you think it is to understand how the music business works.
DAN: 100%. I heard Example being interviewed the other day and it was interesting to see how knowledgeable he is. These days a lot of artists are business people. You have to have an understanding of what is going on around you so you can make the most of your opportunities and also know what pitfalls to avoid.

MIKE: What does the future hold for DJ Fresh?
DAN: Traditionally I have been an instrumental producer, that’s how I started, but have recently started writing songs with artists. At school I was good at creative English and poetry so it is really exciting to be able to work this into my music and open up a world of new creative possibilities. I am also really looking forward to my new live shows which will kick off in October. In fact we will be looking for tech crew soon so maybe we can take on some of your live sound student to help out. I like the idea of giving young talented people an opportunity.