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DANNY BYRD
Before Hospital Records would become the crowning achievement for Liquid Funk Drum and Bass in terms of labels, it was like any other start-up out there. It was the brainchild of a few friends to release what they thought was quality music to the masses. Danny Byrd, though not there right from the beginning, was there close enough to the start to watch it all unfold first hand.
''I couldn't say I was involved from the beginning because for a few years it was mainly a label just for Tony & Chris to release London Elektricity music on, they were the main artists.'' he explains humbly, ''But it has been staggering to see how it’s grown since then. If you go down to the office you will see why, I've never seen people work so hard.''
He may not have known it at the time, but Danny was privy to not only watching and being part of the growth and development of what is now a world renowned imprint for Drum & Bass, but also in his feeling, possibly the real direction for Liquid Funk in the future. For Danny, Plastic Surgery 2 defined both what the label would become and in some ways, the Liquid Funk subgenre as a whole. Plastic Surgery 2 featured a track from a then unknown artist by the name of High Contrast. Maybe you've heard of him? ''It became the blueprint for the Liquid sound in my opinion.''
 So now, years later, Danny is still doing what he does best. An accurate representation of Liquid on the whole, running full force with the soulful, RnB and House elements it is known for around the world. He insists however, that these seemingly different genres have far more in common with Drum & Bass that some may choose to believe. ''People forget the whole Liquid sound is based a lot on house music, yet DnB fans loathe this form of music. I guess the tempo and drums are always what set it apart but musically they use the same elements.'' Like most good producers out there, Danny chooses to embrace the similarities in music on the whole, rather than argue over their differences.
The long awaited Danny Byrd debut LP Supersized was finally released this year, and was welcomed with great reviews from critics. A combination of some big hits from the last year as well as new tracks that are quintessential Byrd, the album took a slight toll on him. ''It was so much work in a short period of time that after I finished it I did question for a few months whether all the stress was worth it, but it paid off and am proud of what I came up with.'' He goes on to re-assure us that this won't be the last we will hear from him in terms of his own albums, ''I still feel like I have more to say as an artist, hopefully it won’t take me another 7 years!'', he jokes.
For those of you itching to get a fix of Byrd right now, production wise you’ll be happy to know you can cop his newly released sample pack Danny Byrd - Drum and Bass Vol 2. Released in association with Loopmasters and Hospital, it is in stores now and Danny states firmly that he had one thing in mind when putting it all together – Quality. ''[he chose] Sounds that were suited to DnB, drums that would work out of the pack straight away, and I also took a lot of time over the musical loops and samples, as I feel this is one of my strong points.''
This pack is stacked, to say the least and includes - wait for it - over 440 heavy weight royalty free samples in total. Breaking that down a bit, it means 35 full Drum loops and 139 Drum Separate Loops, 22 Searing Lead Riffs, 52 Inspirational Music Loops, 12 Vocal Loops and 17 Shaker and Tambourine Patterns, plus more. Unlike other imprints that produce sample packs, Loopmasters have the right idea, he says, by going straight to reputable artists at the source to produce packs of a higher rank than some of their competitors.
Danny goes on to explain that the drums should without a doubt be a highlight in this pack for those of you producing out there. ''The biggest challenge whilst doing the pack was not making it a 'Hospital' sounding product only.'' Though his music has a very specific sound, he worked diligently to make sure that this pack was something that could be embraced by a wide variety of people who produce DnB or even other genres of music.
Not one to slow down for a minute, fans can look forward to some hot remixes on the way, some cheeky bootlegs, a forth coming collab with Cyantific and yet another with the Brookes Brothers, as well as some touring on the horizon (promoters take note!). Though he has explored some of his other musical interests via the RnB/Garage community and even produced corporate websites such as clothing giant Lacoste, it's quite clear that his heart is and will stay in the world of Drum & Bass for some time to come. ''I am a DnB artist, this is what I do best for now, and I have a lot more to say still.''
Words: SOS |
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Dogs On Acid > Comments > DANNY BYRD
09-26-2008 03:55 PM
