Danny Hughes (DCPA) is an electronic music producer and DJ from Aledo, Texas. His story began like many musicians’ growing up. Born into a family of musicians, he learned to play the piano, trumpet, guitar, and work with production software in academic music programs as a kid. Danny built a solid foundation in the craft, but eventually pursued an accounting degree in college while at Texas Tech. After graduating in 2011, he worked as a CPA for 9 years in Dallas. Electronic music grew exponentially in the US during this time, prompting him to re-visit his place in the music world. Building an artist career was not easy with a full-time corporate job, but his varied background in business and music allowed him to quickly navigate the modern music industry and connect with those who believed in him, including a production team at Nimble Agency all the way from Amsterdam. From 2016-2020 Danny allocated most of his free time to building his artist career as DCPA, distributed over twenty tracks with Symphonic, travelled the world to attend major festivals, and in 2020 he made the decision to go full time into the music business.
What has been the driving force of your music in this New Year?
There are many ways in which DJ’s and Producers improve on our craft, after spending countless hours on both sides of the job. I learned a lot after playing over 50 shows in 2021, most of which were over 4 hours. Prior to that, I had spent most of my music time in the studio. You get a lot of great ideas and experience playing live which translates back into the studio, because you’ve studied how crowds react to different sounds in different situations. This year I’m looking forward to bringing all my knowledge and experience as a DJ / musician full circle. I intend to make my best music, share more of my content, and build as strong of a community around DCPA that I can.
Are you planning to do anything BIG this year for your career?
I’ll be releasing more tracks and DJ mixes this time than any prior years, as well as spending a lot more time recording videos and other cool things to showcase all that I’m up to related to DCPA. I’m getting a lot more involved in the emerging NFT and Crypto based side of the music industry as well. I’ve uploaded my catalog for free listening to the Audius platform and launched my own app on Fenix360 at https://dcpa.fenix.band. In addition, I’ll be launching my first line of merchandise as well as a Discord server. I’d like to set up some live streamed shows as well to reach my global audience. The tools are in place now to host DCPA content in some cool new ways.
What adjustments had to be made in order to get to that goal
My environment has a large impact on my creativity and productivity. Also, performing live can be a large physical and metal drain when you’re doing shows on a regular basis. After changing from an accounting career of 10 years to being a full-time musician, it’s definitely taken the past year to figure out a new routine. This year, I’ll be concentrating more on my online presence. I’ve also invested in a new studio setup and some gear I was lacking, mostly things to have a more efficient workflow, lighting, and better room acoustics. That all can take a lot of time and effort to optimize and put together.
What personal goal have you set for yourself that you’d like others to think about too?
My goal is to focus most energy on things which impact the long-term vision I have for my life. I believe it’s important to train yourself mentally in advance of each foreseeable stage of your life and career. Think about who you want to be in 10 years. There are probably a lot of things you should practice so you can succeed as that person.
Making more moves in this New Year can be really exciting, is there anything that you are nervous about when it comes to your new music? How do you get over those nerves and go for what YOU want?
I tend to get nerve shot over the ambiguity of unpredictable results as a musician. In the beginning especially, I would worry a lot more about how my music was perceived by others; but that was while working in a corporate environment, having taken a long break from music, and with no proof of brand concept or marketing experience.
I’ve figured out how I can blur lines between commercial acceptance, and more of a rogue production/DJ approach. Still though, I find myself getting stuck contemplating whether certain musical ideas are worth sharing. I ease the nerves by sharing demos with people I trust to get their (hopefully positive) reaction, also keeping in mind I can release multiple different mixes of a track for separate audiences. Also, the emergence of the NFT world is a great outlet for less-commercial projects.
What chances are you taking in 2022 when it comes to collaboration?
In 2022 I’ll be focusing my collaborative work on projects with artists from prior releases. However, I see myself being more of a studio musician in the future and working with a lot of different talent. At any moment if a new collaboration makes sense I’m always open to the idea!
Name the word of the year for 2022?
Consistency
Setting intentions is so important especially when accomplishing your goals! How do you make sure to keep that heart and drive you have for yourself?
I focus on the “why” behind what I do. That was a mindset I adopted at my accounting job because when you deal with numbers all day, and a lot of repetition, it helps to be reminded of your purpose and commitment to clients. As a musician, I keep in mind that why I do things is to fulfill a deep sense of self-purpose, which then translates into a benefit for others.
What single is dropping NEXT?
“Iconic Love” is a new electro house banger with Marcia Sondeijker on vocals. Fans of “Keep Your Eyes Closed” need to hear this one!
Social media for ALL your new fans? Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day!
Thank you for your awesome questions and for the platform to share everything going on with DCPA!
- Website
- Mobile App
- Audius
- TikTok
- Spotify
- Soundcloud
- Apple Music
- Beatport
- Pandora
- Tidal
- YouTube
- Audius
- Deezer
- Amazon
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