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All of our artists, writers and musicians on Black Donnelly Media , go by the name of blackbirds.
Our platform is called the nest,
Some birds fly the coop, and some build the nest, but we are all birds of a feather.
If you are unaware of the blackbird i'm showcasing today goes by the name of
DJ Danny Henry ~AKA Disco Dan~ AKA Disco.
Speaking as I write this ,I would probably say I've known Danny the majority of my life, in Canada, especially the growing years.
We were both thrown into the Catholic institution of Saint Thomas Aquinas
in Bramalea, way back when…….
(Aquinas was a short lived career for both of us)
Obviously we connected , with so much in common,
but the big common denominator was our love for music,
In the beginning as it is today.
Going through an endless stream of different genres, from hip hop, to punk, to rude boy Ska, to mod R and B, to Chicago house, to techno house, to progressive house and all of the wonderful stops along the way.
After a premature exit at Saint Thomas Aquinas for the pair of us,
That's when the music really started developing for Danny,
At a cultural level being a prominent member of Exodus Productions
And part of a team spearheading a dance culture
that changed the playing field forever.
Now it was time for Danny to put his ears to work, and step up to the altar of turntables,
Which proved to be a good move not only for himself, but the dance floors that surrounded him, faithful followers, and new ears.
I have had the pleasure of playing on the same bill with Danny throughout the years several times with overflow audiences in major rave events
and witnessed him 1st hand transform the floor and take them into his direction for that moment.
(23 HOP Patrick D Nice-Danny Henry-Anthony Donnelly)
It was those magical sets that have etched his name in the wall permanently as one of the defining members and sounds
that helped shape dance music culture in the city of Toronto.
I watched Danny progress and go from the backrooms , small rooms , to the medium rooms, to playing full scale massive attendance arenas,
warehouse units and rave culture.
(23 HOP Sean Lubbock- Danny-Terrance the flyer man) (23 HOP Danny -Dr NO)
You will struggle to look through the archives of many key events that shaped the city sound of house music. to not find his name on a flyer or another.
As a person having a natural ear for music and following the proper steps in procedure that many professionals do, he decided to turn it up a notch, and get to the bottom of how this thing we call music is made and how to produce
by studying and graduating out of
Trebas Institute at the end of 2020 with honours.
Throughout the past several years during school and currently ,
he has been working alongside Corey Anthony, and the team at
as a member and label artist,with their team in their hub
creating their own musical culture, contributing to Torontonian independent music.
Some of Danny's independent musical writing is also featured on our
KILLING KENSINGTON
documentary
You can Click this picture link below to hear a little more on
the soundtrack
that Danny is featured on.
Since graduation 2020
it couldn't be a worse time for any artist or engineer
coming out of the gate due to the temperature in the arena
where the pandemic has brought us cancelling all arts and entertainment.
But this writer has no doubt in his mind that we should be expecting interesting things coming down the road from this Torontonian ever-changing local talent.
I was able to get a couple of meeting minutes
with Danny to share with you the man behind the music.
------------------------------
What were the bands or the music you first started listening to that caught your ear ?
I started playing in 1992 in the rave scene downtown .
My father was a DJ back in the day
ska, reggae , dub Prince Buster, all that stuff
so there were always parties going on at my house ,
I grew up with music around me all the time
with all different kinds of influences.
I've always listen to everything r, from rock to pop ,
Detroit techno
everything shaped and moulded the sound that I have now
What was the 1st album you ever bought ?
Rush ~First LP
What is that thing in music that makes you love it so much
and what does it mean to you ?
Music simply put in its purest form of expression is the purest form of expression
an individual can do, that's why It resonates so deeply in me,
and pretty much if it sounds good, it is good.
What is your most memorable event that you played ?
The shambhala 2014 music festival in BC
14000 people over 3 days
I played during the saturday ,
so many memorable Moments
playing with the beach in the back, everybody dancing
It was crazy
How has the pandemic isolation affected you
by not being able to play to audiences or going to shows ?
I was brought to Calgary last year right before all the border restrictions
Habitat flew me out,
I played on saturday came back Sunday
I don't know, the carry on was like 5 people at a table,regulated and scattered about, 2 bottle minimum, nobody's really dancing there
except for dancing at their table
I didn't really dig it , im fine spinning mixes for everybody now
and wait to we can get a crowd of some energy back in the room
After just finishing production school what can we look foward to
for the future down the road in the work from Danny
Crush Grooves is the label , its my life
were coming out with some merch
I have an up-and-coming single coming out
as well as Corey over the next 2 months
so yeah , I'm upwards and onwards………..
ALL OF OUR DIFFERENT BLACKBIRDS DROP
DIFFERENT SETS WITH DIFFERENT GENRES
FOR YOU TO CHECK OUT AT YOUR LEISURE
WE HAVE BEEN CONSISTENTLY MAKING GREAT WAVES
IN THE MIXCLOUD COMMUNITY , NATIONALLY AND GLOBALLY
CHECK OUT DANNY'S NEW MIX HERE
https://www.mixcloud.com/blackdonnellyradio/bdr-danny-henrys-baby-d-momma-disco/
DON'T FORGET TO LIKE AND FOLLOW OUR PAGE FOR NEW SHOWS
MAY GOOD JUJU FIND YOU
~Anthony~