About Dan

There’s a LOT of people making music out there – so whether you are looking for beats, music for a podcast, a movie, or just to listen to – it’s probably very hard to quickly and easily find something different.

beatsculptor playing keyboard to a hip hop beat

So this page is hopefully to show you … how is this guy Dan different?

On one hand, I’m one of those “I want to music to speak for itself” kind of guys – but on the other hand, I know you may connect with my story – so here goes…

It starts with being born the son of a professional artist – a sculptor to be exact. My earliest memories involve my Dad making giant statues out of clay and installing them as bronze monuments – and generally being surrounded by beautiful art in our house and his studio.

It’s made me appreciate, almost revere, the creative experience.

And now you know why I’m called “BeatSculptor” 😉

So from there in school, I sort of lived two parallel musical lives.

One – following the traditional, structured musical education – classical piano lessons, marching band, theory and composition, old school jazz… you know, learning the “rules”.

But two – I always gravitated towards the current hip-hop, soul, r&b and soulful pop music. When I was 10 it was DJ Jazzy Jeff. When I was 15 it was Tu Pac, Bone Thugs. 20 it was Lauryn Hill or Lucy Pearl (if you know them, you get bonus points). Today it’s Roddy Ricch, Eric Bellinger…

You get the idea. Two separate musical experiences really, in parallel.

So the minute I graduated college — with a classical piano performance degree — I immediately started gigging in the styles of music I liked. R&B, Hip-hop, Salsa, Reggae.

See, all I ever wanted since the age of like 10, was to have my music be heard like how all of the people I admired were heard on the radio, in movies, in concert. And I was finally doing it.

I’d say the pinnacle of my gigging career culminated when the live hip-hop band I was in (and wrote most of the music for) opened for the Roots.

The freakin ROOTS.

There’s even a short video clip.

Anyway – the point to all of this?

It’s these weird, overlapping, diverse experiences, interests and education that somehow add up to the melting pot of styles I can’t help but to include in my music.

And that leads to something (I hope!)… different.

A unique sound for your EP, album, movie, podcast or to just spin and listen to.

And it’s a commitment, dedication and attention to detail you’re getting as well — I obsess over every nuance, like choosing the perfect snare — which might seem trite but trust me, you want an expert to handle that for you because believe it or not every snare, every sound, every nanosecond difference in rhythms affect the mood, character, effectiveness of the music.

Anyway, I’ve digressed a bit so here I’ll just list some key moments in my musical bio:

  • 1997-2001 — studied piano performance at the University of New Hampshire
  • 2001-2010(ish) — performed professionally – r&b, jazz, hip-hop, salsa, reggae, live electronic music etc
  • 1999-2013 — taught piano and drum lessons
  • 2013-2018ish — kept doing music on the side while building/growing my career as an SEO Consultant (I’ve worked with companies like Zappos, Harvard Business Review, PBS, WGBH, Grammarly, Ring Doorbell and more) — during this time I mostly posted music on YouTube and my very early production stuff on SoundCloud (it’s still there, it’s not that good).
  • 2015ish — I realize I am not getting younger, and although I love the SEO work I’m doing, I need to find a way to continue to make music. So in 2015 I walk into Guitar Center and walk out with Propellerhead Reason.
  • 2015-2018 — I just sort of dabble in learning how to actually produce music. I was definitely not great — which was frustrating! Because I had been a pro musician with a degree in music – and yet I felt like a beginner.
  • 2018-202o — I finally start taking production really seriously. In fact in 2019 I made about 175+ beats/songs, and I’m probably on track to make more in 2020 — while still holding down a completely seperate career doing SEO.
  • 2222 — Produces a track for Drake. Just kidding I know it’s not 2222 yet, but for some reason I have always had this lofty idea that landing a track for Drake would represent some sort of level of success.

So here we are — that’s my story so far.

I hope my music speaks to you for whatever your musical needs are 🙂