Today we’d like to introduce you to Danny Hughes.
Danny, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I developed a certain vision toward music while growing up in Aledo, Texas. Being part of a family of musicians, I discovered my passion for music early on. My parents collected an extensive vinyl library, and speaker/audio player collection. This only made sense with my mom, Alex, previously having worked for a radio station, and my dad, Paul, being an audio and electrical engineering wizard. I gained an appreciation for classical music and classic rock listening to their records. I began my own musicianship in piano classes as a kid with my brother Wesley, then moved on to orchestra and jazz band, and learned how to play trumpet and guitar throughout high school. I started to get into a lot of 80’s-2000’s pop, hip hop, and alternative rock. When I was about 17, I became interested in electronic dance music. My most significant early influences included ATB, Daft Punk, Armin Van Buuren, Tiesto, Eric Prydz, Basshunter, and even the composers of my favorite game soundtracks. I took the effort to learn basic music production software and practiced producing some experimental tracks.
Considering myself not much more than a jack of musical trades at this point, and continuing my studies, I shifted my focus to an accounting career while in college at Texas Tech. Several years ago I cut the knot to get into the professional side of the music industry, as I realized that during my great career as a CPA and audit manager at Whitley Penn LLP, I had both the time and resources necessary to pursue my passion once again. I discovered my own sound and began producing and releasing music as “DCPA” (Danny the Certified Public Accountant). From 2016 through the end of 2018, I’ve produced two EP’s of three tracks each, six separate singles, and played in several different venues. I’m excited to announce my latest, four-song EP titled “Inflection” will be released in early 2019. I’ve also started DJ’ing for private events like weddings, company parties and birthdays.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
DCPA demonstrates a transcendent approach to modern electronic dance music and draws influences from industry underdogs as well as mainstage festival headliners mostly in the genres of trance, progressive house, nu disco, and indie-alternative. Through DCPA, I would like to offer a unique lens for exploring music and inspire others by showing that one does not always have to follow the beaten path. My artistic contribution to DCPA is in track composition and production, and that the album art and vocal contributions all mostly collaborative, and at my direction. I believe that most goals are best achieved through collaboration. In music, it’s a way to build on and to create the best possible version of your ideas for others to enjoy and can grow you exponentially as an artist. The goal of a DCPA production is that the track feels like a dream, which lives through song and dance. I hope that people are able to use my music as a means to interpret their own experiences and emotions.
Have things improved for artists? What should cities do to empower artists?
Success to a musician means finding the means to produce your ideas into content that can be enjoyed by other people and forming deep connections with others through the music and its artwork. Music is a universal language. The more people and stronger the connections become that you have formed using this language, the more successful you are. It is about telling not just your story but the stories of a collective and creating movements. You must be willing to express yourself and put everything in front of the audience without fear of rejection and draw energy from each ounce of support.
It’s easier to produce music now but the market is just so competitive that standing out and growing your fanbase is a huge challenge. Musical composition is always up for debate and everyone’s a critic. There are few excuses to be made for a bad production with the tools we have today. You have to make sure you are bringing huge tracks to your audience and being consistent. People like to subscribe to artists and with that comes the challenge to not only deliver great music to your audience on a consistent basis, but to keep things new, and also be willing to share aspects of your personal life in the process.
Knowing when, where, and how much of your money and energy to spend on artist growth can be a challenge. It requires some significant ongoing investment (money and time) just like most other business ventures. It’s about taking risks for what you are passionate about and being willing to pay the price to achieve your dreams. You won’t usually earn much from just releasing tracks in the beginning and likely you’ll spend more on promotion, gear, and production than you’ll earn on royalties or gigs; but, at a certain point, you hope to be earning as much on a single performance as you will spend on an entire year maintaining your career as an artist.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
I release all of my tracks on a wide range of platforms (Spotify, iTunes, Beatport, SoundCloud, and just about all others you could think of). If you can’t find my tracks on your favorite platform, they can be streamed directly from my website www.dcpamusic.com. To support artists like me, you must follow and listen, a lot! Also, be sure to share and add your favorite artist’s tracks to your playlists on the streaming platforms. With algorithms playing such a huge role in organic growth of artists these days, taking these steps can really help artists grow.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dcpamusic.com
- Phone: 8179802902
- Email: dannyhughes89@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dcpamusic/
- Other: spotify:artist:4TVpVLI3tf2ASmZvadI3iq
Image Credit:
Igor Draskovic, Phylos Donkertino
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