Category: Gigs, news and blog

From producing as well as songwriting for stellar hip hop names like Stormzy to Ghetts, Ben Oakland has made a big mark on the a substantial amount of the production and engineering. And he’s still very young.

With big soul and r&b influences, Danny and Ben’s piano and songwriting sessions have informed his creative work with some of the very top names in the UK hip hop genre – expanding through to r&b too.

Ben’s development and natural talent, not to mention incredible work ethic really is something to behold…

With close on 400,000 monthly Spotify listeners, Ben appears (enigmatically, under the radar, see image above!) on many great modern hip hop/modern soul recordings.

Ben Oakland will continue to make waves, of that I’ve no doubt. And Danny will certainly continue to help his songwriting and musical breadth go from strength to strength…

There really is no stopping Jamie Jones

Jamie, now with over 1.2m Facebook and 575,000 Instragram followers, is still considered the most influential and important dance music producer / DJ working in the world today.

And believe me, he deserves it. I should know.

I showed and played Jamie basic harmony, chord voicings as well as some structural songwriting techniques during our period working together.

Following our first session, I could tell he had an exceptional talent for melody, writing riffs on the fly, arrangement skills for building texture. This despite the fact that his keyboard technique was at a very rudimentary level.

I have long wanted dance music, or EDM as it is now known, to adopt a more musical, melodic and interesting harmonic structure rather than the robotic grooves that so often dominate. I poured this aspiration into our sessions.

It was an intensive learning curve for Jamie I’m sure. More techniques than I’ve ever crammed into regular hour long sessions. And no doubt an eye-opening cornucopia of creative possibilities was opening up for Jamie, which he’s later confirmed with me.

Essentially it was a crash course in music theory and music making; based around keyboard and synths but covering arrangement, harmonic progression, riff-making, bassline construction etc.

Following this, we had intermittent sessions as Jamie was abroad touring, such was his draw. It isn’t an exaggeration to say that house and techno have become more musical in recent years. And all critics praise Jamie’s melodic and harmonic invention.

During all of our sessions, he was like a sponge, soaking up ideas. Better still, he had a receptive, modest and mature attitude. This, despite the fact that he was already enjoying major success even before our sessions.

That is VERY unusual, as in most cases, success goes to artists’ heads and they behave in an arrogant, ‘know-it-all’ manner.

Jamie and I are still in touch and text occasionally. These days he’s based between Ibiza and LA, and has told me he misses London.

He told me recently that if he comes round, he’d like another session or two.

Do you think maybe we could again nudge EDM into becoming just that bit more musical? Or at least get the music critics to notice it again? Listening to his music now and comparing it to how it sounded before we met, I know I have played some part in his work sounding more arranged and flowing. Lee Foss, his DJ compadre, even confirmed this to me in an Instagram post later! Quite how much part is debatable, but ultimately it doesn’t really matter. Dance music has been nudged forward both more melodically and harmonically. And that’s all that matters.

Here is Jamie Jones live, doing what he does best. Overlaying parts, synth and drum. And slowly working his savvy crowd up, taking them to whatever place the music dictates.

I’ve worked with Conrad for several years now and seen him grow as a producer and arranger. As well as setting the bar high in his varied and eclectic DJ sets, he has become an accomplished jazz pianist.

From initially jamming on just a few chords, his progress has been nothing short of inspiring. Both fluent and musical, he now incorporates innovative piano and basslines, Hammond organ & Fender Rhodes parts into genuinely authentic arrangements which really do set his music apart. Here are some examples on his Soundcloud page.

Sometimes our sessions are more like extended piano jams. He can seamlessly translate his new skills into innovative arrangements which also show off his extensive appreciation of soul, disco and funk.

The last 10 years have seen him play at London’s best clubs including Oval Space, Corsica studio & The Cause as well as the Jazz Cafe and

Conrad is also the resident for Eco-Disco, the world’s first plastic-free party. All of this, alongside with working for Jimpster’s renowned U.K deep house label Freerange Records, make him an even more well-rounded musician and authentic influencer.

I’ve been working with Elliot Schooling for over a year now, helping to develop his understanding of music theory, chord sequences and piano technique. It’s all part of a lifelong ambition to help my talented piano students prove to the world how musically creative dance music’s possibilities could be. Elliot is a case study – and his success proves it.

Appetite, the dance music collective and brand that he co-founded with compadre Liam Palmer, has already transformed the dance music scene with wildly successful events across the world.

Their promotion and branding is eye-catching, as is their social media presence, eg Instagram here.

Elliot has a prodigiously strong work ethic – and he’s applied it to both his playing skills as well as his own music. So proud of his progress; both his playing and his tracks have been transformed. Elliot’s natural musicality is really starting to shine through in his releases.You can hear some of his original work here on his Soundcloud page.

The day when Elliot plays live keyboards during his popular sets won’t be long. Maybe adding synth pads, basslines or melodies over the top of his own as well as others’ tracks? He’s doing it in the studio, so why not do it live?

Just because DJ/producers rarely play instruments live doesn’t mean it shouldn’t become something to reach for. It would make House music – and more broadly the EDM genre, an even more of a live and spontaneous experience than it is already.

Danny’s tried to build this into all his student teaching and music mentoring – helping dance music superstars The Shapeshifters, Glasgow Underground‘s Kevin McKay and Jamie Jones amongst many others along their musical paths.

Piano lessons aren’t just about learning scales and reading the dots.

They can transform any musician’s creativity, whether professional or complete beginner. Ultimately it’s a pathway to true self expression.

After all, what is the common denominator of every recording studio other than just a mixer, speakers and computer?

Keyboards and synths. And lots of them!

Whether triggering drums, bass, synth, choirs, samples or even a complete orchestra for that matter, becoming a good keys player is a fundamental for any serious modern dance music producer.

Most musicians can program half decent beats on an Akai MPC or sequence a standard EDM track on Logic, Ableton or Pro Tools. But how many can play their parts into the software with passion and soul?

I’m convinced that it will be those like Elliot Schooling, who can express themselves on keyboards both in the studio and at live events – in addition to programming and working the decks – who will be the most sought after dance music talents of all.

Simon Marlin and former member Max Reich make up The Shapeshifters. They are one of the most successful UK dance acts of all time, currently with well over 1,250,000 Spotify monthly listeners.

I’d worked with Simon Marlin (otherwise known as The Shapeshifters) showing him music theory, riff repetition and keyboard techniques to be utilised in his sophisticated Ableton and Logic masters. Simon’s a great guy and deserves his success. The course was an intensive two months; similar in many ways to the musical mentoring I’d given fellow dance music sensation, top international DJ/Producer Jamie Jones who attracts huge numbers to his raves across the globe.. Simon had a worldwide Number One smash, Lola’s Theme, now one of the best-selling dance music singles of all time, certainly from the UK.

The year was 2003, and quite unbelievably, Lola’s Theme was Simon’s debut release. The lifestyle of these hard-working and creative musicians is very lucrative, very competitive and very international. They deserve every penny they earn for the almost super-human work rate they somehow manage to maintain.

Anyway, all this took place at his then-wife Lola Marlin’s North London home, around 2013. I was surprised to discover that the key sample that underpins Lola’s Theme was in fact taken from vinyl sitting in a cabinet directly below where the piano stood! Definitely a story to dine out on for me. Lola, who I’m still occasionally in touch with was the song’s inspiration. She’s pretty impressive herself – and her pet dogs were the friendliest I’ve ever met. They used to prance in excitement to the music. In fact one might say that they’d bark to the beat!

Wonderful privilege to participate in this authentic album project with these two ‘80s legends. I collaborated with them on the English Eccentrics album, providing the keyboards and some of the arrangement, but here’s the clincher. I didn’t even know I was! Suddenly I found lots of publicity with my name on it. ‘Keyboard wiz Danny Kuperberg contributes to the album featuring Suggs and Toyah. A pleasant surprise, for sure, but baffling! Then it hit me: the young guy who was dubbed a techno-wiz was actually a student in North London and I’d given him about ten lessons. Unbeknownst to me, I’d been collaborating with one of my heroes! Such is the music biz and it’s unexpected publicity jolts.

I do have wonderful memories of both ’It’s A Mystery’ (Toyah) and ’It Must Be Love’ (Madness), who I adore anyway. One of the main reasons I so wanted to play Camden’s The Dublin Castle, solo, just voice and keyboard, was because it was where they made their name. And of course, I’d hung out a lot in Camden Market weekends as a teenager. Still, the nostalgia feels great. The creative possibilities when you hear music like this, aged 11 on your Walkman (no vision), are limitless.

Kevin McKay owns and has developed Glasgow Underground Records, a hugely influential dance music label which has produced many successful dance musicians, DJs and producers, the most notable being Mylo and Grum, both top and in-demand global dance stars.

In the ultra-competitive world of dance music, Kevin McKay is both a taste-maker and a trend setter; a rare combination.

I taught Kevin performance and keyboard skills. Both Kevin and I think his remixes, original work and production on his labels’ famous dance musicians work have all improved no end.

Like the world’s top DJ, and most successful Danny client of all, Jamie Jones, Kevin acknowledged early on that without keyboard, melody and harmony skills, his work would always be a pale imitation of his real potential. And that’s in my view why Kevin, like Jamie, is successful. He’s humble enough to acknowledge openly where his limitations are – and then to work on them

Tastemaker, record company founder, major underground dance music player, accomplished producer and now new dad. Much respect Kevin.

Below, he discusses digital formats in his capacity as a record company boss. And it’s in The Sun newspaper!