Danny Howells

Danny Howells

Danny Howells is a house and progressive house DJ and producer from Hastings, in the United Kingdom, born in 1970. He begins DJing in the late 1980s and plays at local clubs before building a wider career in club and mix-album work.

Early club work and Bedrock

In 1991, John Digweed hears one of Howells’s mix tapes and invites him to join the Bedrock club nights. Howells travels with Bedrock before the nights settle at Heaven in London, and he spends nine years as Digweed’s warm-up DJ for the residency. He also plays regularly at clubs including Bedrock, Renaissance, Cream and Ministry of Sound.

Production work and early aliases

In 1995, Howells begins making experimental techno with fellow Hastings native Tim Cross under the name Squelch. Over the next two years, the pair release several singles and attract the attention of Jackpot, which issues their final single together. After Cross and Howells split in 1997, Howells stays with Jackpot and teams up with Rob Green for a remix of React 2 Rhythm’s “Intoxication”.

He also works on remixes and solo productions, including work on Robbie Williams’s “South of the Border”, Ashtrax’s “Kafka” and BT’s “Dreaming”.

International work and mix albums

Howells’s first performance outside the UK takes place in Holland, where he gains a large following. After this international touring period, he signs to the Dutch label ID&T for his debut mix album, Nightlife Report 1: Mick Boskamp Presents Danny Howells.

In 1999, he starts the Nocturnal Frequencies series on Obsessive. He also works with Dick Trevor on remixes, and the two later use the name Science Department for their original productions. After the release of a later Nocturnal Frequencies album, Howells leaves Bedrock and Ministry of Sound and takes a residency at Twilo in New York City.

Following the Science Department track “Breathe”, he compiles Nubreed 002, the second release in Global Underground’s Nubreed series. The album draws heavily on funky, progressive and tech house. Howells is voted number ten in DJ Magazine’s 2001 Top 100 DJs poll.

Global Underground and later label work

Howells continues his association with Global Underground with the first release in its 24:7 series in 2003. The first disc is mainly downtempo and chill-out material, while the second is a club mix. In 2005, he contributes Global Underground 027: Miami, based on a performance at Club Space in Miami, with one disc drawn from his morning set and the other from his late-night set.

In 2008, he launches his own label, Dig Deeper, first as a home for his own productions and later as a label for new and established artists. In 2011, he releases the first compilation on the imprint, Phase One.

Science Department

Howells’s collaborative alias with Dick Trevor is Science Department, used for original productions after their remixes together. This project is part of his broader work across house and progressive house.