Danja in Remix

Check out this new interview with Danja where he talks about his up and coming projects, what equipment he uses, and his new signee KC:

“Sometimes [artists] will come for a particular sound that I had on a previous track and want to duplicate that same energy. But instead, I try to do what they should be doing, not what I already did,” he explains of tailoring his sound for different acts. “I do what matches them, matches their voice, what type of fans they relate to. I never try to take you out of your zone; I craft around the artist.”

With that being said, a good craftsman always depends on his trusty tools. For Danja, those mainly consist of his iMac with Logic and his ever-present MPC4000. “The MPC is always going to be the brains of the operation. That's what makes the beats knock like they're supposed to.” But this bare-minimum setup hasn't always been his core setup. Having upgraded nearly everything from his software to his hardware, he recently did away with a grand production scheme that he had built, only to go back to the basics. It's further evidence of the reinvention process that is a constant for both the man himself and his sound.

“There was a point when I just kept buying keyboards, every time I saw one. I had 13 keyboards all around me at once and my laptop going into a 24-channel mixer, going into an MPC,” he says. “I had mad keys: I had a Virus TI, a Motif, a few different Rolands…one was a [V-Synth] GT and a Fantom. It was crazy.”

“I like that cinematic sound,” he says. “I got a couple of tracks on Britney's [upcoming album] that sound like action sequences from The Mummy 3 [Tomb of the Dragon Emperor] or something, just bits and pieces of horn hits that make it sound dramatic. Long before I even knew what I was doing, I would have women tell me, ‘This is sexy.’ I'm in tune with certain chords that make you feel a certain way. I know how to grab your emotions. I know what to play in whatever order to bring those feelings forth. This is a universal language. I'm learning how to capture those feelings and inject them into my music. I'm learning how to make you feel what I feel.”

PIECES FROM THE ARSENAL
Akai MPC4000 sampler
Alesis Andromeda A6 synth
Apple iMac computer with Logic 8
Apogee Duet interface
Augspurger mains
Digidesign Pro Tools
Korg Triton synth
Line 6 amps
Solid State Logic SL 9000 J console
KRK V8 monitors
Yamaha Motif synth, NS10 monitors

Full Article

So "Work" is Ciara's first single? That makes sense why we got the leak already. Danja's tracks on Britney's album will be "way harder than Blackout" that has me interested. And I look froward to what KC and Danja come up with because you know Danja will give his first artist his best work to date.....right?

Danja in Billboard Part 2: The Interview

Here is the 2nd part of the full article from Danja's Billboard Magazine feature:

When aspiring young producer Nate "Danja" Hills began working alongside studio wizard Timbaland in 2004, it was the breakthrough he had been waiting for. Now emerging as a powerhouse hitmaker in his own right, Hills has produced tracks for an impressive array of stars, including Nelly Furtado, Justin Timberlake, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Snoop Dogg, Katharine McPhee, Duran Duran, Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez and most recently Madonna.And he's just begun. Billboard recently spoke with the 27-year-old native of Virginia Beach, Va.

Billboard: Let's start with your thoughts on the music business today.

Danja: It has switched to songs, songs, songs -- hit records, and not albums and artists. I don't think people care about artists or artistry too much in this day. Let's take "Low" [from Flo Rida and T-Pain], for instance. People just want to download on iTunes or the ringtone and that's it. They don't really care about who the artist is. It's just a hooky song. So a producer like me who came into the game with Tim [Timbaland], we will suffer because nobody listens to the album and we're just trying to draw attention back to the artist again. But it's so easy to get one record.

Even though I use iTunes, it's a horrible idea: You can click on an album and listen to every song and just buy the one you like instead of the whole album. So no one is telling their story anymore on an album; they're just trying to do that hot single. It's so important right now to look at the [Billboard] Hot 100 [that] the No. 1 album doesn't even matter because record sales are so low.

Billboard: How does this affect you?

Danja: My style of approaching the business is, "Let me do the album. I will give you a hot single, but I want to do the album." You can't make any money without album sales, so in order for me to make money I need to do six or seven songs, and hopefully it will go platinum so there are some kind of residuals.

Billboard: Is there any way to change the situation?

Danja: It's hard to pinpoint the problem. Maybe the artist and producer just need to step up and make hotter albums. But the reason why Justin's album worked, Nelly's album worked, Tim's, is that the same core of people worked on them -- me, Tim, Nelly; me, Tim, Justin; Timbaland and whatever artist he wanted to feature on his album and me.

Most successful albums have one producer or one set of producers. Take it back to [Dr.] Dre and Snoop Dogg, DMX, even from hip-hop to rock to pop: One producer producing an album sounds like a body of work, but [the music business is] not selling a body of work [now]. We're selling songs.

Billboard: What can the business do?

Danja: The thing we have no control over is technology and the Internet. It makes it accessible for a 6-year-old -- if they want to -- to download every song they want and not pay. But that's out of our control. There needs to be some sort of law to control who has the music, when it leaves the studio. I don't even leave the studio with my music [on a CD] anymore. If you want to hear it, hear it in the studio.

You have to limit the amount of hands that touch the music, and that needs to be enforced by the record companies. There should be fines to control the leaks. I hear some say it's a good thing [when] a record leaks, to show how many people want it. But what sense does that make? If they got their hands on it, they're not going to by it.

Billboard: How would you characterize your experiences in dealing with the artists, labels, managers, attorneys and other music business personnel?

Danja: Everything's been pretty smooth. I've been totally blessed with the way my business has been arranged, so I have no complaints with anything.

Billboard: What are your thoughts on contemporary pop music and the related opportunities and perils?

Danja: Any record can turn pop -- become popular. When it crosses over, all sorts of opportunities can come from a hit record -- movies, TV shows. And that's a good thing and necessary because record sales aren't that good. So there are many other ways for your music to be exploited.

Billboard: What is the best thing, for you, about the music business today?

Danja: It allows me to sleep in late -- and party when I want to! But it's a great opportunity to reach the world, once you get successful. It all goes back to a No. 1 record: Once you have a hit all these doors open to every state in the U.S., every country in the globe. It puts you in a place where the world becomes your market.

It takes a lot of push and preparation sometimes. But once you make it, it's kind of limitless. And like I said, in today's time there are so many different ways [to create revenue]. I don't have to be a mega-hit producer: I can still do movie scores and TV shows and still make as much as I make from selling records. Being able to create music and do what I love doing is always going to be fun, and I come across a lot of people in the business and artists who are good people. So to me it's like high school, your senior year all over again. For 10 or 15 years -- or however long I get -- it's just a big high school. Just fun. And it's real good if you want to be famous, but I'm not that type.

Billboard: Is there anything you know now that you wish you had known when you started out?

Danja: That it's so political. It's very, very, very political. You hear the saying, "Ninety percent business, 10% music"? It's absolutely true. But that 10% music has to be smash -- hot music. It can't be just something to get by or mediocre because that 10% music makes the whole business run. But there is a lot of business. I had meetings in New York and completely forgot I was a producer at one point. I thought I was an executive.

Billboard: What advice would you offer to young people getting into the business?

Danja: I'd first ask, "What would be your reason for getting in?" You can say because you love it, but once the first check rolls in and you're making money, [you then say], "This is what I'm doing it for." But you don't want to cross the line and do it just for the check. It ends up just fizzling away anyway, because then your music is not good anymore. Becoming wealthy or making out good in your lifestyle is definitely a plus and is easy for me because I love what I do. But whenever I feel I'm doing too much business I tell everybody, "Leave me alone. I'm going to do what I'm going to do." Hire a team of people who have your best interests, from your business manager to your lawyer to your manager. Please don't try to walk through the business blind, because then you end up on "Where Are They Now?"

Danja in Billboard Part 1: The Article

Remember Jermaine Dupri's outrage at Danja being on the cover of Billboard Magazine a few weeks ago? Well after a long search we found the article. Ever wonder how DanjaHandz got his name? Or how he got his start with Timbaland? Or what the music inudstry thinks about him? Then this article is for you:

****He may be "dangerous," but Nate "Danjahandz" Hills -- or just plain "Danja" -- is "a huge talent," according to none other than Madonna. A self-proclaimed "big fan of his work," Madonna tapped him for her hit "4 Minutes," featuring Justin Timberlake. But she's just the latest in a long line of big-name production clients -- also including Timberlake, Nelly Furtado, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Snoop Dogg, Katherine McPhee, Duran Duran, Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez -- that have made this Timbaland prot?g? the go-to guy on a wide range of recording projects.

"What sets Danja apart is his rare ability to not just make records, but create records -- building brilliant sonic landscapes that make his production style singularly unique," Atlantic Records chairman/CEO Craig Kallman says. "Far more than a fantastic beat-maker, he takes a hands-on role at every step of the recording process. At the same time, he has the gift of being able to adapt his sound and approach to the individual artist, bringing out their personal style rather than imposing one sound on everyone. "He also spans many genres, and has done fantastic work recently for a range of Atlantic artists from T.I. to Simple Plan to Missy Elliott," Kallman adds. "We're looking forward to a long future of making hit records together."

Zomba Music Group executive VP Peter Thea concurs: "He's an extraordinary producer who we can thank for many recent hits from many artists on our roster. His beats are incredible and he always seems to outdo himself on each successive record. He's that rare producer whose sonic flair and amazing sense of rhythm are matched by his gift of melody, and it all comes together in the song." BMG Label Group president/CEO Barry Weiss likewise lauds Hills as "one of the premier producers/creative forces in the world today," citing "his production flair and innovative but commercial sounds coupled with his calm demeanor and great artist sensitivity [that] make him a rare entity in today's musical landscape."

Chris Hicks, Atlantic Records senior VP of A&R and head of urban music at Warner/Chappell Music, who signed Hills to Warner/Chappell, observes that Hills is "very quick to step outside the box and not live by any rules creatively."

Pointing to Hills' effect on projects by Timberlake, Furtado, T.I. and Usher, Hicks adds, "He just wants to reinvent every time he goes in the studio and be groundbreaking." Indeed, Hills is inspired by the Foo Fighters as much as T.I., as his attorney David Ehrlich notes, "He's open-minded and doesn't like to be categorized, and draws influences from a vast variety of creative sources. And he plays piano, drums and guitar, and can explore a lot of different musical areas and opportunities. He's always evolving, but currently his uptempo, danceable beats are unique and fresh-sounding, and have proven inspirational to a lot of different artists."

"And in the last two years," Ehrlich adds, "you can't have turned on the radio without hearing a Danja record that he did with Timbaland, from Justin Timberlake's 'SexyBack' and 'My Love' to Nelly Furtado's 'Promiscuous' or 'Say It Right' to Britney Spears' 'Gimme More' and now to Madonna's '4 Minutes.'"

For his part, Hills agrees that the beat is much of what makes his sound. "I have a very bright and exciting sound, and it's because of the beat -- the groove, the sound of the drums," he says. "I might not be doing a lot of drum rolling and double-timing, but I pick one rhythm and make patterns as melodic as my lead lines, so you can hear the rhythm one time and remember it -- and it builds over and over again, just like melody." Not a lyricist, Hills notes that he is in fact known as "the Melody Man." "That's what they call me," he continues. "I hear it all the time." Hardly anything that might be construed as "dangerous." So where did that nickname come from?

"A long time ago me and some friends were hanging around making music -- a lot of freestyling stuff on the keyboard, and I was playing so fast with my hands," Hills recalls. "That's where it came from -- 'Danjahandz.' 'Danja.' I just spelled it like how I see it." The 27-year-old native of Virginia Beach, Va., played drums in church at age 12 before switching to keyboards. "I was always playing instruments at home and church," he says, "but I never practiced. I'd just seen how drummers played and hopped right on to the set and picked it up. And I'm self-taught on keyboards, too. I played by ear, listening to songs on the radio or learning in choir and teaching myself the chords." His influences included gospel music, of course, "R&B, some hip-hop and anything else that caught my ear. I just kept playing in church, but I was always interested in how can I create music: I was always trying to figure it out but never had the proper equipment until I eventually got a keyboard with a six-track sequencer when I was in high school and could lay down beats and melodies on two tracks." Hills gained some studio experience around Virginia Beach, "again basically teaching myself how to use a professional keyboard, microphone and computer.

But I was always only a producer, making multiple tracks of all kinds for different types of artists -- rock, pop, hip-hop, R&B -- all at the same time and nothing sounding alike. I look back and see where I was being prepared for what I am now." Among producers, Hills cites such role models as Dr. Dre, Rodney Jerkins, the Neptunes, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, "of course" Quincy Jones, Timbaland and Teddy Riley.

Working with Natural Blend, an R&B group from the Virginia Beach area, Hills met Leon Sylvers, who introduced him to Riley. True to his "studio rat" form, Danja began hanging out at Riley's studio in Virginia Beach and co-produced a track on Riley's group Blackstreet's 2003 album "Level II." But the real career turning point came when a CD containing 30 of Hills' beats was passed on to his idol Timbaland, who was duly impressed. Hills later had the opportunity to play more tracks for Timbaland personally on his tour bus.

"He didn't even listen to three seconds of each track and just knew where I was going," Hills says. "That was enough for him -- and that was it." Still, six months passed. Hills recalls "scraping by, breaking concrete with a sledgehammer doing construction work" during the day while "working and working and working" in the studio at night. Then Timbaland invited Hills to work with him down in Miami. "I had played some music for Scott Storch, Irv Gotti, Ja Rule, Fat Joe, all these dudes, and nothing came of it," Hills says. "But Tim recognized my talent level and potential from the start. It just goes to show that when it's your time it's your time." The Hills/Timbaland partnership then commenced in earnest in early 2004.

"Tim was hard on me, not in the sense of being a tyrant but musically very critical of what I was doing and pushing me to develop, develop, develop, push, push, push," Hills says. "We worked on a lot of different projects together including the Game, Black Eyed Peas, Jennifer Lopez, but nothing major happened. Then we did 'I'm So Fly' for Lloyd Banks, and it was really the first thing that people heard from me and Tim." Then the floodgates opened. "Nelly [Furtado] came along with some songs, but Tim had a different vision and we just started making music together," Hills says. "The first day we did 'Maneater.' " Furtado's 2006 hit from "Loose" flowed directly into Timberlake's "FutureSex/LoveSounds" project, the first session of which yielded "What Goes Around . . . Comes Around." "We were sitting on those two albums and nothing had dropped yet, but Tim felt really good about it, and I didn't have any choice but to feel good and excited because he was," Hills says. "Then in May of '06, 'Maneater' dropped overseas and started killing, and then the States. The rest is history." That history now also includes the likes of Madonna, Missy Elliott, Ciara and Fat Joe.

"Respect," along with "fearless" and "brilliant," are just some of the words colleagues use in assessing Hills' meteoric rise. "Danja is brilliant," Universal Motown president/executive VP Sylvia Rhone says. "He has a keen passion for his craft, takes great pride in his work and is the consummate perfectionist. I have watched him emerge from the shadows of his peers to become a major player in his own right -- an accomplished producer, composer and musician, a triple-threat in the studio and a genius hitmaker." Missy Elliott adds, "Danja is not only just a hot producer: He is fearless. That's what makes him hot. His music speaks for itself: When you listen to his beats you hear confidence in the track -- hard-hitting, cutting-edge confidence. He's not scared to take chances -- no matter what sound may be hot on the radio, he's going to give you what moves him. And that's what makes Danja dangerous." Furtado says, "Nate is an oddity because he possesses so much natural talent, combined with real musical focus at such a young age. He is invested in the original, constantly chasing musical risk -- and he is a stoic presence in the studio. He lives in his own beat-driven, keyboard-adoring world."

Future endeavors for Hills, according to Ehrlich, involve "expanding his brand and getting into other areas of commerce utilizing the brand." To this end, Ehrlich notes Hills' music work on the film "Step Up 2: The Streets." Hills says he looks forward to "stepping off as a solo entity" with a new company in the works and a new artist that he's "very excited about" to kick it off.

He notes that his goal is "to match or top what me and Tim did together," adding that "the good thing about it is that I still feel like that guy breaking up the concrete: I never forget what I'm out there doing, and I'm grateful for what I am. But to get that No. 1 record and then do it over and over again just to prove to myself that I can really do this, I want to continue that." But Hills' creative talents and accomplishments aside, he's also "a wonderful person," Ehrlich says. "He always does the right thing and strives to do the right thing. He's always sensitive to the feelings of others and tries to act ethically in business -- where sometimes you're challenged to not do so. One of the greatest joys is working with him." Offering a last word, Epic Records president Charlie Walk echoes Ehrlich.

"In this business you try to work with people who are great creatively, and Danja represents that from the purest place," he says. "He comes in with an impassioned willingness to be exceptional, but no drama, no ego. He's pure, which makes it different for him and for us."****

Danja talks Duran Duran, Britney, Simple Plan, Madonna The Clipse, & Others

Here is one of the best interviews yet on Danja Handz covering his experiences from everyone: Duran Duran to Mariah Carey, The Clipse to T.I. Check it out:

****Rhapsody: Have you been working on T.I.’s upcoming album, Paper Trail?

Danja: I did. I sent him a few tracks. He wrote to one. From what I hear, it’s incredible. I’m not allowed to go in his crib. But I’ll be in the studio completely focused on T.I., sending him tracks and we’ll be communicating. I hate emailing beats. It’s the worst thing you could do, because it’s a magic that has to happen in the studio. I can see and feel when you don’t like something. When I worked with Tip on the last album, I ended up with three [songs]. But it’s another six records that he started, where he at least got a verse and a hook on, that we were just doing so fast -- just from being in the studio [together]. So I’m gonna try to recreate that magic even though there’s going to be a distance. The difference is he’s writing everything now. The last [album] he just went in the booth. So now he’s thinking about what he’s saying. It’s gonna take a little bit longer. But the quality of the work is gonna be phenomenal.

Rhapsody: Are you still working on Madonna's album?

Danja: Actually Madonna is finished. Me and Tim did four or five [songs] together. He also did three more with a new producer, Hannon, out of Virginia. Then Pharrell did the rest. So it’s like a Virginia-produced album. I’m actually kind of proud of that. Even though me and Tim and Pharrell didn’t work together, just for us to completely conquer an artist such as Madonna ... I’m good. Either way, whether we got a single or [Pharrell] got a single, Virginia got a [Madonna] single.****

Full Article

No matter how many articles and interviews I read about Danja, the dude ALWAYS comes off very humble and sincere. For all his success, the guy has worked with Britney, Madonna, and Mariah Carey, Danja still acknowledges that he's not in the top 5 of the producers out right now. While so many young, new producers are claiming to be the best in the biz, Danja is steady on his grind working on those classic joints he knows he needs to be considered in the upper echelon of production.

Now for the stan side, I wonder if we'll ever get to hear those multiple tracks Danja and T.I. did. Plus what do you think about the Danja/Clipse combo? Tim better get in on that session as well. So for Madonna we're looking at for sure 7-8 songs including 3 with my man Hannon! No one is slowing down in 2008.

New Danja Article

Check out the new Danjahandz article. I've always wanted to know which tracks Danja has done solo versus the ones he did with Tim. There has been a lot of speculation and debate among Tim fans over which tracks Danja was a part of. In the end, though, it all boils down to great music.

Take for instance Jeanie Ortega's "So Done" remix. Is that Danja only or Tim and Danja? Too hard to tell in my opinion.