Artist Spotlight
Known for his unique brand of high BPM tech-house groovers, Daniel Orpi has quickly made a name for himself, despite first releasing only three years ago. Born in Barcelona but based in London, Daniel has had the opportunity early in his career to play some of the best venues globally and count artists like Claude VonStroke, Solardo, and Eli Brown as supporters.
"I start raving when I was 17 years old… I didn't know what electronic music was, I was just a typical rebel kid. I was painting graffiti on trains and all that stuff… I met some people and they started to bring me to afters [parties] in Barcelona… I was like, Wow, this music is crazy. I was going there every weekend, and I fell in love. Soon, one of my friends introduced me to DJing... Step by step, we got like a small controller. Then I got rid of the small controller, and got some CDJ 300s, and we tried to mix properly without any computer. It took me like one month to figure out what was the BPM and all of that stuff because I was in my in my rooftop bar like trying to figure out what the fuck is this?"
After cutting his teeth in Barcelona, playing all night into the mornings, Daniel decided it was time for a change of scenery. Once he determined he wanted to pursue a music career full time, he went to the United Kingdom.
He quickly made a trip to Liverpool, where he ended up staying for six months. Although he made great relationships and gained experience, the trip proved difficult for Daniel due to the language barrier. After two years back in Barcelona, Daniel decided it was time to go back to the UK for good. He saw the opportunity that DJs had in London and quickly made it his new home.
As he has grown and developed his career, Daniel's sound has become more defined. As a result, he operates in a space that tends to be more minimal, without being repetitive, and often maintains higher BPMs than one would typically find in tech house.
"I'm trying to bring it down now, trying to bring it to 128, between 128 and 130 because when I play, I really think it gets all the people dancing more when the beat is faster. It sounds better. I don't know why," he posits.
"But also now when I make tracks, I always, even if I do it at 130, you're going to always bring it down when you're playing. So at the end, it's not that much difference. As long as there is no 134, which is crazy stuff, you know, I got some training about like 175, like I would never play that in a club like 134, you know? I just feel that the groove is more driving, so it invites more to dance."
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For Daniel, finding the right groove is always the goal. It has allowed him to secure gigs in Ibiza, as well as high-level support on BBC Radio One.
"I feel that what you put into your work life will get back to you… I had this in mind [playing Ibiza] for a long time. And now to be seeing all of these goals getting real, it's so crazy. But at the same time, I was already working on the vision of my career for a long time."
Knocking out the goal of any rising DJ to play in Ibiza is a massive accomplishment. Getting support from BBC Radio One meant even more to him.
"I feel so grateful. Every time I look at things like it's cloudy again, Covid, political issues, I'm just grateful to be where I am and be able to play shows."
Going forward, the future is only bright for Daniel Orpi. He is scoring gigs worldwide and just wrapped up his debut US tour. In addition, he will be releasing an EP with Elrow records on December 10th, cementing his place with the brand as one of the hottest Spaniards in the business.
