Mischa Daniels
After the auspicious musical start that Dutch-born Mischa Daniels enjoyed, it’s no wonder he’s at the helm of the aptly named FAME label and rapidly racking up club hits and plaudits from the likes of Erick Morillo and Pete Tong. After experimenting with drums and trumpets from the age of 7, he discovered house music and switched his allegiance to a pair of turntables. Playing out at parties from the tender age of 12, Mischa soon got interested in producing his own tracks: “It’s a real adventure choosing what direction is right for you” he says. “I always liked that about music, but I didn’t realise it could become like it is now – a profession.” At 16 he won a national DJ contest on live radio, but just as the DJing took off Mischa decided he should start studying. “You never know with music if you’ll have the success that you dream of, so it’s good to have something to fall back on,” he says. He needn’t have worried; at 22, with a Real Estate masters degree under his belt, his debut release – enthusiastically titled Pumping Groover. - on WORK Records (home to Dutch house pioneer Olav Basoski) sold bucketloads, and WORK signed him up. The following half dozen releases brought him to the attention of a number of big labels, and in 2005 Armada Music snapped up Mischa to start his own label with them, FAME.