You are on the Desktop website, Click here to go back to our mobile website
ARTICLE
Back in May, he delivered a barn-storming evening reception at the wedding of Pro Mobile’s sub-editor Greg Cartwright, who interviewed Dan recently about his award-winning career, his early passion for DJing, and how his background in web development led to his involvement in Mobile DJ Manager (MDJM).
Q: It feels quite strange to be interviewing my own wedding DJ, but here we are. I thought you were brilliant, but I'm curious to know what you enjoyed most about DJing it?
A: I knew from the moment I started sound checking that your guests were ready to party, with them immediately shuffling onto the dancefloor!
Your choice of venue was simply stunning, along with you and your guests’ music tastes. I was able to relax and keep the dancefloor busy all night, blending everything from the eighties to noughties indie - which is right up my street.
Of course, there is nothing like a little added pressure of knowing the groom is an editor of a magazine you read. After the wedding, when you asked if I’d like to be featured, I did have a little Pro Mobile fanboy moment…
Q: Llyn Gwynant Barns was a new venue for you. How did you feel about it?
A: Yes, this was the first time I’d visited Llyn Gwynant Barns. Barn-type venues are one of my favourites to work in. I usually find they are relaxed and the majority of the time allow the use of haze or fog, which really adds to the atmosphere. The team there were also fantastic and helpful!
Q: You recently won the award for Welsh Wedding DJ of the Year, which is an incredible achievement. Can you tell us more?
A: I found out I had been nominated back in October. As soon as I announced my entry on social media, all my brides and grooms got in touch to say they had nominated me! This led to further nominations and me being selected as a finalist. For any supplier, just recognition means the world, especially when we all work so hard to be the best we can be.
The awards ceremony was held in Cardiff, so me and my wife booked a hotel and treated ourselves to a night away. At the ceremony, we sat at a table full of different vendors, some also based in North Wales. The category was strong, with nine other brilliant finalists, so I knew my chances of winning were very slim.
When the MC started saying the finalists’ names and then read out DJP Discos as Wedding DJ of the Year, I blanked out for a second. This was followed by a stupid ‘dad dance’ to the stage and a very brief speech, thanking my wife for letting me disappear every weekend!
Q: When did you start DJing and why?
A: It all began when I was in primary school. I was around 11 years old, living in Walsall, and I remember asking for Homemix CD Decks for Christmas that year, which came with some basic studio monitors. I set this up in my bedroom, which I shared with my brother, and slowly started taking over the room, with rope lights attached to the beds and the door frame, moonflower lights, police siren lights, and our desk doubling up as a DJ booth.
It wasn’t long after that I was asked to DJ my school discos, which required a bit of a kit upgrade. I spotted a pair of Jamo D 365 speakers in the window of Cash Converters one day, and the next thing I knew my mum and dad had bought them for me! I remember collecting them. They were my pride and joy and certainly helped me get bigger gigs, as I did birthday parties and warm-ups for football matches. By the time I was moving to secondary school, I was already dipping into weddings.
Q: What's been the biggest challenge to your business so far?
A: Other than Covid being the obvious answer, the biggest challenge for me is to not burn myself out. The year following Covid was a crazy year for the entire industry. As well as working 9-5 from Monday to Friday, I was using all my annual leave to take bookings on Fridays whilst also working Saturday and sometimes Sunday.
I went the entire summer of 2022 without a day off, which with a family at home took its toll! From then on, I vowed to never take more than two bookings a week - although that still only leaves me with one day off some weeks. On the other hand, DJing is my passion and my business is so important to me - it’s extremely hard to say no sometimes.
Q: How's the wedding season going this year? Have you noticed any changes to last year, or any emerging trends amongst clients?
A: Wedding season this year is one of my busiest ever, with me returning to some of my favourite venues. One thing I’m noticing more and more of is couples not wanting to do the entire traditional first dance on their own.
Q: As a groom who was frankly terrified of the first dance, I can definitely testify to that! We wanted our friends and family to get involved…
A: Yes, it’s usually either one end of the scale, where the couple has a fully choreographed dance, along with a professionally produced mashup. Or I get asked to invite friends and family to join them after a minute or two, or as soon as the photographer/videographer has what they need.
Q: What's your favourite song to play out at the moment and why?
A: I’m really enjoying playing the noughties at the moment. With the development and easier availability of stems, it’s given me so much more creativity. I find myself doing wordplays, mixing vocals over instrumentals and generally tightening up my transitions between tracks to keep the energy high and the dancefloor interested.
Q: How important are customer testimonials and how do you encourage them?
A: Reviews are like gold dust because they give potential couples a real, honest insight into the service they will also receive. It’s also an amazing feeling reading through the lovely feedback.
It’s sometimes hard to get couples to leave reviews, so it’s always the question of asking straight after their big day, while it’s still fresh, or leaving it a few weeks until things have settled down, they have had their honeymoon and they’ve had time to reflect. I’ve never actually found the ideal time to contact them, so if anybody has any suggestions I’d be interested to hear…
Q: I know you hold down a 'regular' job alongside running your successful DJ business. How do you get the work/life balance right? And do you have any plans to go full-time as a DJ?
A: I work full-time as a web developer, and I think most wedding/mobile DJs have a techy and geeky side to them, especially when it comes to lighting and sound. Having a web developer background also has its benefits: I’ve built my website and worked hard on SEO, ranking highly for specific phrases that all convert very well.
A couple of years ago, along with my friend Jack, I took over an event management system called Mobile DJ Manager (MDJM).
This bolts onto WordPress websites and allows the user to manage bookings and give clients access to their online account and playlist builder - the exact thing you used before your wedding Greg.
Balancing full-time work with my DJ business is now something I’ve got a hold on. I’m fortunate enough to be able to pick and choose which weekends I’d like off for family time. It works very well at the moment and I can’t see things changing any time soon, especially with the current cost of living.
Q: What are your plans for the rest of 2024?
A: In November I’ll also be attending The Nation’s Wedding Awards 2024, which includes all four UK nations. I’m pleased to say I’ve been nominated for National Wedding DJ of the Year.
Other than that, I’m mostly just focusing on growing my business and taking on more exciting bookings. I’m now fully booked until mid-December, with 2025 looking very busy and 2026 starting to take shape through the summer months.
Q: You're pretty active on social media. Which channels are you finding most useful? And where can people find you if they want to connect?
A: Instagram is something I’ve been trying hard to grow over the past year, although it’s difficult to constantly find or create content. Some seem to find it naturally, and maybe I need to get in front of the camera a little more. I’ve recently started getting bookings via TikTok, so it’s definitely something I need to up my game with.
Come and say hi! I’m @djpdiscos on TikTok and
@djpmobilediscos on Instagram. Of course, you can also find me on Facebook.
Q: It feels quite strange to be interviewing my own wedding DJ, but here we are. I thought you were brilliant, but I'm curious to know what you enjoyed most about DJing it?
A: I knew from the moment I started sound checking that your guests were ready to party, with them immediately shuffling onto the dancefloor!
Your choice of venue was simply stunning, along with you and your guests’ music tastes. I was able to relax and keep the dancefloor busy all night, blending everything from the eighties to noughties indie - which is right up my street.
Of course, there is nothing like a little added pressure of knowing the groom is an editor of a magazine you read. After the wedding, when you asked if I’d like to be featured, I did have a little Pro Mobile fanboy moment…
Q: Llyn Gwynant Barns was a new venue for you. How did you feel about it?
A: Yes, this was the first time I’d visited Llyn Gwynant Barns. Barn-type venues are one of my favourites to work in. I usually find they are relaxed and the majority of the time allow the use of haze or fog, which really adds to the atmosphere. The team there were also fantastic and helpful!
Q: You recently won the award for Welsh Wedding DJ of the Year, which is an incredible achievement. Can you tell us more?
A: I found out I had been nominated back in October. As soon as I announced my entry on social media, all my brides and grooms got in touch to say they had nominated me! This led to further nominations and me being selected as a finalist. For any supplier, just recognition means the world, especially when we all work so hard to be the best we can be.
The awards ceremony was held in Cardiff, so me and my wife booked a hotel and treated ourselves to a night away. At the ceremony, we sat at a table full of different vendors, some also based in North Wales. The category was strong, with nine other brilliant finalists, so I knew my chances of winning were very slim.
When the MC started saying the finalists’ names and then read out DJP Discos as Wedding DJ of the Year, I blanked out for a second. This was followed by a stupid ‘dad dance’ to the stage and a very brief speech, thanking my wife for letting me disappear every weekend!
Q: When did you start DJing and why?
A: It all began when I was in primary school. I was around 11 years old, living in Walsall, and I remember asking for Homemix CD Decks for Christmas that year, which came with some basic studio monitors. I set this up in my bedroom, which I shared with my brother, and slowly started taking over the room, with rope lights attached to the beds and the door frame, moonflower lights, police siren lights, and our desk doubling up as a DJ booth.
It wasn’t long after that I was asked to DJ my school discos, which required a bit of a kit upgrade. I spotted a pair of Jamo D 365 speakers in the window of Cash Converters one day, and the next thing I knew my mum and dad had bought them for me! I remember collecting them. They were my pride and joy and certainly helped me get bigger gigs, as I did birthday parties and warm-ups for football matches. By the time I was moving to secondary school, I was already dipping into weddings.
Q: What's been the biggest challenge to your business so far?
A: Other than Covid being the obvious answer, the biggest challenge for me is to not burn myself out. The year following Covid was a crazy year for the entire industry. As well as working 9-5 from Monday to Friday, I was using all my annual leave to take bookings on Fridays whilst also working Saturday and sometimes Sunday.
I went the entire summer of 2022 without a day off, which with a family at home took its toll! From then on, I vowed to never take more than two bookings a week - although that still only leaves me with one day off some weeks. On the other hand, DJing is my passion and my business is so important to me - it’s extremely hard to say no sometimes.
Q: How's the wedding season going this year? Have you noticed any changes to last year, or any emerging trends amongst clients?
A: Wedding season this year is one of my busiest ever, with me returning to some of my favourite venues. One thing I’m noticing more and more of is couples not wanting to do the entire traditional first dance on their own.
Q: As a groom who was frankly terrified of the first dance, I can definitely testify to that! We wanted our friends and family to get involved…
A: Yes, it’s usually either one end of the scale, where the couple has a fully choreographed dance, along with a professionally produced mashup. Or I get asked to invite friends and family to join them after a minute or two, or as soon as the photographer/videographer has what they need.
Q: What's your favourite song to play out at the moment and why?
A: I’m really enjoying playing the noughties at the moment. With the development and easier availability of stems, it’s given me so much more creativity. I find myself doing wordplays, mixing vocals over instrumentals and generally tightening up my transitions between tracks to keep the energy high and the dancefloor interested.
Q: How important are customer testimonials and how do you encourage them?
A: Reviews are like gold dust because they give potential couples a real, honest insight into the service they will also receive. It’s also an amazing feeling reading through the lovely feedback.
It’s sometimes hard to get couples to leave reviews, so it’s always the question of asking straight after their big day, while it’s still fresh, or leaving it a few weeks until things have settled down, they have had their honeymoon and they’ve had time to reflect. I’ve never actually found the ideal time to contact them, so if anybody has any suggestions I’d be interested to hear…
Q: I know you hold down a 'regular' job alongside running your successful DJ business. How do you get the work/life balance right? And do you have any plans to go full-time as a DJ?
A: I work full-time as a web developer, and I think most wedding/mobile DJs have a techy and geeky side to them, especially when it comes to lighting and sound. Having a web developer background also has its benefits: I’ve built my website and worked hard on SEO, ranking highly for specific phrases that all convert very well.
A couple of years ago, along with my friend Jack, I took over an event management system called Mobile DJ Manager (MDJM).
This bolts onto WordPress websites and allows the user to manage bookings and give clients access to their online account and playlist builder - the exact thing you used before your wedding Greg.
Balancing full-time work with my DJ business is now something I’ve got a hold on. I’m fortunate enough to be able to pick and choose which weekends I’d like off for family time. It works very well at the moment and I can’t see things changing any time soon, especially with the current cost of living.
Q: What are your plans for the rest of 2024?
A: In November I’ll also be attending The Nation’s Wedding Awards 2024, which includes all four UK nations. I’m pleased to say I’ve been nominated for National Wedding DJ of the Year.
Other than that, I’m mostly just focusing on growing my business and taking on more exciting bookings. I’m now fully booked until mid-December, with 2025 looking very busy and 2026 starting to take shape through the summer months.
Q: You're pretty active on social media. Which channels are you finding most useful? And where can people find you if they want to connect?
A: Instagram is something I’ve been trying hard to grow over the past year, although it’s difficult to constantly find or create content. Some seem to find it naturally, and maybe I need to get in front of the camera a little more. I’ve recently started getting bookings via TikTok, so it’s definitely something I need to up my game with.
Come and say hi! I’m @djpdiscos on TikTok and
@djpmobilediscos on Instagram. Of course, you can also find me on Facebook.
The full review can be found in Pro Mobile Issue 127, Pages 42-44.
