Bass / Vocals
Dan has managed to achieve a lot in a very short period of time. His musical palette is made of his love of diverse styles, from the obvious influences of great bass players like Wooten, King, Pastorius and Jamerson. With his considerable technical prowess he fuses tremendous pop sensibility into his playing, has a keen ear for melody and can spend hours enthusing with Luke about artists normally considered poles apart from Prog Rock, like Earth Wind & Fire or early Michael Jackson.
The funky edge he brings to Maschine is his hallmark, and people have been quick to realise that this style is actually a very suitable way in which to approach Progressive Rock, in that Chris Squire’s legendary work for Yes is, intentionally or not, “well funky” as Dan puts it. Dan met Luke at BIMM in Brighton where Dan was studying under Franc O’ Shea and the two worked together on many projects. By the time the bass position became available in Maschine, there was no-one else under consideration. Dan was The Man. Recently, Dan performed across Europe with the new progressive rock outfit UPF (United Progressive Fraternity).
“I try to capture the melodic quality of players like Jaco and McCartney and combine it with the groove of bassists like Wooten and Jamerson” he says, “If you find the balance between groove and melody your bass lines will not only sit well, but complement and add to the harmony of any given composition”.