Grades (born Daniel Traynor) is an English producer, songwriter and DJ based in London. His music encompasses elements of
R&B,
Hip Hop,
2step,
House and
Electronic
Electronic may refer to:
*Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor
* ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal
*Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device
*Electronic co ...
.
Career
As an artist/DJ, Grades’ first original track "Freedom" was released in April 2014 and was featured by
Annie Mac in her Free Music Mondays download series. He followed the release of "Freedom" with a remix of
Lana Del Rey’s "
West Coast" which reached number 3 at Hype Machine. Grades’ second single "Owe It To Yourself" was premiered in June by
Mixmag
''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights.
History
The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was prin ...
who compared him to artists such as
Bondax
Bondax is an electronic music duo consisting of English musicians Adam Kaye (born 1 April 1994) and George Townsend (born 17 September 1993). The group gained prominence primarily as a result of BBC Radio, initially through BBC Introducing Lanca ...
and
Kaytranada
Louis Kevin Celestin (born August 25, 1992), known professionally as Kaytranada (stylized as KAYTRANADA, shortened as KAYTRA), is a Haitian-Canadian record producer and DJ. Celestin rose to prominence after releasing a series of mixtapes, remixes, ...
. Grades went on to remix
Hot Natured,
Ellie Goulding,
Labrinth
Timothy Lee McKenzie (born 4 January 1989), better known by his stage name Labrinth, is an English singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer. After initially pursuing a career in music production, Simon Cowell signed him to his record labe ...
,
Becky Hill
Rebecca Claire Hill (born 14 February 1994) is a British singer from Bewdley, England. She rose to prominence after appearing on the first series of the then BBC (now ITV) talent contest '' The Voice UK'', auditioning with John Legend's "Ord ...
,
Lianne La Havas
Lianne Charlotte Barnes (born 23 August 1989), known professionally as Lianne La Havas ( ), is a British singer-songwriter and record producer. Her career began after being introduced to various musicians, including singer Paloma Faith, for wh ...
& many more.
Later in the year, Grades co-wrote & produced
Bastille’s single "Torn Apart" which featured on the "Vs. (Other People’s Heartache pt. III)" project. His third single "Crocodile Tears", featuring vocals from songwriter
Caroline Ailin
Caroline Furøyen, also known by her stage name Caroline Ailin (born 1989), is a Norwegian singer and songwriter based in London. She co-wrote "New Rules", a single by Dua Lipa which reached number 1 on the UK Singles Chart and US pop radio in 2 ...
, was premiered by
Vice’s music channel
Noisey.
Grades has received radio play from
Zane Lowe
Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter.
After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...
,
Pete Tong
Peter Michael Tong, (born 30 July 1960) is an English disc jockey who works for BBC Radio 1. He is the host of programmes such as ''Essential Mix'' and ''Essential Selection'' on the radio service, which can be heard through Internet radio stre ...
,
MistaJam
Peter Dalton (born 19 January 1983), known professionally as MistaJam, is a British DJ and radio presenter. He is known for presenting radio shows on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra from 2005 to 2020; since 2020 he has presented on Capital and ...
,
Nick Grimshaw,
Huw Stephens
Huw Meredydd Stephens (born 25 May 1981) is a Welsh radio and television presenter, currently broadcasting on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 6 Music.
Stephens founded the Sŵn music festival with John Rostron and the yearly s ...
and
Annie Mac at
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
, and had his own
KISS FM Kiss FM, Kiss Radio or variants may refer to:
Asia-Oceania
* Various Kiss FM-branded stations in the Philippines
** 95.1 Kiss FM, Lucena, Quezon
** 102.3 Kiss FM, Tagbilaran, Bohol
* Kiss92 FM, Singapore
* KISS 969, Sri Lanka
* Kiss Radio Taiwan ...
radio show from 2016-17.
Within 2016, he began working with
NAO on her debut studio album ''
For All We Know'' (including "Bad Blood", "Fool To Love" & "Girlfriend") produced and featured on
Sinead Harnett's "If You Let Me", and co-wrote a song ft.
Mr Hudson
Benjamin Hudson McIldowie (born 26 June 1979), better known by his stage name Mr Hudson, is an English musician from Birmingham, England. First rising to prominence in 2006 with Mr Hudson and the Library, Hudson later embarked on a solo career ...
on
DJ Snake
William Sami Étienne Grigahcine (born 13 June 1986), known by his stage name DJ Snake, is an Algerian French music producer and DJ, first achieving international recognition in 2013 by releasing an instrumentation-oriented single called "Turn Do ...
's number 1
Billboard album
''Encore''. He produced
Julian Peretta
Julian may refer to:
People
* Julian (emperor) (331–363), Roman emperor from 361 to 363
* Julian (Rome), referring to the Roman gens Julia, with imperial dynasty offshoots
* Saint Julian (disambiguation), several Christian saints
* Julian (gi ...
's "I Cry" which was #3 most played song on French radio during 2016.
Grades went on to work on tracks for
H.E.R
Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson (born June 27, 1997), known professionally as H.E.R. (pronounced "her", an acronym for "Having Everything Revealed"), is an American singer, songwriter, musician and actress.
She has received several awards includin ...
,
Tinie Tempah
Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu (born 7 November 1988), better known by his stage name Tinie Tempah, is a British rapper. He has been signed to Parlophone Records since 2009, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group. He created his own entertainment compa ...
,
Tinashe
Tinashe Jorgensen Kachingwe ( ; born February 6, 1993), known mononymously as Tinashe, is an American singer, dancer, and actress. Born in Lexington, Kentucky, Tinashe moved to Pasadena as a child to pursue a career in entertainment. Her notab ...
, Aanysa,
Snakehips as well as
Dua Lipa &
Khalid
Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal", and it also appears as a surname. on their multi-platinum albums.
Grades was nominated for a
Grammy in 2017 for his work on the
Khalid
Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal", and it also appears as a surname. album
''American Teen'', alongside producer Scribz Riley.
Discography
Singles
as lead artist
* "I Wanna Be Down" (2014)
* "Rock The Boat" (2014)
* "
Torn Apart" (2014)
* "Freedom" (2014)
* "Owe It To Yourself" (2014)
* "Crocodile Tears" (2014)
* "King" (2015)
as featured artist
* "If You Let Me" (2016)
Songwriting and production credits
References
External links
Interview with Ministry of SoundInterview with HungerTV
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grades
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
English DJs
DJs from London