Darren Tate (born 22 October 1972, in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
) is a British record producer, film composer and club DJ.
Biography
As a classically trained musician, Tate has worked with international
artists
An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, the ...
and songwriters with whom he collaborates regularly. He has also worked in the areas of television, film and musical theatre.
Appearing in various television advertisements during his childhood, he attended boarding school for ten years. As he got older, he was trained in several classical
musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...
s, studied Music at
Leeds University
, mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased
, established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds
, ...
and enjoyed success in television, film and musical theatre.
In a ''DMC'' magazine interview of March 2007, Tate stated that his favourite
record was "
Unfinished Sympathy
"Unfinished Sympathy" is a 1991 song by the English trip hop group Massive Attack, released under the temporary group name Massive. It was written by the three band members Robert "3D" Del Naja, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Mar ...
" by
Massive Attack
Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall.
The debut Massive Attack album ''Blue Lines'' was release ...
. In the same interview, it was revealed that three of his biggest influences in his life were
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...
,
John Williams
John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...
and
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...
. Tate has a son who was born in February 2006.
Career
Like many of his fellow DJs, Tate has used a large number of pseudonyms. His first project was a joint effort with
Judge Jules
Julius O'Riordan (born 1966), better known by his stage name Judge Jules, is a British dance music DJ, record producer and entertainment lawyer. He is known for his DJ activities, music production and long-running radio show which achieved glob ...
in 2000. Together with Jules's wife, Amanda O'Riordan, they named themselves
Angelic. Later the same year, he cut a few tracks under the name Orion. September 2002 saw the return of Tate under the name Jurgen Vries. Since then, he has used the name DT8 and most recently was part of DT8 Project. His most successful track in terms of
chart
A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...
presence came with "
The Opera Song", which featured
Charlotte Church
Charlotte Maria Church (born Charlotte Maria Reed, 21 February 1986) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress, television presenter and political activist from Cardiff.
Church rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching i ...
, credited on the sleeve as CMC. Several
compilations of dance tunes by major
record label
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
s have been mixed by Tate and reached the charts. Tate's first album (released under his own name) was issued in 2006 and titled ''Horizons 01''. The first official DT8 Project album, ''Perfect World'', was released on 1 October 2007. It was a
double album
A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...
, the second containing
remix
A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...
es from other producers.
Tate is also known as a DJ. As well as headlining many events and touring, he hosts the monthly 'Mondo Sessions' (with co-host Dale Corderoy) which is syndicated across an international radio station network (including Ministry of Sound Radio, DI.FM, ETN,
Rise FM
''Grand Theft Auto III'' is a 2001 action-adventure game developed by DMA Design and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 1999's ''Grand Theft Auto 2'', and the fifth instalment o ...
,
Fresh FM,
KIK FM
Darwin FM is a dance music station located in Darwin, Northern Territory Australia broadcasting on the frequencies 91.5 MHz, 88 MHz, and online. The first broadcast went to air in 1995 focusing on the club culture of the world.
In 2001 a ...
and others). In addition, he has performed mixing duties on albums such as ''Beyond Euphoria (MOS)'', ''Trance Republic'' (with John Askew and Agnelli & Nelson) and ''Mondo Sessions 001'' with
Mike Koglin
Mike may refer to:
Animals
* Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum
* Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off
* Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documen ...
.
Tate has also recorded under the name Citizen Caned and now heads
Mondo Records
Darren Tate (born 22 October 1972, in London) is a British record producer, film composer and club DJ.
Biography
As a classically trained musician, Tate has worked with international artists and songwriters with whom he collaborates regularly. ...
, a company which he started in 2000. Also included in the Mondo umbrella are Mondo Publishing (established in 2004) and Mondo DJs (formed in 2007). In January 2008, Tate revealed during an interview on his official website that he was doing some movie work.
In 2008, Tate completed a track for the film ''
Royal Kill
''Royal Kill'' (also released under the title ''Ninja's Creed'') is a 2009 American psychological action thriller film directed by Babar Ahmed and starring Eric Roberts and Pat Morita, along with Lalaine and professional wrestler Gail Kim. The f ...
'', which can be heard over the credits at the end of the film. He also released ''Horizons 02'' as an EP.
In 2009, Tate was given a special mention and distinguished musician award by the IBLA Foundation for his classical work "Dark Skies" recorded with the
Czech National Symphony Orchestra
The Czech National Symphony Orchestra (ČNSO or CNSO) ( cs, Český národní symfonický orchestr) is a Czech symphony orchestra based in Prague. The orchestra principally gives concerts at the Smetana Hall, Municipal House (''Smetanova síň O ...
(CNSO) in Prague (October 2008).
In 2011, Tate announced several new projects, including Funkysober with
Boy George
George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singe ...
and Marc Vedo, and Tate & Diamond with Harry Diamond. The first Funkysober single "Sunshine into My Life" features vocals by Sharlene Hector and was released in the summer of 2011 on Very Good Records. The first Tate & Diamond single "Turn It Back" was released in summer 2011 on
Defected Records
In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...
with the follow up "Electrified" released on
Anjunabeats
Anjunabeats is a British record label started by producers Jonathan "Jono" Grant and Paavo Siljamäki of Above & Beyond in 2000. Initially exclusively a trance music label, around 2011 Anjunabeats started releasing primarily trance-edged hou ...
. In addition, Tate announced the launch of a collaborative film scoring project entitled Brainstorm with composer
Kenneth Lampl
Kenneth Lampl (born November 7, 1964) is an American composer and lecturer known for his film, television and choral music. He is the former head of the Australian National University School of Music.
Biography
Born in the Bronx, New York, La ...
. The first film they completed together was called ''Sid's Paralysis'' by director
Babar Ahmed which went on to win a prize for musical excellence by the Park City Film Music Festival.
In 2012, Tate with
Kenneth Lampl
Kenneth Lampl (born November 7, 1964) is an American composer and lecturer known for his film, television and choral music. He is the former head of the Australian National University School of Music.
Biography
Born in the Bronx, New York, La ...
scored the motion picture ''
The Undershepherd
''The Undershepherd'' is a 2012 American drama film written and directed by Russ Parr and starring Isaiah Washington.
Two preacher friends clash as one is led by God and the other is led by Satan.
Cast
*Isaiah Washington as L.C.
*Bill Cobbs as ...
'', directed by
Russ Parr
Russ Parr (born 1959 in California) is an American radio DJ, film director, writer, actor and television personality known for such television shows as '' Rock 'N' America''.
Career
Parr began as a Production Services Director at ABC TV.
Russ wa ...
and starring
Isaiah Washington
Isaiah Washington IV is an American actor and media personality. Following a series of film appearances, he came to prominence for portraying Dr. Preston Burke in the first three seasons of the series ''Grey's Anatomy'' from 2005 to 2007.
Wash ...
,
Keith David
Keith David Williams (born June 4, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his signature deep voice and commanding screen presence in over 300 roles across film, stage, television, and interactive media.
He has starred in such films as '' T ...
and
Louis Gossett Jr.
Louis Cameron Gossett Jr. (born May 27, 1936) is an American actor. Born in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City, He had his stage debut at the age of 17, in a school production of '' You Can't Take It with You.'' Shortly after he successfully ...
In addition, Tate & Lampl worked together on the feature film ''How Do You Write a Joe Schermann Song'' (director Gary King) which won best film and up and coming director at the
Phoenix Film Festival
Phoenix Film Festival is a festival that celebrates feature films and their creators. Started in 2000, the annual celebration takes place in the city of Phoenix, Arizona. The festival is a showcase for feature and short films from all over the wo ...
and best picture at the
Raindance Film Festival
Raindance is an independent film festival and film school that operates in major cities including London, Los Angeles, New York, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Budapest, Berlin, and Brussels. The festival was established in 1992 by Elliot Grove to ...
amongst other awards. The team are currently scoring the motion picture ''Snapshot'' (dir. Eric Etebari), ''Awakened'' (dir. Arno Malarone, Joycelyn Engle) and ''Scavenger Killers'' (dir. Dylan Bank) which starred
Charles Durning
Charles Edward Durning (February 28, 1923 – December 24, 2012) was an American actor who appeared in over 200 movies, television shows and plays.Schudel, Matt (December 26, 2012) "''In real life and on the screen, he played countless role ...
in his final role.
In 2013, it was announced that the duo would be scoring the feature film ''
Frontera'' starring
Ed Harris
Edward Allen Harris (born November 28, 1950) is an American actor and filmmaker. His performances in ''Apollo 13'' (1995), ''The Truman Show'' (1998), ''Pollock'' (2000), and '' The Hours'' (2002) earned him critical acclaim and Academy Award n ...
,
Eva Longoria
Eva Jacqueline Longoria Bastón ( Longoria; March 15, 1975) is an American actress, producer, and director. After a number of guest roles on several television series, she was recognized for her portrayal of Isabella Braña on the CBS daytime ...
and
Michael Pena
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name "Michael"
* Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...
(dir. Michael Berry).
In 2018, Tate co-produced and orchestrated the first album for The House and Garage Orchestra, ''
Garage Classics
''Garage Classics'' is the debut album by the House & Garage Orchestra, released on 30 November 2018 on the New State Music label. It was released on CD and as a digital download. The album was produced by Darren Tate and Alex Mereier (Shy Cookie ...
''. The album features performances by Kayla Amor,
Sweet Female Attitude
Sweet Female Attitude is an electronic music act from Manchester, England. They are known for the UK garage remix by Sunship of their track "Flowers", written by Martin Green a.k.a. Shine MC and Mike Powell, which reached number two on the U ...
, Denzee,
Kele Le Roc
Kelly Biggs (born 5 October 1977 in East Ham, London), better known by her stage name Kele Le Roc, is a British R&B and UK garage singer.
Career
Biggs began singing at the age of three, and she attended Langdon Comprehensive School in East Ham ...
, Camden Cox,
MC Neat,
Shelley Nelson
Shelley Nelson is an English singer and songwriter from London, best known as the vocalist on the two top 20 hits by Tin Tin Out, "Here's Where the Story Ends" and "Sometimes", as well as the UK garage top 40 hit by Ed Case, "Something in Your Eye ...
, Shy Cookie,
Shola Ama
Shola Ama (born 8 March 1979) is a British singer from London, who scored her biggest hits with "You Might Need Somebody" (1997), a cover of Randy Crawford's 1981 hit, " You're the One I Love" and "Still Believe" (1999) which was one of the fi ...
, Oggie, Freejak, Safety First, BB Diamond,
Tough Love
Tough love is the act of treating a person sternly or harshly with the intent to help them in the long run.
Description
Bill Milliken described tough love through the expression, "I don't care how this makes you feel toward me. You may hate m ...
and Reigns.
On Record Day 2021, Fat Possum Records released a limited edition album, ''Give Me More Love'' by
Al Green
Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), better known as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Take Me to the River", ...
which was co-produced by Tate. The album took the original recordings from Green which were originally released by
Hi Records
Hi Records is an American soul music and rockabilly label founded in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1957 by singer Ray Harris, record store owner Joe Cuoghi, Bill Cantrell and Quinton Claunch (formerly producers for Sun Records), and three silent partn ...
and incorporates new orchestral arrangements by Tate. It features updated versions of some of Green's greatest hits including "
Let's Stay Together", "
Here I Am (Come and Take Me)
"Here I Am (Come and Take Me)" is a 1973 song by Al Green, the second single released from his album '' Call Me''. The song reached number 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number two on the Hot Soul Singles chart. It was certified as a gold ...
" and "
Tired of Being Alone
"Tired of Being Alone" is a soul song written by American singer Al Green. It reached number 11 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number seven on the Soul Singles Chart in 1971. ''Billboard'' ranked it as the number-12 song for 1971.
Backgroun ...
".
In 2022, Tate collaborated with
Above & Beyond on ''The Last Glaciers'' (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) and started another project with A&B's Jono Grant under the name JODA with the first single being "We Find Ourselves".
Discography
Charted singles (as producer)
* June 2000: "It's My Turn" - No. 11 UK (
Angelic)
* October 2000: "Eternity" - No. 38 UK (Orion)
* February 2001: "Can't Keep Me Silent" - No. 12 UK (Angelic)
* April 2001: "The Journey" - No. 41 UK (Citizen Caned)
* November 2001: "Stay with Me" - No. 36 UK (Angelic)
* September 2002: "The Theme" - No. 13 UK (Jurgen Vries)
* February 2003: "
The Opera Song" - No. 3 UK (Jurgen Vries feat.
CMC)
* May 2003: "Destination" - No. 23 UK (DT8 feat. Roxanne Wilde)
* October 2003: "Wilderness" - No. 20 UK (Jurgen Vries feat.
Shena)
* June 2004: "
Take My Hand" - No. 23 UK (Jurgen Vries feat.
Andrea Britton) - cover of
Dido's track of the same name
* August 2004: "The Sun Is Shining (Down on Me)" - No. 17 UK (DT8 Project feat. Rob Li)
* March 2005: "Winter" - No. 35 UK (DT8 Project feat.
Andrea Britton)
* August 2008: "I Surrender" - No. 4 Flemish Ultratip chart, No. 21 Wallonia Ultratip chart, No. 12 Dutch chart (co-written with Victoria Horn and performed by
Kate Ryan
Kate Ryan (born Katrien Verbeeck, 22 July 1980) is a Belgian singer and songwriter, and the winner of a World Music Award. She began her singing career in 2001 and later found fame with a string of dance hits. These included covers, mostly of M ...
)
Other releases
* 2002: "Let the Light Shine In" (Darren Tate & Jono Grant)
* 2003: "See Me Here" (Orion with uncredited vocals by Rebecca Raines)
* 2003: "Nocturnal Creatures" (Darren Tate & Jono Grant)
* 2004: "Prayer for a God" (Darren Tate)
* 2004: "The Other Love" (Darren Tate vs
Blue Amazon) - remix of the original Blue Amazon track
* 2005: "Venus" (Darren Tate)
* 2006: ''Horizons 01'' (Darren Tate) - Tate's first album
* 2006: "Narama" (DT8 Project feat.
Mory Kante Mory is the name or part of the name of three communes of France:
*Mory, Pas-de-Calais in the Pas-de-Calais ''département''
*Mory-Montcrux in the Oise ''département''
*Mitry-Mory in the Seine-et-Marne ''département''
Mory is also the name of two ...
)
* 2007: "Hold Me Till the End" (DT8 Project feat. Alexta)
* 2007: "Echoes / Chori Chori" (Darren Tate)
* 2008: "Perfect World" (DT8 Project feat.
Maria Willson
Maria Willson (born 1982/3) is a British singer who first found fame on Michael Barrymore's '' My Kind of People'' with a host of television and radio performances following. In 2003 and 2004, she released two hit singles, "Chooza Looza" reaching ...
) and ''Perfect World'' album
* 2018: ''Leave It All Behind Vol. 1 EP'' (DT8 Project)
* 2018: "Timeless" (Darren Tate)
* 2018: ''
Garage Classics
''Garage Classics'' is the debut album by the House & Garage Orchestra, released on 30 November 2018 on the New State Music label. It was released on CD and as a digital download. The album was produced by Darren Tate and Alex Mereier (Shy Cookie ...
'' (The House and Garage Orchestra) (as producer/arranger/orchestrator)
* 2019: "Cycles" (DT8 Project)
* 2019: ''Leave It All Behind Vol. 2 EP'' (DT8 Project)
* 2019: ''Leave It All Behind Vol. 3 EP'' (DT8 Project)
* 2019: "Carry On/We Are Oxygen" (DT8 Project)
* 2020: ''Where We Go From Here Pt. 1 EP'' (DT8 Project)
Filmography
Film credits
*''The Last Glaciers'' (with
Above and Beyond (band)) (2021)
*''Little Horror Movie'' (2019)
*''Among Us'' (2017)
*''Bwoy'' (2016)
* ''Definitely Divorcing'' (2015)
* ''
Frontera'' (2014)
* ''
Hear No Evil'' (2014)
* ''The Fright Night Files'' (TV film) (2014)
* ''Unnerved'' (2014)
* ''A Christmas Blessing'' (2014)
* ''Awakened'' (2014)
* ''Snapshot'' (2014)
* ''Scavenger Killers'' (2014)
* ''
The Undershepherd
''The Undershepherd'' is a 2012 American drama film written and directed by Russ Parr and starring Isaiah Washington.
Two preacher friends clash as one is led by God and the other is led by Satan.
Cast
*Isaiah Washington as L.C.
*Bill Cobbs as ...
'' (2013)
* ''How Do You Write a Joe Schermann Song'' (sound mixing) (2013)
Short films
*''Less Heat in Arizona'' (2018)
*''The Prison Web'' (2015)
* ''Enhanced'' (2015)
* ''The Boy Next Door'' (2014)
* ''Princess & Grace'' (2014)
Television
* ''Compromised'' (Pilot) (2014)
References
External links
Official website
Darren Tateon the website of Mondo Records
Darren Tate (DT8 Project)on the Mondo DJs website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tate, Darren
Club DJs
English DJs
English dance musicians
English record producers
1972 births
Living people
English trance musicians
English film score composers
English male film score composers
Musicians from London
Electronic dance music DJs