Interview with Daniel Chambers: The Journey from Letting Agent to Music Producer

I have always been of the opinion to employ someone better than me for the position that I’m trying to fill. That way, there is no one better to take on whatever role it is. It really is as simple as that

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Dan’s life started on the Craylands Estate, one of Essex’s most notorious council estates, where he lived until he left home at 16 with just four bin bags of clothes. Despite this challenging start, Dan found inspiration in the musical environment that surrounded him, with 90s acid and rave anthems often blasting from the speakers. By the age of 13, he was already writing his own lyrics and had become a regular on local pirate radio stations.

As a teenager, Dan went on to join famous London stations, 103 Delight FM and Rinse FM, under the alias MC EKO. He built his reputation as one of the best underground UKG MCs in the country, playing at major events in the UK and internationally, including the Gas Club and Black & White in Ayia Napa, Garage Nation, and Sidewindah. He shared the stage with notable acts such as Dizzee Rascal, EZ, Major Ace, So Solid Crew, and The Heartless Crew.

Following a 20-year hiatus from music, Dan ventured into entrepreneurship, starting a range of successful companies, including a multi-award-winning real estate and management company that has been trading successfully for 16 years. In 2014, after a trip to Australia, Dan decided to take on the healthy food and nutrition market, starting a protein ball company from his kitchen. Today, the company employs 20 members of staff and is available in over 30 countries with over 25 products.

Fast forward to 2023, and Dan is back to music, heating up the dance scene with his unique style of Tech House production, characterized by high energy percussion, choppy vocals, and bass-focused beats. Influenced by James Hype, Skrillex, Chris Lake, and others, Dan’s fast-paced mixing and transitioning set him apart from other performers.

Dan is already booked to play at several clubs and festivals in the UK this year, including The Sugar Hut, New World Festival, and Ministry of Sound in London. With three brand new self-produced tracks and releases lined up between now and March, 2023 is shaping up to be his busiest year yet. The first release, “Freekitona,” has already been signed by the Canadian label LFTD Global and is receiving massive support from DJs around the world. Dan is set to make a big impact in the music industry in 2023 and beyond.

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Welcome, Dan! It’s great to finally sit down with you and get this interview done. It’s been a long time coming.

Let’s kick it off, Dan!

Could you give our audience a brief overview of who Daniel Chambers is, your experiences and life growing up?

“Hey, Russ!”

“Ok, where to start… I was an only child born on the Craylands estate in Basildon in Essex, just me and my mum. I didn’t meet my father until I was 27 years old. I remember my mum trying hard to provide whilst managing her drink problem. Me and my mum moved around 30 times up and down the UK during my adolescent years, and I attended over 6 schools until we finally ended up back in Essex where we stayed and started a school that I actually stayed at.

Given that kind of background growing up, I didn’t do particularly well in school. I was always in detention and suspended for drugs and fighting, and left with no real qualifications. I left home one day with 4 bin bags of clothes and soon after my teenage years, I developed a huge desire to achieve everything I didn’t have growing up.”

Moving forward in your work and then business life, you ventured into the property industry…

How has that played out for you so far?

“So I started to get myself together around 22-23 years of age. I had been working as a lettings negotiator for a local estate agent, and at this time, mortgages were quite easy to obtain. I was one of the fortunate Northern Rock customers and I think I’ve got like a 107% mortgage which paid for the property I purchased and to actually do it up. I sold it a few months later for the equivalent of two years’ wages in profit.

That really was the foundation and the start for me.

After that, I became a property developer in my part-time and a letting agent still full-time.

I did this for a few years, and then started my own estate agency. We have a great team in place now, and I’m so proud that we have won many local and national awards from UK best Letting Agent to Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

Last year was our 15th year, and it was our most successful year ever, and that really is a testament to the incredible team that is there now.

Your successful estate agency business, 1st Call Sales & Lettings, runs like clockwork, which has enabled you to step away from the office for many years and focus on other things like yourself, family, and hobbies.”

What does a usual day look like for you?

“A typical weekday starts around 6 am with the strongest coffee I can find. I deal with ‘work’ emails and accounts. I play and read with my daughter, spend some time with my partner, and try to have some present time before the speakers go on around 8.30 am, and I’m in the studio making, mixing, and learning the art of mastering music for most of the day.

Weekday evenings often consist of much of the same and developing our record label New World Muzic. Each Wednesday, I present the New World Radio show on Shine 879 with my very good friend Floyd T, and at least once a month, I’m playing out in clubs and festivals.”

Do you find it hard letting go of the reins and in your opinion, do business owners struggle with this?

“I actually don’t find it difficult at all. I have always been of the opinion to employ someone better than me for the position that I’m trying to fill. That way, there is no one better to take on whatever role it is. It really is as simple as that for me. Obviously, trust and the management of this takes time, but once you do find the right people, it is, in my opinion, quite easy to hand the reins over.

Obviously, the pros are that you allow yourself time to work on your business, not in your business, and there is no greater commodity than time. So, to be able to get someone else to do your job better than you were originally doing it is the absolute key to freedom and growth.”

You’ve had many successes, but what has been your biggest obstacle to date, and how did you overcome it?

“I think easily the biggest obstacle I faced was during setting up the protein company, Boostball. I started it on my own in my kitchen out of a blender, and it became a labour of love for quite a long time because I just could not get the recipe right. In total, I think it took around 18 months. That was probably one of the hardest things that I have ever overcome, but in the end, I got it to work, and that was crucial and fundamental in that company’s growth.

A few weeks later, we won the contract for Virgin Atlantic Airways, and we were on the flights for 2 years! After that, most new customers and investors were onboarded due to this contract, and the rest, as they say, is history.”

What is your proudest moment?

“This would be returning back to my senior school in 2015 as the guest of honour. I was asked to present the year 11 end-of-year awards and give a speech on my story. To be suspended and constantly be monitored, and often told I wouldn’t go anywhere in life by teachers, to be invited to go back to that same place and tell the story of my success was genuinely overwhelming. I now attend the school regularly and undertake mock interviews and training to the year 10s and 11s before they enter the real world.”

What would you say has been the crucial turning points in your life that allowed you to achieve all of these things?

“There are three major pivotal moments for me. The first was getting the radio show on London’s premier pirate radio station Delight FM at 19 years old. I was scouted by the then-infamous So Solid Crew. It really set me apart from many of the other local performers and gave me so much confidence that I could actually achieve something. Before that moment, I hadn’t achieved anything of note.

A few years after that, I think you could trace it back to the first property that I refurbished, which gave me the financial foundation for the next opportunity. Probably more than anything, like the radio station a few years earlier, it gave me the belief that it was possible, and I just jumped straight onto the next one. As that one completed, I moved into another, and then another, and that just continued until only a few years ago.

The third was winning Young Entrepreneur of the Year. That was a special moment and something that I’ll never forget. It was at the start of 1st Call, and I was up against some amazing people. I’d never won anything like that before, so I wasn’t expecting it, and I was really just happy being nominated. That then led to the next round of belief, which spawned Boostball a few years later.

There was a period of time during 2014 when I was developing multiple properties, running 1st Call, and putting all my other time into starting and developing Boostball. That’s about as busy as it got for me.”

On a more subtle note…”

Who has been your biggest inspiration, and how has it helped you?

“I have had a few inspirations along the way from old bosses, work colleagues, friends, and family. But mostly, I’d say my biggest inspirations have been my rivals, and even more so, the naysayers and the non-believers. These people and their attitudes have always had me going that little bit extra and for a little bit longer. I probably wouldn’t have done so much without them, so that has to be the answer.”

“You’ve had a stab at a lot of things, Dan, from MC’ing in your early years to selling houses, running a food company, trading Crypto and NFTs to now becoming a full-time DJ and Producer. Seems like you’ve come full circle with the music thing.”

What’s next for Daniel Chambers? Do you have any plans or goals for the future?

“Back in 2002, I was young and needed to earn money. Unfortunately, full-time music wasn’t providing that for me, so I became a lettings negotiator. Twenty years later, I have started multiple businesses, which has given me the freedom to pursue music full-time again.

I have just signed a record and publishing deal with LFTD Global, which has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. Additionally, I’ve been booked to play at Ministry of Sound in June and a host of festivals throughout the summer.

My next goal is to become a recognized music producer, and this new chapter in my life is bringing me closer to that.”