Darren “DT8” Tate is an award winning record producer, film composer and DJ. Darren has had twelve top forty UK singles under various artist names and has scored over twenty feature films. He has collaborated with some of the greatest artists in the world, and is the founder of Mondo Records. Here is his story…
2024
2022
Darren Tate and Above & Beyond’s Jono Grant join forces for their synthwave inspired alias JODA.
2021
In 2021 Darren Tate and Jono Grant (Above & Beyond|) collaborate again with the pair writing the original score for the feature length documentary “The Last Glaciers”. The album of the same name was released on Anjunabeats in the same year.
2020
Darren Tate produces a new album for legendary soul singer “Al Green” (who was immortalised with his single “Let’s Stay Together”) with the FAME Symphony Orchestra orchestra in Macedonia as well as legendary jazz music’s in New York. The album was later released to the World on Fat Possum Records.
2019
Darren returned to his trance roots at Anjunabeats with a series of EP’s include dance floor hits such as “Cycles” and “Carry On”.
2018
Darren Tate co-produces the album “The House and Garage Orchestra” creating modern full classical versions for many of the biggest hip-hop and garage tracks of all time. The album features artists such as DJ Luck & MC Neat, Shola Ama, Kele Le Roc, Shelley Nelson and many other icons.
2014
Darren scores his first Hollywood feature length picture with Ken Lampl for Michael Berry’s “Frontera”. The epic award winning western drama starred Ed Harris in one of his finest roles, plus screen legends Michael Pena and Eva Longoria.
2011
Darren, Boy George and Marc Vedo team up for the project “Funkysober”. They produce several singles including the summer anthem “Sunshine Into My Life” with Sharlene Hector.
Darren’s makes his first appearance with the single “Electrified” on Anjunabeats with Harry Diamond (as Tate & Diamond).
2009
2009 – 2017 Darren Tate begins two house projects, 8 Ball and Fish From Japan. Many of those tracks are later signed to the hottest house labels in the World including the likes of Defected (Azulli), Toolroom, Spinnin’, Nurvous Records, Maison Kitsune, Bunny Tiger and Sex On Wax.
2008
Darren Tate wins the IBLA Grand Prize for his work “Dark Skies” performed with The Czech National Symphony Orchestra. This also starts his film collaboration with renowned film composer Kenneth Lampl (professor of music at Hofstra University in New York). The pair form a composing partnership as Tate & Lampl, collaborating on over twenty features films and short movies (www.tateandlampl.com).
2007
In 2007 Darren Tate releases “Perfect World”; his first major artist album as DT8 Project. Still considered to be one of the greatest trance albums of all time it features performances by the likes of Mory Kante and Gavin Rossdale (Bush). The album also features a bonus second CD with mixes by Above & Beyond, Gareth Emery, Sunny Lax, Alex Morph, Lange, Mike Koglin and many more.
2006
During this time Darren Tate is prolifically producing one after another iconic trance record with singles like “Echoes”, “Venus”, “Prayer For A God”, “When The Morning Comes”, “Hold Me Till The End” (as DT8 Project) and his three part Horizons album series.
2005
Darren Tate found his way to a 12th top 40 UK single with “Winter” featuring Andrea Britton and released by Ministry of Sound Recordings. Darren was headline DJ’ing across the world with the likes of Armin Van Buuren and Tiesto, and Ministry of Sound released “Beyond Euphoria” mixed by DT8 Project later that year.
2004
Jurgen Vries releases a reworking of Dido’s “Take My Hand” on Sony and Darren Tate scores his 10th top 40 UK single. Later that year he scores his 11th top 40 UK single with “The Sun Is Shining (Down On Me)”. This is also the first time Darren’s own label Mondo Records scored a top 20 UK single.
2003
It was also in this year that Mondo Records released Darren Tate’s first collaboration with Jono Grant “Let The Light Shine In”, which is still considered to be one of the greatest trance records of all time. Darren and Jono later created another iconic moment in the form of “Nocturnal Creatures”. It took a further seventeen years before the pair were to collaborate again.
Darren launched his iconic project “DT8 Project” (which originally was just “DT8” for the first single Destination). Destination featured Kim Wilde’s (“Kids In America”) younger sister Roxanne and became one of Darren’s most cherished records and his 8th top 40 UK single; further immortalised by Above & Beyonds remix several years later.
2002
The Theme becomes one of the most successful dance records of all time (played by every DJ on Radio 1 live from the Ibiza weekender) and Jurgen Vries scores three further top forty records for Darren Tate, including the No.3 UK smash “The Opera Song” with Charlotte Church and “Wilderness”.
Darren launches his project “Jurgen Vries” on Direction Records (then part of Sony BMG). The name was actually an amalgamation of two Sony employees.
2001
Darren Tate launches a new project “Orion” on Incentive Records with the single “Eternity”, scoring the producer another top 40 UK chart position. In addition he creates the prelude to Jurgen Vries with “Citizen Caned – The Journey”, out the same year on Serious Records.
2000
On 16th June Darren made his first appearance with Amanda on “Top Of The Pops”. He later appeared twice more with Jurgen Vries.
Darren’s first major project was “Angelic” with then resident BBC Radio 1 DJ Judge Jules. Darren wrote the track; Jules wrote the lyrics, and his wife Amanda sung the songs. They did three singles together, all of them top 40 UK hits. The first and most revered was “It’s My Turn”, released in 2001 on Serious Records / Universal Music.
On New Years Eve Darren and Above & Beyond first met on a bus to Tokyo and became instant friends. Above & Beyond played their first ever set immediately after Darren that night. Jono and Darren later bonded in the early hours of 2002 at Freshness Burger in Roppongi and decided there to first collaborate.
On New Years Eve Darren and Above & Beyond first met on a bus to Tokyo and became instant friends. Above & Beyond played their first ever set immediately after Darren that night. Jono and Darren later bonded in the early hours of 2002 at Freshness Burger in Roppongi and decided there to first collaborate.
On New Years Eve Darren and Above & Beyond first met on a bus to Tokyo and became instant friends. Above & Beyond played their first ever set immediately after Darren that night. Jono and Darren later bonded in the early hours of 2002 at Freshness Burger in Roppongi and decided there to first collaborate.