Dan Lawrence
Dan was raised in Aberystwyth, and first picked up a guitar aged 14 having previously found no love for the piano, trumpet or clarinet. By 15 he was playing in his first school band, writing most of the songs and by 18 he had played in half a dozen pop and rock bands and had performed in most of the major Welsh language festivals up and down Wales.
During his college years, Dan first went to Liverpool for a year to study Commercial Music and then on to Salford for three years to gain a degree in Pop Music & Recording majoring in composition and performance. He stayed in Manchester for 10 years performing in jazz, pop and folk outfits, touring nationally and playing many different stringy instruments- banjos, mandolins, bouzoukis and the like.
During this time Dan also got his first jobs as a composer for theatre and as a recording studio engineer and producer helping local bands to record and produce cds to sell at gigs. This has been his freelance profession ever since.
Since 2002 he has lived in Cardiff with his wife and three kids, dividing his time between composing for theatre and tv (with over 100 credits), running his own music studio, mentoring young bands and teaching on various music related courses (from sound design through to folk music ensembles). He also works as a session musician, in theatre pit bands and as a freelance recording engineer.
Dan also performs with the traditional Welsh folk duo Olion Byw and in the past has been involved with: Sibrydion, Lee Griffiths, Ryland Teifi, Os Sambistas, Saoirse and Albert Hofmann.