Dai Smith - Producer

Dai believes that every good artist and song deserves first class recording and production. As a skilled and experienced engineer-producer, he begins by exploring the unique aspects of each artist or group and by making them feel at ease, confident and able to experiment, he draws out their ‘personal sound’ ensuring the very best performances and therefore the best recording.

Dai uses treasured recording equipment in his own ‘Daisy Stores Studio’ which combines the latest technology with retro pieces that give a certain edge when called for. Add to that a chilled out, relaxed but focused and professional environment and you have the ideal place in which to secure the elusive ‘perfect take’.

Whatever the musical genre and level of experience, whether solo or group, Dai loves working with all kinds of artists – he aims to guide, cajole and direct where necessary, but all as unobtrusively as possible. In fact he wholeheartedly agrees with Rick Rubin who once said “a great producer is one that you don’t even notice, he or she seamlessly oils the session so that the artist can give their best performances”

Ultimately Dai aims to help shape an artist’s true identity and lends his experience to enable personalities and ideas to shine through – all essential components in helping an artist achieve their dream.

As a freelance engineer-producer Dai has recorded albums and singles ranging in style from pop, rock and country through to indie.

Dai recorded demos for his first band ‘The Flame Trees’ in 1996, on the back of which the band were signed to Sony S2 (A&R Muff Winwood, Sam Winwood and Lincoln Elias) in 1997. This deal led to him gaining invaluable first class experience, working with some legendary people such as Trevor Curwen, Jeremy Wheatley, Conn Fitzpatrick and Matthew Vaughan in top studios around the country like Olympic and Metropolis

Fast forward a few years down the line and in a new band, The Storys, Dai’s talent as a producer was again called upon. He, Daisy Stores Studio and all of the classic recording equipment he’d built up over the years transferred to a former cinema to record the band’s debut album.

Months of production and engineering paid off and the self-titled debut album ‘The Storys’ was released on their own label ‘Hall Recordings’ in 2005 and history repeated itself…as in 2006 it was picked up and released in the UK and Europe by Warner/Korova and by Ryko in America.

What followed were extensive tours with Elton John, Katie Melua and Joe Cocker with the band playing all over the UK, Europe and America. Songs from the band’s debut album were featured on TV (in teen US drama ‘One Tree Hill’) and in film (‘The Bank Job’ starring Saffron Burroughs and Jason Statham, and in which the band also made a guest appearance performing their own songs!). The Storys’ follow up album ‘The Town Beyond The Trees’ was recorded and produced by Jon Kelly (Beautiful South, Kate Bush, Paul McCartney) at Peter Gabriel’s Real World studios in 2007 and released in 2008, another production experience Dai learnt from immensely.

Dai subsequently left the band to concentrate on his songwriting and production career. Producing music is Dai’s past, present and future he says:

A brand new highly flexible studio with a range of equipment and a skilled and experienced engineer - producer in Dai Smith means that a whole host of recording, mixing and engineering styles are catered for.

Whether you’re a solo artist, group, record company, songwriter, session musician, session singer, voice director or voice-over artiste - and whatever your level of previous experience – Dai and Daisy Stores Studio will help you to achieve your recording dreams. Just get in touch – he’d love to hear from you!

Dai’s production heroes include

• George Martin and Geoff Emerick
• Ahmet Ertegun and Tom Dowd
• Phil Spector
• Mutt Lange
• Timbaland
• The Neptunes
• The Matrix
• Jon Brion

………………the list is endless

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