About DAC

My name is Spencer Steel and I am Delete All Contacts, a 30-something solo bedroom artist based out of a leafy northern suburb of London, UK.

With a growing collection of hardware and software synthesisers (and a microphone!), DAC is nothing more than a personal release of creative expression for what I hear in my head and heart. If others like what they hear along the way, then this makes me happy.

A brief history ...

I have been dabbling with music most of my life, starting out in an electronic outfit called S.U.N. in my 1989 Summer of Love youth, which had small indie success on the university scene and spawned a top 100 single.

Sadly, the scene became unattractive and the essence of the Summer of Love got lost somewhere, as it became more about the lifestyle than the music. There were a few casualties along the way, including my own close escapes and so the group disbanded before things got too out of hand. Crazy days.

Music took a back seat, whilst some sort of normality was found, although over the years I subsequently fooled around in a few indie-rock bands that amounted to nothing, as I found myself rotating between listening to more hard-rock than electronic music, being generally unimpressed with what I heard coming from the dance scene.

It wasn't until recently in life that I turned back to electronic music. My life story is far too complex to get into a simple "about me" box but, having checked into rehab at the age of 30 (I have been clean and sober subsequently), I found that after 5 years of sobriety I was yearning to create music again. More importantly, I discovered that I was in a position where I could separate the music from the drugs and chaos that traditionally went with it. The two no longer seem married and I was free to enjoy music on its own terms.

The invention of DAC ...

I subsequently spent the next few years building up a home studio and embracing the new learning curve of home-studio recording. (I have included a "gear list" for those that get turned-on by stuff like an "Access Virus Ti2" and "DSI synths"). Building the studio around the excellent FL Studio DAW, I have added various hardware and software synths as I went along and it's become my passion. I spent some time writing some "dumb but fun" dance songs, as I got to grips with the software, but for me, the soul was missing from my music and I knew that the time was coming to scrap everything and find a way to make a sound that was far more "me" and not another standard electronic-dance "song".

The name Delete All Contacts helped inspire me in many ways - a more insular name for an insular artist ... you certainly won't find me "pushing up ceilings" in your local nightclub. My original influences are bands like The Smiths and I guess I am still an angst-ridden indie shoe-gazer at heart - these are the influences I want to bring more into DAC and I hope that my music will be reflecting this sensitive side as well as the angry and upbeat at times.

This means that there will be times I will be singing. Singing gives me more satisfaction than "just another instrumental" (although there is still a place for these in my setlists). My aim is to improve on what I started with Traps and Deleting All Contacts vocal tracks. I gain far more satistfaction from these vocal attempts than I do from most of the instrumentals. It's something I intend to continue with.

The future of DAC ...

These are early days for DAC. I have no aspirations of greatness, no desire to "be big", no unrealistic ideals. I'd rather have a couple of fans who quite like my quirky style than a big club-crossover hit. For me it's about being true to myself in a world of technology that can so easily pull you off in a different direction to sound like everything and everyone else. The ease of which anyone can throw together "a beat", makes indentity increasingly hard to come by - and a unique musical identity is important to me. Although I'm still far from creating the DAC I'm happy with, I feel like I'm on the right path now. Due to personal circumstances (see the blog), the path is currently very slow, but at least I feel like I'm on it.

Add New Contact ...

If you've like to know more about me, then read my blog - you will see that I am battling a serious life-threatening Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma Cancer right now and the moments when I am well enough to write and produce music have become more valuable than ever. It's been a hard year to put it mildly but even when I'm unable to create music, my mind is never far from it. I've found a good home at the Official FL Studio forum and you'll find me hanging out there, sharing views and thoughts.

I'm always happy to hear from people out there, especially fellow bedroom artists. If you're a musician, hook up via SoundCloud, or if you just want to chat drop me an email, or keep reading the blog. The easiest way to drop a message is via the Facebook page.

Thanks for reading and I wish you happiness in all you do.

SS / DAC

If you're interested, check out the list of studio gear here.