Dan the Automator

Daniel M. Nakamura[1] better known by his stage name Dan the Automator, is an American record producer from San Francisco, California. He is the founder of the publishing company Sharkman Music[5] and the record label 75 Ark.[6]

Dan the Automator
Dan the Automator in 2019
Background information
Birth nameDaniel M. Nakamura[1]
Also known asNathaniel Merriweather[2]
Born (1968-12-20) December 20, 1968
San Francisco, California, U.S.[3]
GenresHip hop[4]
Occupation(s)Record producer
Years active1986–present
Labels

Early life

Nakamura was born in San Francisco, California, on 20 December 1968.[3] His parents spent time in Japanese internment camps as children.[7] His father worked for the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency and his mother taught at City College of San Francisco.[3] As a child, he learned to play violin.[8] While in high school, he became immersed in hip hop culture.[3] He graduated from San Francisco State University.[9]

Career

Nakamura started his career as a DJ when he was a teenager.[1] After seeing the younger DJs DJ Qbert and Mix Master Mike performing live, he decided to focus on producing tracks.[3] He first gained attention for his work on Kool Keith's 1996 album Dr. Octagonecologyst.[10] His debut EP, Music to Be Murdered By, was released in 1989.[11] He released his debut album A Much Better Tomorrow in 2000,[1] an expansion of his 1996 EP A Better Tomorrow. Keith featured extensively across both versions.

He composed the score for the 2019 comedy film Booksmart,[12] with the soundtrack album released that same year.[13]

Collaborations

In 1999, Nakamura and Prince Paul formed the collaborative project Handsome Boy Modeling School, assuming the alter egos Nathaniel Merriweather and Chest Rockwell, respectively.[14] Their debut album So... How's Your Girl? featured numerous guest musicians, including Róisín Murphy, DJ Shadow, and Del the Funky Homosapien. They released a second album, White People, in November 2004, with collaborators including RZA, Cat Power, and Mike Patton.[15] Nakamura used the Nathaniel Merriweather pseudonym for his Lovage project with Patton and Jennifer Charles. After Paul briefly left the duo over a business dispute,[16] Handsome Boy Modelling School have since played further shows and spoken of a forthcoming third album.[17]

In 2000, Nakmura joined Del the Funky Homosapien and Kid Koala to form Deltron 3030.[18] They released their eponymous debut album the same year, featuring guest appearances by Sean Lennon and Damon Albarn. In 2001 he produced the debut album of Albarn's "animated" band Gorillaz,[1] appearing as a member of the band, alongside Del the Funky Homosapien. Both would later appear on the belated second Deltron 3030 record, Event 2, released in September 2013.[19] The album also featured appearances by Jamie Cullum, Emily Wells and Zack De La Rocha, with interludes performed by actors David Cross, Amber Tamblyn and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Nakamura is one half of Got a Girl, along with actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead.[20] The duo's debut album, I Love You but I Must Drive Off This Cliff Now, was released in 2014.[21] In September 2015, they embarked on a four-city tour of Seattle, San Francisco, New York City, and Los Angeles, where they played their entire album live, including a cover of Handsome Boy Modeling School's "I've Been Thinking".[22][23]

In 2023, Handsome Boy Modeling School released a limited release LP of 7 new songs in collaboration with Fords Gin.[24]

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Remix albums

EPs
  • Music to Be Murdered By (1989)
  • King of the Beats (1990)
  • A Better Tomorrow (1996)

Singles
  • "Bear Witness III (Once Again)" (2002)
  • "Rapper's Delight" (2009)

Productions

Film Music/Scoring

References
  1. Comaratta, Len (August 29, 2010). "Whatever Happened To: Dan the Automator". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  2. Keast, Darren (December 27, 2001). "Nathaniel Merriweather Presents..." Dallas Observer. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  3. Harlaub, Peter (July 12, 2019). "Dan the Automator follows his own lane to food, movies, 'Always Be My Maybe'". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  4. Quinlan, Thomas (May 1, 2001). "Dan the Automator: The Complete Package Concept". Exclaim!. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  5. Crain, Zac (November 25, 1999). "Handsome Dan, Automator Man". Miami New Times. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  6. Kelley, Brendan Joel (January 17, 2002). "Nathaniel Merriweather". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  7. Ganahl, Jane (November 29, 2004). "He's sold millions of albums. Handsome, too. Calls Beck a pal. The Automator a rock star? No". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  8. Rotondi, James (March 1, 2001). "Automater for the People". Electronic Musician. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  9. Bee, Adrianne (December 17, 2004). "Holiday gifts with a Gator connection". San Francisco State University. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  10. Harrington, Richard (January 19, 2001). "Back to the Future With the Automator". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  11. Weingarten, Marc (February 17, 2002). "Alchemist of Alternative Rap". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  12. Carr, Paul (July 18, 2019). "Broke a Couple of Rules: Movie Scores with Dan the Automator". PopMatters. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  13. Haubrich, Wess (May 10, 2019). "Exclusive: Check out this track from Dan "The Automator" Nakamura's score to Olivia Wilde's Booksmart". The 405. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  14. Lynskey, Dorian (November 4, 2004). "Cartoon capers". The Guardian. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  15. "White People by Handsome Boy Modeling School". Genius. Retrieved 2018-06-19.
  16. "Prince Paul Talks Post-Handsome Boy Plans". PitchforkMedia.com. 2006-01-10. Archived from the original on 2008-03-07. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
  17. Rose, April (2022-04-19). "Handsome Boy Modeling School To Play A Reunion Show at Record Store Day Party in New York City". mxdwn.com. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  18. Brown, Emma (October 9, 2013). "The Future is Deltoron 3030". Interview. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  19. Haering, Bradley (October 12, 2008). "For your ears only: The funky homosapien returns, but worth it?". The Daily Aztek. Archived from the original on 10 December 2008.
  20. Sundermann, Eric (June 17, 2014). "Deltron 3030's Dan the Automator and Mary Elizabeth Winstead's Video for "Did We Live Too Fast" Would Make Ernest Hemingway Proud". Vice. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  21. Barshad, Nim (June 3, 2014). "Hear Dan the Automator and Mary Elizabeth Winstead's Cinematic 'Did We Live Too Fast'". Spin. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  22. "Exclusive Interview: Got a Girl". The Owl Mag. Retrieved 2017-05-14.
  23. "Live Review : Got A Girl @ Largo at the Coronet, Los Angeles 9/28/15". The Owl Mag. Retrieved 2017-05-14.
  24. "Music to Drink Martinis to".
  25. Scream 2 (1997) - IMDb, retrieved 2020-11-14
  26. "Various - Scream 2 (Music From The Dimension Motion Picture)". Discogs. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  27. Ocean's Eleven (2001) - IMDb, retrieved 2020-11-14
  28. Archive-Corey-Moss. "Elvis, Electronic Music Flow Together On 'Ocean's Eleven' Disc". MTV News. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  29. "Various - Blade II The Soundtrack". Discogs. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  30. Blade II (2002) - IMDb, retrieved 2020-11-14
  31. "Tony Hawk's Underground (Video Game 2003)". IMDb. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  32. "Charmed" Imaginary Fiends (TV Episode 2005) - IMDb, retrieved 2020-11-14
  33. "Music from Californication S1E01". Tunefind. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  34. "Music from The Sopranos S6E14". Tunefind. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  35. "Better Call Saul" RICO (TV Episode 2015) - IMDb, retrieved 2020-11-14
  36. "Watch Dan the Automator's 'Money Monster' music video". EW.com. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  37. Carlin, Shannon (3 June 2019). "How Randall Park's Rap Song About Punching Keanu Reeves Ended Up in Always Be My Maybe". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  38. Hartlaub, Peter (July 13, 2019) [July 12, 2019]. "Dan the Automator follows his own lane to food, movies, 'Always Be My Maybe'". San Francisco Arts & Entertainment Guide. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
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