Published on 23 April 2024
A University of Sunderland graduate-turned superstar DJ has reached number two in music chart with his debut release.
Nath Brown, who graduated from the University in 2019 with a Tourism and Events degree, saw his music released earlier this month by Italian record label, DPE.
His latest two-track EP flew in at number two in the Beatport electronic music chart, with his single I Get Deep ranking at number 20th in the world. The Great Escape is also going global at number 40.
Nath, 26, from Ryhope, Sunderland, said: “It’s quite breathtaking to be honest, I never knew how well my tracks would do. My goal was to break into the top 100, anything more would be a bonus, but to get into the top 20 and the EP as a whole being number two it was such an amazing moment.
“The fact that it’s been so well supported means the world to me. From DJing for the last 14 years of my life and producing music for about six years now, it makes it so worthwhile knowing people are enjoying my style of music.”
Nath added: “My family and friends are all over the moon for me, they know how much work I’ve put in over the years to develop myself as an artist. Putting the hours in at my local youth club when I was 12 to DJing to next to no one in bars to then be playing and supporting the biggest DJs on the planet in front of thousands of people makes me proud of my achievement.”
Nath has already supported some of the biggest DJs in the world, including Joseph Capriarti, Solardo, Camelphat, Fisher, Hot Since 82 and Anotr.
But the road to success wasn’t an easy one, with endless demos submitted, Nath’s music was spotted at the end of last year when his track I Get Deep was played by Italian DJ Marco Carola to 10,000 people at legendary dance night Elrow in Madrid on New Year’s Eve, and a couple of days later when he played it again in Italy.
It caught the attention of DPE label boss Stefano Noferini, who got in contact with Nath and the rest, as they say, is history.
Since announcing his tracks signing to such a significant label, Nath has been asked to play for Pete Tong’s Ibiza Live Orchestra in Herrington in July, as well as being booked to play on the main stage at Forbidden Forest festival in Nottingham later this year.
“I’ve got to keep up with the momentum now,” Nath said.
“I’m always sat at my computer plodding away writing music which I dream about playing at festival main stages and in my favourite clubs in the world.
“The future looks bright. I’ve already had offers to sign from other record labels which will spread my music further and hopefully land me more gigs around the country as well as abroad.
“The dream is to be a respected artist who gets the chance to play in clubs like Amnesia, DC-10, Fabric, Cocorico, Warehouse Project and many more. I just want to make people dance around the world and make them feel lost in the music.”
Nath believes the University of Sunderland has been instrumental in his success.
In 2020, he was able to build his own home studio thanks to the University’s Futures Fund Graduate Development Scholarship. The scholarship, which Nath applied for through the University’s DOSH (Development Office Scholarships) scheme, is specifically designed to help Sunderland students realise their ambitions after graduation, and they backed Nath’s plans.
During his studies, Nath also had access to the University of Sunderland’s start-up support as well as funding through the Santander Seed Fund, which are designed to help students get their business ideas off the ground.
Nath said: “The funding from the University really pushed me forward in my career, from being able to build my home studio, to having my tracks mixed and mastered by some of the best audio engineers. Two of the tracks which I had mastered from the Santander Seed Fund – I Get Deep and The Great Escape – are included in this release that went global.
“Without the help from the guidance from my teachers and the Santander Seed Fund these tracks would have not been signed and I wouldn’t be talking about this story now.”
Beth Goddard, Student and Graduate Incubation Co-Ordinator at the University of Sunderland's Centre for Graduate Prospects, said: “Nath was very clear in his application that his goal was to ultimately sign with a major record label and become an established DJ and music producer and we are delighted to see that his passion, hard work and entrepreneurial mindset have resulted in this recent success.
“We hope that his story will inspire others to follow their passions and explore ideas that may result in them launching a freelance career or business start-up.”
The Santander Seed Fund is made possible through the University of Sunderland’s partnership with Santander Universities and is a competitive pot of money with three application points across the academic year. Successful applicants also receive a package of support from the University’s Entrepreneurial Development team through the Start-up at Sunderland programme.
The next deadline to apply for the Santander Seed Fund is May 2024. To find out more, contact startup@sunderland.ac.uk