Graduate Profiles

Dan Peters was already making a living as a freelance record producer and sound engineer when he started his degree at Bucks in 2003.  He continued to stay involved in freelance work throughout his three years of study, ‘ghost’ producing and remixing for London-based labels and artists/DJ’s such as Brandon Block, Sheena and ex ABC frontman Martin Fry.  During his degree, he set up a label called Sonic Hub, the result or a business partnership with Sean Vincent and Ricky Wilde (brother of 80’s solo artist, Kim Wilde). He graduated in 2006 with a 2:1 and starting to concentrate full-time on the label.  More recently, the label is close to completing shooting an independent film entitled; ‘Shoot the DJ’, in which he stars, alongside cameo appearances from TV presenter Normski and Tony Hadley (One time frontman for another platinum selling  80’s act, Spandau Ballet). 

‘I was already working as a sound engineer before I started my studies but was keen to use the vocational aspects of the degree to broaden my experience and get ahead of the competition!  The degree really helped me to get a handle on the business aspects of working in music production; very useful when it came to setting up the label.  But I also really enjoyed the academic side of looking at music and culture too.  So much so that I’m keen to carry on studying at postgraduate level when I get the chance!’ (Dan Peters; Sonic Hub Records and Freelance sound engineer/producer & remixer)

Neil Marron began studying his Music Management & Studio Production degree in 2003.  During his studies, he also played in a band called The Wutars, who built a strong local reputation and gigged regularly in London and the surrounding area.  The band recorded for the University-based label, INFX Records (http://www.infxonline.com/), and are featured on two of the label’s releases in 2004 and 2005.  Following his graduation, Neil and The Wutars signed a deal with fledgling record label ‘Was Not Media’ (A label founded and run by two other Bucks graduates; Luke Westbury and Richard Gibbons).  He also landed himself a full time job working for leading sound processing equipment manufacturer, Focusrite Ltd.  He began work at their Wycombe-based premises in January 2007, as a Technical Support Engineer and the band are shortly due to commence recording their first single for the label.

‘The fact that it was so close to London and the heart of the music industry, meant that Bucks was always going to be my first choice for study.  Getting access to great studios also meant that we had a really good spring board for the band’s success and I could study for a degree at the same time.  The studio side of the course gave me a solid production grounding and the management side opened my eyes to what the business side of things was really all about’ (Neil Marron Focusrite Ltd.)