The Shadow Doctors

Whether you call it ‘visionary’ or ‘avant-garde,’ the Shadows Doctors are epitomising a new sound in music. With an open mix of Dance, Rock, Pop and Electro, The Shadow Doctors are an amalgamation of genres and artists working towards setting the airwaves alight with variety and creativity.

Stepping ‘out of the shadows’ is 22 year old Melbourne based producer, Dan Skehill who masterminded the act in 2005. Dan’s aim for The Shadow Doctors is to arrive at a sound that will showcase a new breed of artists and has set his sights on creating music that is fresh and pushes the constraints of commercialism.

Of the name, Dan says, “The inspiration behind The Shadow Doctors is to have me in the ‘shadows’ placing the main focus on the music.” Dan further explains, “Creating music to me is like performing surgery” and by adding the name ‘Doctors’ seemed a perfect fit for a producer who had his surgical team of musicians and artists working together to create The Shadow Doctors sound.

Growing up, music was everywhere for Dan. At home he absorbed tracks from The Rolling Stones, Motown to Jimmy Cliff’s, ‘The Harder They Come.’ His family’s collection introduced the producer to an eclectic variety of tastes that influenced Dan to enter the profession he calls home, music. However, it was the wildly energetic ‘All Along the Watchtower’ by Jimi Hendrix that truly pulled Dan into the realm of music. “I learnt more about music production by playing bass. I would listen to more than just the guitar and tune into every different instrument and sound. Upon each listen I became more engrossed and all of a sudden a song was not just a song, it was so much more. My favourite was ‘All Along the Watchtower,” says Dan. Laughingly, Dan mentions, “The real reason I started playing guitar in High School was because I was embarrassed to play air guitar around my older brother who actually knew how to play guitar. “

In 2003, Dan met Darren ‘Daz Dare’ Graham at RMIT University where they studied Sound Engineering together. They soon realised that they shared the same passion for setting up their own label and felt they would be stronger if they worked together. They were visionaries, and wanted to be movers and shakers in the industry and take things into their own hands. Their partnership formed ‘Shoutout Music,’ an independent label pushing the envelope by developing artists who want ‘to be heard.’

With the support of his family and close friends, Dan started producing music in 2004. Spending the best part of two years finding his sound and style and would eventually become the songs for the debut album, Dan says, “when making music I start with a theme and whether it’s lyrically or musically, I continuously work to get a sound that works. I love the whole process; the thrill in seeing a track coming together.” When asked to describe The Shadow Doctors style, Dan says, “I don’t like the idea of sticking to one style because all the music I love isn’t one genre. If The Shadow Doctors music stayed in one place it wouldn’t work and more importantly not reflect the vision I have for The Shadow Doctors. That’s why I have made the point of incorporating different artists and musicians on the record.”

For Dan The Shadow Doctors is just the beginning. “When everything starts to go well, we’ll push our other projects. I’d love to have The Shadow Doctors get to the point that just doesn’t apply to music. We want it to extend to fashion, design, film, video and multimedia. From every imaginable corner of creativity we want this project to involve people from all walks of life."

Look out for the anticipated first single, ‘Can’t You See’ now on Australian airwaves.

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