Eric Dan, “E. Dan,” is one of the music industry’s most influential producers/engineers. Hailing from Pittsburgh, PA, he has become the anchor of the Steel City’s growing hip-hop scene thanks to his work with some of rap’s biggest names including Wiz Khalifa and the late Mac Miller, and to his I.D. Labs recording studios - the birthplace for so many of Pittsburgh’s rising talent.
E. Dan’s career in music started at the age of 16 when he began playing guitar, which then led to him producing and recording by the age of 19. At the age of 20, E. Dan began working with Pittsburgh rap group Strict Flow, producing, recording and engineering their projects, gaining him more attention and more work with the likes of Jurassic 5, The Beatnuts and Camp Lo. After years of recording local artists in his basement and building a solid name for himself as one of the most sought out engineers in Pittsburgh, E. Dan decided to pursue producing/engineering as a full-time career and opened the first I.D. Labs studios in Pittsburgh in 2003.
A year later, a local buzzing rapper named Wiz Khalifa started coming to I.D. Labs regularly to record his earliest mixtapes. As E. Dan spent more time with Khalifa, he saw his undeniable talent and offered him a job, in exchange for studio time. It was then where E. Dan took a passion to developing Khalifa’s talent and has gone on to produce and engineer a majority of his catalog, including his iconic early mixtapes and major label debut album. Several years after E. Dan began working with Khalifa, he was introduced to another local rapper by the name of Mac Miller, who he saw the same talent in. Over time through working together, E. Dan and Miller formed a life-long friendship and working relationship, which Miller credited to the development stages and time spent at I.D. Labs. As with Khalifa, E. Dan became Miller’s go-to engineer and producer and is responsible for the production of a large majority of Miller’s catalog.
In 2013, E. Dan along with his partners opened up a new, more modern and larger I.D. Labs studios. It continues to serve as the premiere creative destination hub for Pittsburgh’s unique music scene, having now become home to world-class artists, producers and engineers, as well as the headquarters for Taylor Gang’s offices.
Over the years, E. Dan has earned several gold and platinum certifications for Wiz Khalifa’s records “Fr Fr (feat. Lil Skies),” “Hopeless Romantic (feat. Swae Lee),” “Rolling Papers 2,” and Mac Miller’s records “Self Care,” “Swimming,” “GO:OD AM,” to name a few. In 2015, Khalifa’s hit single “We Dem Boyz” received a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Song, in which E. Dan mixed.
E. Dan now splits his time between Pittsburgh and Los Angeles, mixing, producing and managing other producers. He is also currently managing two German melody-makers, David Ruoff and Elias Klughammer, known artistically as David x Eli. Signed to star producer Metro Boomin’s record label, David x Eli have made melodies for platinum-certified single “Pop Star (feat. Drake)” by DJ Khaled and gold album “Savage Mode” by 21 Savage and Metro Boomin. E. Dan plans to continue to grow and develop David x Eli’s music career.
E. Dan also intends to form and operate a production company to sign rising producer talent, with one signee already lined up - Chicago-based producer Tyler Mason, who goes by the name of Nostxlgic. Nostxlgic is most notably credited for co-producing with E. Dan the gold-certified single “Fr Fr (feat. Lil Skies)” by Wiz Khalifa, platinum single “Self Care” by Mac Miller, and several tracks on platinum album “Revenge of the Dreamers III: Director’s Cut” by Dreamville.
E. Dan looks forward to continuing contribution to hit records, managing rising producer talent, and further developing a production house of his own, all to maintain a strong presence in the music industry and its future.