BLACK HAWKS OF PANAMA

About

The sound

BLACK HAWKS OF PANAMA is the project of Manchester DJ and producer Danny Whitehead. Its sound draws on disco and 1990s US house, bringing those influences into contemporary club production. Whitehead developed the project as a way to make warmer, more openly celebratory dancefloor music alongside the deeper electronic sounds he had previously explored. An early release on Future Disco marked that change in direction. Nobody But You brought him to Hot Creations with returning collaborator Bisi on vocals and a remix by Sidney Charles. The release also includes We Will Not, showing a heavier side of his production. Whitehead builds tracks from captured melodic or rhythmic ideas in Ableton, combining software instruments with hardware and returning to arrangements after time away from them. Vocals, basslines and the energy of a club system are recurring reference points in that process. The project’s name grew from Whitehead’s time in Panama City and the surrounding rainforests.