Dan Smith

Tattoo Artist — Middlesborough

01Profile

A Dan Smith Photo

03Interview

Name
Dan Smith.

What do you do?
Tattooer. Musician. 

Where are you from?
Middlesbrough, UK. Glen Eden, New Zealand. 

Describe your style in 3 words
Heart and Soul. 

How does living in London/UK affect your work?
Being from here but having lived so many other places in my life has given me an appreciation of my upbringing and British culture. 

What’s the best thing about being a tattoo artist in 2016?
Seeing the trends come and go while maintaining an educated opinion on why they do. 

How would you describe your tattoo style?
Built on tradition. 

Tell us the story behind your favourite tattoo?
My first tattoo. Descendents’ Milo on a kitchen table at a tender age. Simpler times. Best day ever. 

How did you get into tattooing?
Through the punk/hardcore scene. 

What music did you listen to growing up?
Punk, Britpop, New Wave, Hardcore. 

Who do you listen to in your studio?
It’s easy for the environment to become stale when you don’t keep the music interesting. We listen to everything.

04Playlist Notes

First song you played on repeat?
'The Passenger' by Iggy Pop.

A song from your favourite album?
'Jumping Someone Else’s Train' by The Cure on Three Imaginary Boys.

A music icon that has inspired you?
It’s hard to pin point someone who had such a vast and powerful presence in music history. Bowie was the definition of unmistakable drive and didn’t compromise once. A stand out song for me will always be ‘All the Young Dudes’.

What has been your all-time favourite gig?
Madness. Alexander Palace, 2013. When ‘Embarrassment’ started to play and the entire room started to dance, there was the most amazing feeling in the air. There were generations of people there to see them - I’ll never forget that show. 

What was the last album you bought?
High by Royal Headache. I particularly like the song ‘Another World’. It has all the nostalgic riffs that made early fast-paced power punk and the perfect melody. 

Is there a song you like that people wouldn’t expect?
'Lose Yourself to Dance' by Daft Punk feat Pharrell.

Instagram: @DanSmithism

03Interview

Name
Dan Smith.

What do you do?
Tattooer. Musician. 

Where are you from?
Middlesbrough, UK. Glen Eden, New Zealand. 

Describe your style in 3 words
Heart and Soul. 

How does living in London/UK affect your work?
Being from here but having lived so many other places in my life has given me an appreciation of my upbringing and British culture. 

What’s the best thing about being a tattoo artist in 2016?
Seeing the trends come and go while maintaining an educated opinion on why they do. 

How would you describe your tattoo style?
Built on tradition. 

Tell us the story behind your favourite tattoo?
My first tattoo. Descendents’ Milo on a kitchen table at a tender age. Simpler times. Best day ever. 

How did you get into tattooing?
Through the punk/hardcore scene. 

What music did you listen to growing up?
Punk, Britpop, New Wave, Hardcore. 

Who do you listen to in your studio?
It’s easy for the environment to become stale when you don’t keep the music interesting. We listen to everything.

04Playlist Notes

First song you played on repeat?
'The Passenger' by Iggy Pop.

A song from your favourite album?
'Jumping Someone Else’s Train' by The Cure on Three Imaginary Boys.

A music icon that has inspired you?
It’s hard to pin point someone who had such a vast and powerful presence in music history. Bowie was the definition of unmistakable drive and didn’t compromise once. A stand out song for me will always be ‘All the Young Dudes’.

What has been your all-time favourite gig?
Madness. Alexander Palace, 2013. When ‘Embarrassment’ started to play and the entire room started to dance, there was the most amazing feeling in the air. There were generations of people there to see them - I’ll never forget that show. 

What was the last album you bought?
High by Royal Headache. I particularly like the song ‘Another World’. It has all the nostalgic riffs that made early fast-paced power punk and the perfect melody. 

Is there a song you like that people wouldn’t expect?
'Lose Yourself to Dance' by Daft Punk feat Pharrell.

Instagram: @DanSmithism

 

05Videos

Tattoos by Dan