Three-year-old Dashiel Rowland sat engrossed with the fantastic range of sounds emanating from his new set of musical instruments. Flash-forward nine years: Rowland sits in a studio with a pair of studio headphones recording his music. After he finishes recording he applies his knowledge of production to his piece to transform it into a work of art. Repeating this process over and over again under the moniker Dashiel, Rowland has begun to create a fanbase beyond Revere High School and has established the foundation to pursue a career in music.

Rowland has played the drums, piano and some guitar since he started playing music at the age of three. In addition he has worked on recording, mixing, and producing his music, as well as promoting his brand while performing at various concerts. Rowland discussed how he developed his passion for music.

“When I was in sixth grade, I bought a consumer grade ProTools software and a microphone and started remaking beats of songs I liked and recording vocals to construct remixes. I did that for a little under a year and quit. Then I got back into it at the beginning of my senior year,” Rowland said.

Rowland talked about what defines him as a hip-hop artist and what characteristics define his music.

“I would call myself something of a new wave hip-hop artist. I combine lyrically dense singing and rapping with heavily melodic, powerful percussive arrangements. In addition to this, I write all my compositions,” Rowland said.

Rowland discussed his motivation to create music as well as his inspiration in terms of performers and acts.

“I just love music and to be involved in its creation is a feeling unlike any other. I think music is just as much an art form as painting. It is an expressive craft. My biggest inspiration in terms of acts and performers are The Four Seasons, Sam Cooke, The Beatles, G-Eazy and Drake,” Rowland said.

Junior Nick Green discussed the process of collaborating with Rowland.

“Basically he will show me and our other friends something he is working on and we will just discuss it and give him feedback. We tell him what we like and what we do not. It is a lot of constructive criticism and it gives him an idea of what people like to hear,” Green said.

Senior Cameron Maffei discussed how Rowland works with guest stars during various stages of the production.

“[Rowland] works with people all the time. He does collaborations and produces music for friends as well doing the mixing and editing stuff. I usually help him edit his music,” Maffei said.

Maffei also touched upon what he focuses on when he helps Rowland write.

“I helped him write throughout this year and I like to talk about how I am feeling or issues that are currently major events taking place throughout the world. We want the music to have a universal appeal so we talk about concepts that [people] can relate to. For instance we write about love, partying, chilling, among other concepts,” Maffei said.

Rowland detailed his goals for his musical career and his future plans in his pursuit of musical career.

“I am going to school for business and music next year, either at Berklee in Boston or Loyola in New Orleans. The ultimate goal is to build a brand and market it, well enough to initiate a fan base, and then to perform. It is a crazy industry with some scary odds but it often lends a hand to those who work hard and fabricate quality sound,” Rowland said.

Rowland recently performed at Phantasy Concert Club on Thursday, April 21 in Lakewood. Tickets were on sale for ten dollars per ticket. Rowland will continue to book future events.