Digital Farm Animals was the nom de plume of British electronic dance producer and DJ Nick Gale. Emerging in the 2010s, he got his start songwriting and remixing pop, R&B, and electronic acts before signing his own deal in 2015. Early charting singles include 2016's "Only One" with
Sigala and a hit collaboration with
Cash Cash, "Millionaire," as well as 2017's "Back to You" with
Louis Tomlinson and "All Falls Down" with Alan Walker.
Born and brought up in Stanmore in northwest London, he caught the music-making bug at age 13 after a friend gave him a copy of the free music production software Fruity Loops. He became obsessed with the program and started making music every day, honing his skills by putting in countless thousands of hours at the computer, and continued through university at Nottingham, where he came up with his moniker -- his dorm room overlooked a farm. He gained a law degree and after detested stints as a trainee solicitor, a "terrible" barman, and an advertising salesman, he got himself a manager in 2013 and released his debut EP, Bugged Out. The release got him noticed and the buzz started opening doors for him. His hard work finally paid off when, in 2015, he signed a deal with
Simon Cowell's Syco Records. That year he appeared as a featured artist on drum'n'bass star
Netsky's "Rio," co-wrote and produced
Dua Lipa's "Be the One," and released his own debut single "True." The following year, his second feature with
Netsky, "Work It Out," hit the Top Five in Belgium; he racked up further production and songwriting credits for
Alex Newell,
Galantis, and
Jones, and released three further singles. The most successful, "Millionaire," with
Cash Cash and
Nelly, hit number 25 on the U.K. singles chart. In 2018, he teamed up with
Shaun Frank and vocalist
Dragonette on the summery single "Tokyo Nights," following the next year with the
Danny Ocean-assisted "Lookin' For." ~ John D. Buchanan