Denver-based DJ and producer Daniel Goldstein makes smoothly flowing, melodic house music under the name
Lane 8. Whether he's working with guest vocalists or crafting exquisite instrumentals, he always writes songs that gently ebb and flow, functioning as emotional journeys rather than mere club tracks. Goldstein is well-known for prohibiting phones and cameras from his concerts, forcing the audience members to live in the moment and share a communal experience rather than spending the entire time posting on social media. Emerging in 2014, he released his debut album,
Rise, the following year. He continued to hone his emotionally charged melodic house tracks on subsequent efforts
Little by Little (2018) and Brightest Lights (2020), the latter of which featured collaborations with synth pop band
Poliça.
Goldstein grew up in California, and first started making garage rock when he was a kid. After getting into hip-hop, he began making beats, but he came into his own when he switched to dance music. He began uploading original tracks and remixes in 2012, and was signed to
Above & Beyond's Anjunadeep label the following year. After releasing several singles that achieved success at dance clubs as well as blogs,
Lane 8's debut album,
Rise, arrived in 2015. The album featured guest vocalists including
Matthew Dear,
Solomon Grey, and
Patrick Baker. Goldstein launched his label and event series, both titled This Never Happened, and became a successful touring artist.
Lane 8's second full-length,
Little by Little, was released by This Never Happened in 2018, featuring collaborations with
Poliça, J.F. July, and Fractures.
Appearing in early 2020, his third full-length, Brightest Lights, racked up millions of streams within a few months of its release. He also issued Cross Pollination, an EP of collaborations. The following year saw the release of several singles, including "Oh, Miles" (featuring
Julia Church), "Riptide" (featuring
Davey Havok), and "What Have You Done to Me?" (featuring
Arctic Lake). ~ Paul Simpson