Daniel (musician)

**Daniel Meckler** (born October 9, 1989), known professionally as **DANIEL**, is an Australian-Lunasi singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and DJ. He works under several names and in several projects.

In 2013, Meckler together his friend Luca Verdoorn created the DJ and production duo Riffle.

## Early life and career

Daniel Meckler was born in Brisbane to an Australian mother and Lunasi Dutch father on 9 October 1989. He has Dutch, German and English ancestry. He mostly grew up in Brisbane and moved to Aachen when he was 12. He attended the Music School of Houtstadt and started up several projects with friends. Late, he worked as a producer for several artists and bands in Houtstadt.

## Career

### **2011-2014: Vice Verney**

In September 2011, Meckler founded the band Vice Verney with a few others from the Music School of Houtstadt. They started working on experiental electronic and synthpop music. From 2012 to 2014 the group released four extended plays and six singles. In 2014, the band went on a hiatus after the rising success of Riffle.

### **2014-2015: Riffle and first solo success**

In early 2014, Meckler formed a production duo Riffle with friend Luca Verdoorn. On 9 May 2014, Riffle released their first single "This Could Be Love". The single quickly became an international hit; peaking at number one in the US, UK, Australia and Canada, amongst other countries. During 2014, Riffle released to successful follow-up singles leading up to their debut album release on 15 January 2015. The album was selftitled and got positive reviews.

On 24 April 2015, they released a follow-up single to their debut hit titled "Sunshine" with Krystal Marks and Austrian saxophonist Fabian Glaser. The single became another international hit for the duo, with topping the charts in the UK, Australia, Dona and Germany. On 14 August 2015, Riffle released their second album named *Lose it* to mixed reviews. Many critics commented the second was released to quickly after the selftitled one and sounded rushed. The album spawned one other hit "Lose It", which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 5 weeks.

On 4 September 2015, Daniel released a duet with Krystal Marks titled "Lonely". The single did well and was the beginning of Daniel's ambition to have a successful solo career.

### **2016-2017: Solo success and End of Riffle**

In January, Riffle released three new singles in a span of two week leading up to another album release. Two out of three became hits. The album *Crown* was released on 24 January 2016 to critical acclaim.

On 5 February 2016, Daniel released the lead single of solo debut album "XO". The single quickly grew into an interational hit. Daniel followed up with "Wake Up", which did even better than the lead single. "Wake Up" topped the best of the year lists in 6 countries. He announced the release date of his debut album *Hurricane* in March. *Hurricane* was released on 5 May 2016 to widespread acclaim and it performed well commercially. The album was named one of the best albums of 2016 and the decade by several publications.

In July, Riffle released two singles in collaboration with French production duo DAÉ. "Carnival" was the most successful of the two and peaked at number one in the UK and France. In November 2016, Riffe announced their breakup due to creative differences. They released their final album *Moonshine* on 23 March 2017 to mixed reviews.

### **2017-2022: *Movement*, *APOLLO* and Return to Vice Verney**

In March 2017, Meckler announced a second solo album, accompanied by the singles 'A Story Without You', '777', and 'Amsterdam'. The album, titled Movement, was released on 2 February 2018 to immense critical praise and commercial success, with it topping album charts worldwide. Around this time, Daniel returned to Vice Verney to release their self-titled album on 31 August 2018; while it was met with critical acclaim, it failed to gain much commercial success.

On 8 August 2018, Meckler released the collaborative single 'HEAVEN' with JUNO X and Fox Ares, which became a worldwide success. Taking advantage of that momentum, he released his third solo album, APOLLO, on 15 March 2019; although it garnered lukewarm reviews from critics, it still marked a commercial success.

On 11 December 2020, Vice Verney's second album Pasadena was released with little promotion. The album was well-received by critics and it resulted in an increase in Vice Verney's fanbase. Meckler also released a soundtrack album for the film Marine Medallion, which received mixed reviews from critics and became his worst performing project to this day.

In October 2021, Meckler announced a hiatus from music following his tour with Vice Verney. in 2021, he was featured Nigho's "Lost in Translation".

## Discography

*Main article: Daniel discography*

*Also see: Riffle discography and Vice Verney discography*

**Solo**

* Hurricane (2016)
* Movement (2018)
* APOLLO (2019)
* I'll Give This A Title, I Promise (2023)

**With Riffle**

* Riffle (2015)
* Lose It (2015)
* Crown (2016)
* Moonshine (2017)

**With Vice Verney**

* Verney (2018)
* Pasadena (2020)
* George (2023)