“I want to write songs that in 20 years time I’ll be proud of. I want to be able to say, ‘Hey, I was trying to make some honest music, the best way that I know how’.”

  - Dane Rumble 

If you’re looking for a sure bet on a Kiwi artist destined for big things in 2010, Dane Rumble is your man. 

The singer-songwriter soared into the new decade with three hit singles under his belt and the promise of an impending debut album packed with pop-rock gems. 

He’s no stranger to the music business, having spent a number of years in the phenomenally successful hip-hop outfit Fast Crew.  

Opening for the likes of Missy Elliott, the Black Eyed Peas and D12, was a dream come true for the music-obsessed Kiwi lad who grew up listening to his step-dad’s beloved and battered AC/DC and Led Zeppelin tapes. 

But in 2009 with his Fast Crew days behind him, Dane embarked on a new solo journey - swapping hip-hop beats for his own distinct cutting edge sound. He openly admits it was a risky, and scary, move:  

“I felt as though I had nothing to lose. With Fast Crew I’d seen the absolute pinnacle of the game and the absolute bottom of the barrel. I saw both extremes in a very short space of time and the waves of emotion that come with that are insane,” he says. 

“Also, I wanted to challenge myself. Having been in a hip-hop crew I wasn’t exactly a singer, I couldn’t play the guitar. So I thought, ‘I’m going to do this - I’m going to give it a nudge, and if it works, it works’.” 

The results, of course, speak for themselves.  

In just 12 months, the enigmatic artist who has a nose for a killer melody has written and produced some of the most infectious tunes to reverberate the airwaves in recent years.  

They include his debut Always Be Here which peaked at number 6 on the overall radio airplay chart and was the third most played New Zealand song for 2009.  The follow up single Don’t Know What To Do reached number 9 on both the overall airplay charts and most played New Zealand chart. His third recently released single, Cruel, looks to head the same way as it continues to climb the charts. 

“I’ve always loved pop and rock music,” he says. “When I was in Fast Crew I’d be the one bringing a pop element to the tracks, like a catchy hook. I think it’s a sound that’s engrained in me.” 

It is Dane’s instinctive sense of what makes a song a winner that has continued to drive his solo career; as well as the overwhelming response he’s had from those who matter the most - the listeners. 

After performing in front of more than 350,000 people at the 2009 Coca Cola Christmas in the Park concerts in Auckland and Christchurch, and crisscrossing the country this summer on tour; he has earned a reputation as one of the hottest solo live performers around. 

And, with the release of his debut album just around the corner, Dane has only one wish. 

“I just want to write the best album that I can and for every song to be as awesome as it can possibly be. I hope people will hear it and go, ‘That’s a good song, that’s a good song, that’s a good song…” 

Sit back and enjoy the ride, you are witnessing a superstar in the making.