Hey there,

I'm Dario! Italian, born in 1987, based in Berlin. In love with music production, sound design, gaming, and tech. This page was created to gather all of my interests and passions in one space.

I'm mainly a music producer, writing electronic and ambient music independently released through my own record label named Daze.

For many years I've been a self-employed musician, which has required me to acquire diverse skills and deal with many challenges.

Check the links in the menu to find out more about me, my music and my passions.

Here you'll find some more links to follow me on socials and more.

Music

I've been making music since the early 2000s, when I first tried Fruity Loops 3 at a young age. At the time, my intention was to try and imitate major hits from the italo-dance scene.

For many years I used a bunch of different monikers making music in different electronic genres, but today I use solely my real name: Dario Lupo.

My sound has grown over time to include an electronic foundation with acoustic and cinematic elements. It's predominantly easy-listening — at times groovy, experimental, or completely meditative.

Regarding the past, I started a long time ago making Trance music as Tragida, then, growing up, I approached electronica and ambient, which brought me to make music as Need a Name. Later, I also created a couple side projects: Chasing Dreams and Katahimikan.

Interested in using my music? It's available for licensing on Musicbed.

Audio

After producing music for several years, I became interested in sound design, and over time, I built and shared tools to use in my music for fun. Here you can find all of it.

I started making VSTs for Windows (now outdated and only 32bit) in Synthmaker (which later became FlowStone by DSP Robotics) many years ago.

I also made devices for Ableton Live (which I used to make music for several years), as well as some VST presets and synths for Native Instruments' Reaktor.

Today, I use Bitwig Studio, which I love since it allows me to fully express my creativity, and for which I continue to create devices here and there.

Other than creating devices, I also enjoy post-production. When I'm working on music, I don't think there's much of a separation. All of my tracks are mixed and mastered by myself as part of the whole process. I'm not a certified mixing or mastering engineer, but I do my best to learn as much as I can and apply everything I've learned to my own music.

Design

While I was in high school, I decided to learn how to use graphics and web design tools in order to create my first website. Since then, I've gained experience that has allowed me to work as a web designer for a couple of organizations.

Almost all of the artwork for my music is created by me, including logos, cover arts, and more. I also make some simple animations to promote my music on social networks.

Aside from that, I've made a few things for fun, such as a couple of VST skins and a Playnite theme (an app for organizing and categorizing all of your videogames on PC).

I also enjoy photography, but never had the time to delve into it properly.

Gaming

I love gaming and mostly play on PC. My favorite game of all time is Outer Wilds. Its expansion Echoes of the Eye was my favorite "game" of 2021.

I play many different genres. I'm also very interested in the behind-the-scenes of the gaming scene. I like watching and listening to a bunch of podcasts / shows such as Dropped Frames, NoClip or Get Played and I'm also a pro Twitch lurker!

In case interested, you can visit my IGDB profile and check out the games I play and my ratings.

If you enjoy managing your collection on PC with Playnite, I made this theme for it.

Downloads

Here you'll find various downloads, like music devices, skins and more.

Wanna say thanks? If you wish to donate, I appreciate it and you may do so here! Or, if you prefer, you could buy some of my lossless music on Bandcamp.

  • Glitch Machine

    Download

    Create fun glitchy sequences based on arpeggiation. Play chords and trigger randomized notes from the Bitwig Sampler. You can open the Sampler and replace the packed audio files with your own!

  • Glitch Machine 2

    Download - Sampler Edition

    Another Glitch Machine, this one is synth-based and includes an additional synth/bass section for a melodic touch! The Sampler Edition is an alternative version which uses a Sampler instead of synths.

  • Random Repeater

    Download

    Create random variations using a sampler. Useful for hats, rides and such.

  • Daze Reverb

    Download

    Extreme reverb featuring modulation, shimmer and more.

    Inspired by my reverb for Ableton Live.

  • Chord Gadget

    Download

    Use your ears to create chords and play with them.

  • Note Gadget

    Download

    A custom humanizer with extra tools. You can randomize note timing, chance, velocity, length and enable strumming.

  • Free Arp

    Download

    Trust-your-ears arpeggiator with randomizer.

  • NAN Reverb

    Download

    A modulated reverb with long tails. One of my main effects used in many old tracks as Need a Name.

  • NAN Overdrive

    Download

    A strange, compressed overdrive combined with a phaser and bit reduction.

  • Creative Machine

    Download

    A multi-fx device created through a chain of grain delays. The idea started as an attempt to recreate the old tape machines' flutter sound, packed with an addition of ambient effects.

  • Gleam

    NI User Library

    A subtractive synthesizer I released in 2018. It took me many years to make, it's been quite fun. Can be a bit heavy on the CPU.

  • Aria

    NI User Library

    This is from 2014. An experimental synthesizer which has some effects in the background constantly (but slowly) changing the sound during time.

  • theBOX

    NI User Library

    A strange box. It makes sounds. From 2013.

  • Piky

    NI User Library

    Two-oscillator synthesizer based on the creation of "pikes" and "plucks" with extreme ease. From 2013.