If one was to ask for a music producer/ arranger/ composer of any merit on the Guyana shores the name Darrel Pugsley is most likely to be recommended.
Lovers of Guyanese music may remember him as one of the lead keyboard players with the Brutal Jammers and Heat Wave Bands. This happily married 31 year old who attended Sand Creek primary, Presidents College & St Rose’s high operates between Manaus and Sao Paolo Brazil and Guyana, and has played keyboard for and or toured with Artistes such as Serani, Cecile, Kiprich, Mr Easy, Collie Buddz, Spragga Benz, Jah Melody, Louie Culture, Turbulence, Natural Black, Natty King, Rupee, Peter Ram and many other popular names yet he remains true to the Guyanese music industry. Operating out of his McDoom home studio (DP records) almost weekly Darrel churns out hit after hit that immediately invade and claim the local airwaves. Just ask Lisa Punch or big red or Isla Man or Jackie Hanover amongst other Guyanese artistes.
He’s also shared the same stage with other international acts such as Akon, Buju Banton, Sizzla Kalonji, Beenie man, Capleton, Beres Hammond, Tony Matterhon just to name a few.
Boasting the enviable experience of working along with musicians in and out of studios as a former arranger/ composer and producer at Brutal Tracks Studios and also DP Studios,which he owns.
Darrel offers the total package of graphic designing, video editing and, audio engineering. His musical productions cover the genres of R/ B, hip- hop, dancehall, reggae, Jazz, Samba, Reggaeton, soca, Forro, Indian, soul and poprock. His work has definitely been heard, but many never knew the face behind the creativity.
The young musician, engineer, businessman has been in music professionally for at least two decades having started playing the guitar as a child compliments of his father. He also plays bass and rythm guitar. He came to Georgetown, Guyana at age nine and happened upon music by accident and has made it his career. He composed and arranged seven tracks on Natural Blacks album titled ‘Guardian angel” which was launched in Barbados and now he’s working on a host of other artistes including the likes of Mondale Smith, Tandy, Kester D etc.
Truth be told this Guyanese all encompassing musician also own an online radio and television station and he is also the voice behind many advertisement for most of the major companies in and out of Guyana and he’s nowhere close to touching 40. With accomplishments that continue to pile up he’not one to blow his own trumpet. Humbly he states ‘ my goal basically to push the artistes that I work with towards much success…its not about me its about them and taking Guyanese music to the international arena in a professional manner so that Guyana wins positive publicity.” Further he states “its not about me. I started the record label for my artistes.”
In studio he haw worked with all of the bigger names locally the likes of big red, jumo, Adrian dutchin, Jory, natural black, jackie,lisa punch, malo, Mondale . In the Gospel arena Darrel has also produced music for Sean Sobers, Mariam Williams, Kester D, bro ravi., solid youth to name a few.
A point to note is for several years his productions won first and second places at the schools mash calypso competitons. While many producers simply have a studio Darrel has project that a producer have at home to do projects after hours. At present he is working on projects with artistes from Germany,the US, Brasil,Africa and Guyana.
DARREL started producing music while still attending school at home and @zoe media
Productions owned by Obed james(best engineer,Guyana), Dominion Studios by Pastor King. He took it up seriously after a major vehicular accident that landed him in
hospital at a time when he was supposed to undergo brain surgery for a clot in his brain. Those clots gave him terrible headaches that came with bleeding from his nose however “music literally healed me as I was gonna study medicine en-route to being a medical surgeon but i couldn’t study any more and listening to much music and spending time with the keyboard kept the headaches away.” According to him it was a miracle that he didnt have to undergo surgery any more…Thank God!
What keeps Darrel interested? Well as he puts it simply “the technology. I’ve seen it grow. I started producing when protools didnt exist in Guyana as yet. I was very fortunate to have access to the very first protools digi01 system in the country which was released in 1999. Now I’m privileged to be using protools 10 HD.”