Dan Caplen ’12

Dan grew up in Hong Kong, and he was educated in the U.K. Having an ear for music and singing at an early age, he was awarded a music scholarship to join the Canterbury Cathedral Choir. That training became the early foundation to his eventual career. Dan is trained in classical cello, piano, and organ, plus learned how to record and produce music on his own.

Lewis & Clark became the base for Dan’s creativity to grow. He was involved with the orchestra and jazz bands, while DJing at parties on and off campus. Jeff Leonard in the music department helped Dan see that a career in the music industry was attainable. Spending many nights in L&C’s basement recording studio, he was able to hone his production skills.

The jump start to his music career started on L&C’s campus. Posting his final student music project on YouTube eventually led to him signing with Atlantic Records. In 2018, he scored his first number-one record in the U.K., a collaboration with Macklemore, whom he first met at L&C. As an artist and songwriter, Dan has gone on to sell over 10 million records and has streaming numbers in the billions.

Dan is now based in the Caribbean. He was heavily involved in raising over $300,000 for volcano relief in Saint Vincent. Dan just signed a new publishing deal in Los Angeles, and he works closely with other artists, including One Republic, H.E.R, Stormzy, Meduza, Kygo, G-Eazy, BTS, and more. He got married in late 2022 and just welcomed his first child.