Inside The Track: Dean Montano ‘1am Heat’ EP
Inside The Track: Dean Montano ‘1am Heat’ EP
Manchester‑based DJ and producer Dean Montano has House Music in his DNA. He’s been rocking dance floors since the early 00’s, blending Disco‑infused grooves to funky to Deep House, and with the odd classic to boot. Dean bagged his first residency at the 230 Club in London in the 00’s, and has since played at various venues, clubs, and events across the UK and Ibiza. He plays regularly at the Hacienda Nottingham Events, is a resident at the Muscle Funk parties, and also for the Boho Festivals, playing alongside Fat Tony, Crazy P Soundsystem, Horse Meat Disco, MelvoBaptiste, Greg Wilson, Tom Wainwright, Graeme Park, Jeremy Healey and Jon Pleased Women, among others. As a producer, Dean collaborated on ‘Deeper Than Deep’ with Atari Safari in 2025, before releasing his solo EP ‘Funk Sensation/RIFF RAFF’ on Muscle Funk, which hit Number 3 on the Deep House chart on Beatport. Rapidly carving a name for himself in the studio and dance floors Mr Montano is definitely one to watch!
Hi Dean, how are you and what have you been up to lately?
Very well thank you! I’ve been super busy listening to new music non-stop, my weekly radio show, DJing and trying to produce.
You’ve just released your brand new 2 tracker ‘1am Heat’ EP on Muscle Funk, are you pleased with the results?
I am buzzing with the results. I pretty much captured exactly what I set out to do… which makes a change! Lol.
Please tell us a little about how each track sounds?
‘1am Heat’ is a driving peak time banger, whereas ‘6am Sunrise’ is a melodic Balearic journey.
Who or what was the inspiration behind the release?
In one word…. Ibiza. I wanted something that epitomised the Ibiza clubbing experience. That 1am dancefloor heat to the 6am sunrise. The tracks are very different, but I’m hoping I capture the essence of the night, or should I say morning!
‘6am Sunrise’ is quite the journey at nearly 9 minutes long with lots of twists and turns. Did you intend for it to turn out that way?
The first version of ‘6am Sunrise’ was 14 minutes!!! I managed to get it down to just under 9 minutes. I tried several times to get to the trendy 6-minute sweet spot, but I hated them all. It robbed the track of its key elements.
With tracks getting shorter and more ‘instant‑impact’ these days, what do you think is being lost or gained in terms of storytelling and groove development on the dance floor?
100% lost. Pretty much all house music tracks released today have 30s and 1min markers and aim to be 6mins or under. For me that robs creativity if all tracks are based on others reference tracks. I totally ignored all of that with this release! I concentrated on what I wanted and sounded good!
As an artist, how do you balance making music for the club with making music for listeners at home or on headphones?
Great question! I don’t choose one over the other. In a club it’s about that driving beat, and those euphoric hands in the air moments. At home or just out and about with your headphones, you hear those details much more. Such as the arrangement, and little effects and additions. I hope I satisfy both with this release.
Production wise, how did you go about putting the release together?
A lot of people are scared of Session View in Ableton, but I love it!!! It’s where both tracks started. I will get a groove going and just organically go from there adding and taking away elements as I go. I then switch to Arrangement view. This is where the details come in.
How long did it take to complete the whole package and did you face any challenges or obstacles when putting the release together?
‘6am Sunrise’ probably took on and off about 4-5 months. I played a lot more with MIDI for the melody on the track. That was a labour of love. It took me ages to get it to how I wanted it to sound.’1am Heat’ was probably a couple of weeks. That one was pretty straight forward as it evolved as I wanted it to.
What software was key in the production and did you try anything new?
My DAW of choice is Ableton. Probably more with MIDI and Plug-Ins.
What’s your favourite piece of studio kit?
Just my Midi keyboard – great for free styling and generating ideas.
What’s your Achilles Heel when it comes to producing?
Plug-Ins! They do my head in! It’s a mind field.
What else are you working on at the moment that you can tell us about?
I have a number of new productions I am working on. Ranging from a 110bpm Balearic track to a Disco House tune with original vocals to a new dancefloor banger. Looking forward to getting these out!
‘1am Heat’ EP is out now on Beatport Exclusive / full release July 17th 2026 on Muscle Funk.
