House music DJ and producer David Dann didn’t let a rejection from UCLA or multiple record labels taint his dreams of being a UCLA graduate and chart-topping artist. As of last month, Dann accomplished both of these dreams as he self-released his debut album, “To Each His Own,” which beat out DJ veterans Skrillex, Tiesto and Kaskade on the iTunes top 10 dance albums chart.

Dann, who applied twice to UCLA before being accepted as a transfer student from Santa Monica College, graduated last month as a history student and plans to establish his own record label, “Mind of a Genius.” Daily Bruin’s Marjorie Yan spoke to Dann about his history as a musician, his thoughts on his album and his new label.

Daily Bruin: What sparked your interest in music? Tell us about where the journey began for you.

David Dann: I grew up in Beverly Hills and my family has zero background in music and … is all into medicine. … When I was growing up, my mom kind of forced me into (taking) piano lessons. I quit (the) lessons after a year and a half because I didn’t want to be taught how to play an instrument. I wanted to learn on my own. (Taking piano lessons) was by force … and after a few sessions I had advanced pretty quickly so I quit. That was when the music thing started. … There was a huge attachment to piano at an early age and I was (really) into computers. My fetish for those two things were a deadly combination for being a DJ and performing live.

DB: So when did your career as a DJ actually start picking up? How would you say you’ve built your following?

DD: When I was 16 I had a residency at a venue called Privilege in L.A. which was one of the top nightclubs at the time. I was … sneaking my friends into all of these clubs and into parties I was DJing. I had a bunch of residencies during that time. Mi-6 was another residency that I had. During summer of my senior year of high school, I’d bring all (of) the city kids and it was one of the only house music clubs. I ran (with) it and started that night. That was a huge time for me.

DB: OK, so tell us about that moment you found out your album topped Skrillex, Tiesto and Kaskade. What was going through your mind?

DD: It came out on April 30 and I remember three hours in, one of my boys texted me saying my album was 76 on the dance album iTunes chart. That was three hours in and I was so confused and … the next morning it was 25. … A few hours later it was top 10 and to be honest, it was kind of like this huge shock to the whole team and the people that I work with because we weren’t expecting this from … the debut album, but (at the same time) I wasn’t so surprised because of the belief I had in the music (and) in the fans especially. It was definitely a landmark moment in my life and career, and it was a great feeling. It showed (that) hard work pays off.

DB: Tell me about the inspiration behind the name of your album, “To Each His Own”?

DD: We went through a bunch of names. This album from start to end took two or three years to finish and there was obviously a lot more songs that didn’t make it. The ones that did make it were the ones that I thought blended together the best. The name came about because I had been showing the songs for a year to different people, musicians and family, and it’s crazy because every single person had a different take on it. It hit people in much different ways than (it did) the next person. … I couldn’t get a consistent answer or thought on the album. Some people said it was really house-y or trance-y or indie or really melodic. Everyone had a different take. I was super frustrated and at the end of the day, I named it “To Each His Own” because everyone had their own thoughts and that’s kind of how it came about.

DB: Tell me a little more about the record label you’re creating. How did the idea come up and how did you come up with the name?

DD: “Mind of a Genius” stems from a playlist I had named when I was 15 or 16 for some of my favorite (songs) by musicians I had labeled as geniuses at the time. Some include Sade and (Radiohead lead vocalist) Thom Yorke. (The record label consists of) me and my team, a few like-minded individuals based out of L.A., Miami and New York, no industry professionals.

Email Yan at myan@media.ucla.edu.

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