Daniel Kovács describes himself as multicultural, curious, humble, humorous and positive, which is totally reflected in his sunny, catchy style of music.

Right now Daniel is on vacation – relaxing and working as a freelance graphic designer. He is travelling, taking pictures and writing songs for his own band which is probably why he lists his sketchbook, mobile phone with voice recording function and his digital SLR amongst his treasured possessions. We managed to pin him down for a few minutes to talk about Young Creative Chevrolet and much more…

What does it feel like to be the Young Creative Chevrolet European 2010 Music winner?
It’s quite an epic feeling to be honest. I actually wouldn’t have thought that this kind of music was going to win the race at the end of the day. I found out about the competition thanks to last year’s European 2nd prize winner for music, Karina Milone-Raspino, a fellow student of mine. Karina encouraged me to take part - turned out to be a very wise decision!

How long did it take you to complete your song from start to finish?
I had part of the lyrics in mind shortly after reading the brief. So after composing the melody and the chords I programmed a beat and the instruments. For the voice recording, the actual mixing and mastering, I was supported by my colleague Christoph Schönbäck who studies with me and has been producing music for quite a while now. All in all I would say the project took me/us 50-60 hours to finalize.

Do you have any more fun projects planned for 2010?
In August and September we will be shooting and editing a short movie. I’m really looking forward to this one, as it will be shown at the International Vienna Film Festival “Viennale”, which is quite a big opportunity to show that we can do movies too.

Where do you get your creative ideas from?
It’s hard to say who/what inspires me. Actually, it’s travelling and getting in touch with different cultures, life styles, and so on but I try to see inspiration everywhere possible. I believe that there is inspiration all around – we’re just not used to seeing/feeling/hearing it.

How long have you been interested in music and do you have a favourite type?
I started playing the violin at five years old but swapped it for the piano after a year. Three years later, I realised that my true passion was for the guitar. I’ve played in several bands and in 2005, I founded the world music band called “Matatu” (www.matatu.at). We play music that I love; music from all over the world, music that is authentic. It’s hard to pin it down to just a couple of types but I really like music from the Balkans, from Latin America, electronic music, Reggae, Soul … the list goes on and on. Because of the upcoming short movie-project I was around Argentinean Tango quite a lot. You should definitively check this genre out too.

Do you have any particular favourite artists or musicians?
I’m fond of way too many different artists to name just one but among my favourites are bands like Elbicho, Mahala Rai Banda, Macaco, Babylon Circus, Rage against The Machine, and so many more. I recently stumbled upon a cool French singer called “Yelle” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDVTQgMgEi8 ) and also a very cool French band called “Magic System”, (http://www.magic-system.fr/). In general, I would say it’s good to have idols that inspire you, but it’s always better to come up with something original out of the depths of your being.

Do you have any other talents we should know about?
I am not very good at showing-off. According to my CV, I am quite successful at graphic design and music and I speak 6 languages (German, English, Polish, Hungarian, Spanish, French – just enough to communicate). I am a photography enthusiast. That’s it I think.

How are your studies going and what do you plan to do once you’ve finished?
I’m studying graphic design and advertising at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, Austria, but completed a 2 year multimedia course before that. I don’t plan the future too much because I prefer to take each day as it comes. I’d like to finish studying in 2 years and after that would love to work in graphic design, advertising and music in a small design/advertising agency focusing on clients with a cultural, art, non-profit background.

You can listen to Daniel's winning song, All the Way, here.