Jason Quenneville

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Jason Quenneville is a Canadian producer and songwriter who works under the name DaHeala. He was born in 1982 and grew up in Gatineau, in Quebec, in a family where French and English were spoken. At thirteen he learned to DJ at a youth centre, and that is how he came to the music program FruityLoops, with which he began making beats. He did his first production work at twenty-three, for a mixtape by the rapper Belly.

Music and breakthrough

From 2013 Quenneville worked closely with The Weeknd. He co-produced all the tracks on his album Kiss Land (2013) and was executive producer of Beauty Behind the Madness (2015). On that album he wrote and produced, among others, Earned It, which featured in the film Fifty Shades of Grey and was nominated for an Oscar. For Starboy (2016) he co-wrote five tracks, including the title track with Daft Punk. On After Hours (2020) he worked on the single Blinding Lights. He also worked for artists such as Halsey and Lil Uzi Vert.

Influence

Quenneville is an example of the people behind the scenes of the modern pop hit. His name is not printed large on the sleeve, but he writes and builds the songs together with the star and other producers, such as Max Martin. That is how a hit is often made today, in a team in which everyone contributes part of the song or the sound.

Listening

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

• Mixtape 12: The Hit Factory^NL Reader