A dynamo whose has produced a stunning back catalogue that includes international chart No.1 hits , Multi Grammy nominations and bumpin' Chicago-influenced underground productions, Duke Dumont is a contemporary electronic music powerhouse. Deeply committed to creating high quality music imbued with emotional depth, Dumont is versatile, extremely adept and hard working.
His illustrious career has taken him on tour around the world, many times over, and placed him in the top tier of electronic music artists of his ilk. Poised to release his debut album 'Duality', he will present the culmination of studio work record in London & LA, showcasing a voice that is diverse yet immediately identifiable as Duke's. Features include RY X, Zak Abel and house legends like Roland Clark, reflecting his open-minded approach across 10 polished tracks that encompass a range of emotional states. With an accompanying live show , Duke Dumont is preparing to enter a new phase of his musical endeavours, and showcasing his the breadth of his expertise.
Since 2007 Duke Dumont has channeled his deep love for electronic music into a variety of acclaimed releases, moving through pumping electro and vibrant techno to conquer the UK charts with 'Need U 100%'. His early releases on Tiga's Turbo Recordings helped establish his reputation for producing high quality club music that moves the dance floor, physically and emotionally. By 2012 he'd produced two career-defining EPs - For Club Use, Vol 1 and For Club Use, Vol 2. Tracks like 'The Giver' cemented Dumont's rep for catchy hooks, precision arrangement and powerful emotion. A year later he hit the No.1 spot in the UK charts with 'Need U (100%)' (featuring A*M*E), demonstrating his ability to merge classic house motifs with first-rate songwriting.
In the years since those breakthrough releases Duke Dumont has lent his remarkable talent to a flurry of major label remixes and production projects while maintaining a steady flow of his own solo releases. His remix work covers a wide range of acts, from hip hop royalty EPMD, Missy Elliot and Gucci Mane to Mystery Jets, Bonobo and HAIM, his signature attention to detail and command of dance floor dynamics evident on each rework. On the solo tip he followed 'Need U (100%)' with another UK No.1 'I Got U' both songs achieving platinum sales. Between 2013 and 2020 he hit the Billboard Dance Chart No.1 with seven singles, including "The Power", 'Won't Look Back' and 'Ocean Drive'. With each release Duke Dumont staying true to his club roots, achieving widespread success.
On his album 'Duality', Duke Dumont channels his years of experience into a cohesive record that epitomises his core beliefs; striving for perfection in terms of musicality, energy and feeling. The result is an honest, cathartic expression of Dumont's desire to embody the mentality of a true artist, liberated from genre specifics and scored with his own sonic fingerprint. Dumont's aim was to produce a meaningful LP, one that has longevity and the potential to achieve classic status. Sincere emotion transcends time and, by paying close attention to the musicality of his productions, Dumont hopes his songs will retain their earnest appeal forever. Over the past decade he has been refining his skills, studying music theory and losing himself in the infinite world of possibility that can be accessed through key, rhythm, tone, melody and harmony. He also dipped into songwriting and lyricism, learning about cadence, the power of language and how to construct a song. On the album tracks he partnered with each singer to write collaborative songs, tapping into the DNA of each artist to create an authentic contribution. What you hear on the album is a genuine connection between Dumont and his featured artists, many of whom he considers to be friends. This authentic energy lends itself to the album's emotional content - every word, every note a product of the creativity that arises from real camaraderie.
Duality showcases Duke Dumont's impressive skillset, demonstrating the abilities of an artist who has an intuitive understanding of how to move the listener, physically, mentally and emotionally. From the first half, which is designed to get you dancing and features the single 'Therapy', plus 'Obey' (with Roland Clark) and 'The Power' (with Zak Abel) to the latter half of the album, which takes us into more wistful territory, it's a testament to his singular vision. Duality is a long-player in the traditional sense, produced to be listened to in its entirety, rather than a collection of radio-friendly singles. Besides his own production and vocal features, Duality incorporates live string arrangements, guitar players, drummers and piano keys. At the core of the album's overall sound is the notion of music that can be visualised; like a painting. For each track Duke Dumont knew he'd struck gold when he could see what it would look like. This also feeds into the live show, where his compositions will be accompanied by visuals on the big stage.
For Duke Dumont the epitome of live is performing your own music, this is one of his key aspirations. With several chart-topping hits under his belt, plenty of singles and EPs, plus his stunning new LP, he is equipped with everything he needs to achieve that dream. As he readies himself for a headline performance at Coachella, Dumont remains humble, determined and eternally focused on producing music that will endure beyond his lifetime...
~~~~~~~~
Before 2012 Duke Dumont was known as a 'producer's producer'. He was the name on a 12" record the DJ knew to reach for when he wanted to please the crowd, without them knowing who had constructed the mesmerising sonic confection they were dancing too. In 2012, two EPs on Tiga's Turbo Recordings (with whom Duke has had a long standing relationship) changed all that. 'For Club Play Vol. 1 & 2' offered up sweet ecstatic deep house & UK bass cuts that have united people across the spectrum of music, from early club adopters like Annie Mac, Erol Alkan, Diplo, Martyn and Jackmaster to Fearne Cotton on daytime Radio 1, Trevor Nelson on 1xtra and even podcasts by Tiesto and Avicci. On some nights in Duke's beloved Fabric London, you would hear the anthemic 'The Giver' being played in all three rooms at the same time. Duke's early career was mentored by Switch (last sighted producing for Beyoncé) and he made his name as the 'go-to' man to remake a pop song for the dance floor (Lily Allen and Bat For Lashes were notable clients). In 2011, he moved out of London to the countryside (Hertfordshire, where his studio overlooks a forest) to focus on his original material. Synthesizing his influences from techno to UK garage and house he brought back goodies from this zen-like exile. 'For Club Play Only Vol. 1' was released in April 2012 on Turbo. With 'Street Walker' and 'Thunderclap' on there, it alerted the heads to the Duke movement and received support from the likes of Jamie Jones and Simian Mobile Disco. Remixes for AlunaGeorge and Santigold quickly followed, then in August 'For Club Play Only Vol.2' featuring 'No Money Blues' and 'The Giver' made Duke the man to watch. 'The producer's producer' had become the 'people's producer'. 'Need U (100%)' features 17 year-old starlet AME on singing duties. With a chunky low-end, funky stabs and silky vocals this is like an early 90s house classic couched in 2013 techno techniques. In 1988 Inner City would have been jealous of this one. Co-written by teenage wonder-kid MNEK (who recently sung on Rudimental's 'Spoons' with Syron) the Duke will release 'Need U (100%)' on his newly minted Blasé Boys Club label.
~~~~~~~~
"I did 150 DJ shows last year. That's 3 per week, and 110 of them were overseas," explains Duke Dumont. "The problem is," he laughs, "I'm not the type of person who can record music on the road." Quite how the hell the London producer has finished this debut album, Blasé Boys Club, then, is both a total miracle and a tribute to his work ethic. "I try to push myself as hard as I can, and I hope this record represents that."
In a way, the enormous success of Duke Dumont has somewhat slipped under the radar. So unassuming is Adam George Dyment, that it's easy to forget he played one of the most pivotal roles in making UK deep house the thundering global juggernaut it is today. When his single 'Need U 100%' soared straight to number 1 in March 2013, it became the first UK house track to do so in over a decade, reaching Gold certification, and opening up a gap in the British music consciousness for deep house to really prosper on a massive scale. It's fair to say that the success of "Need U 100%" blew open a void for other deep house acts like Route 94 and Gorgon City to fill, transcending so many from club favourites to serious chart contenders.
Dumont followed that success 9 months later with his next single, 'I Got U', a Whitney Houston inspired Waikiki Beach of a dance track, that, again, topped the UK singles chart. An achievement put into stark context when you think of the acts - Pharrell Williams and John Legend - that it was keeping from top spot. And when his third big single 'Won't Look Back' rose to number 2 on the UK chart, whilst topping the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart, Dumont's name as a top ten producer was cemented.
Away from the charts though, he continued the underground explorations that first made his name, through the For Club Play Only EP series on Turbo Recordings. So while 'Won't Look Back' was snaking into Radio 1's A-list, the more radical and rigid percussive banger 'Drumapella' from his other project was simultaneously permeating the underground club scene. It's this multifaceted success, a fingers on all turntables approach, that unleashed such a relentless touring schedule for Dumont, taking him worldwide - and all the while he would be snatching at moments of downtime to work on the material that would comprise his first full length record.
At Coachella, Dumont put this prospective album material to the test - performing a 60 minute live set of all original work to a crowd that swelled from 3,000 to 25,000 during his show. "I was between 2 EDM acts, so I was a little scared," he admits. "When you are performing music at a live level, things can get very competitive. Is the act before you going to be more aggressive, louder, are their lights going to be bigger and better? The thing a lot of people lose in that respect is that music should have a lot of emotion to it. It should be heartfelt. It should trigger something. I put most of the songs from the album into that set, so it all hinged on my stuff. This was no DJ set. And I felt proud when it really captured the crowd's attention."
So much tireless work has gone into making his live show what it is, taking cues from acts like Chemical Brothers and Daft Punk, in an effort to create a performance that truly reflects the artistic craft of electronic music rather than pandering to the cultural clichés of hedonistic immediacy. His performances are pulsating, emotional journeys. But, at the end of the day, the show would be nothing if the source material wasn't strong enough, and that's where Dumont excels.
The album has also given him a chance to breath some new life into existing material. 'The Giver' first dropped in 2012 on Turbo, and quickly turned a deep house staple, it's use becoming almost ritualistic in the way so DJs would consistently deploy it as their peak time banger. And soon, it developed an organic life of its own online. "When I wrote it, I don't even think deep house was invented in its current form," says Dumont. "I've always wanted to play it to as wide an audience as possible. It did really well by itself, but that was without any promo or marketing. Now, with the re-polish I've done on it, I want it to have the best possible chance to do well on radio."
Away from Dumont's clear affinity for deep house, prominent vocals and textured electronic pop, there's also one other key influence that bleeds through his work. "I came through as a DJ with a lot of the French wave guys like Justice, Sebastian, Mr Oizo," he explains. "And Daft Punk's Discovery: that just has the perfect balance of incredible music alongside massive dance tracks." Somewhere in his subconscious, this powerful French influence is etched and it comes across most prominently on standout track 'Ocean Avenue' - a hard and slinky pop jam that conjures nocturnal visions of a lost scene from Nicolas Winding Refn's 2011 film Drive.
The record has also given Dumont a chance to widen his scope of collaboration. His fine ear for vocals has already seen him team up with MNEK and AME, and the record boasts further features from Vincent McMorrow, and the legendary 80s house vocalist Robert Owens. The grooving 8 minute disco track that features the latter is like Dumont's very own homage to Daft Punk's epic 'Giorgio'.
The funny thing about all the success that now surrounds him is that Duke Dumont hasn't really changed the way he makes music, and the re-release of 'The Giver' will pay testament to that. The change has come more in both the UK and American music culture, and the way club music now finds itself positioned so boldly on both sides of the Atlantic. "I remember I went to America in 2008," he says, "and I played in a nightclub in New York called Studio B. I remember I got heckled by people asking me to play hip-hop. So, when I went back in 2012, I was genuinely petrified, but it ended up being one of the best tours I've ever done. The scene just seems to get bigger and bigger."
With his eyes set on some huge UK shows, and massive forthcoming collaborations, Harrow-born Adam George Dyment looks set to play a huge role in the way UK pop music continues to shift ever further into new realms, just like an early noughties Timbaland did for the US or a recent Pharrell has done for the world. Still, he remains unnervingly grounded: "I don't necessarily want to be the biggest DJ or biggest act in the world, but I certainly want to be one of the best."
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His illustrious career has taken him on tour around the world, many times over, and placed him in the top tier of electronic music artists of his ilk. Poised to release his debut album 'Duality', he will present the culmination of studio work record in London & LA, showcasing a voice that is diverse yet immediately identifiable as Duke's. Features include RY X, Zak Abel and house legends like Roland Clark, reflecting his open-minded approach across 10 polished tracks that encompass a range of emotional states. With an accompanying live show , Duke Dumont is preparing to enter a new phase of his musical endeavours, and showcasing his the breadth of his expertise.
Since 2007 Duke Dumont has channeled his deep love for electronic music into a variety of acclaimed releases, moving through pumping electro and vibrant techno to conquer the UK charts with 'Need U 100%'. His early releases on Tiga's Turbo Recordings helped establish his reputation for producing high quality club music that moves the dance floor, physically and emotionally. By 2012 he'd produced two career-defining EPs - For Club Use, Vol 1 and For Club Use, Vol 2. Tracks like 'The Giver' cemented Dumont's rep for catchy hooks, precision arrangement and powerful emotion. A year later he hit the No.1 spot in the UK charts with 'Need U (100%)' (featuring A*M*E), demonstrating his ability to merge classic house motifs with first-rate songwriting.
In the years since those breakthrough releases Duke Dumont has lent his remarkable talent to a flurry of major label remixes and production projects while maintaining a steady flow of his own solo releases. His remix work covers a wide range of acts, from hip hop royalty EPMD, Missy Elliot and Gucci Mane to Mystery Jets, Bonobo and HAIM, his signature attention to detail and command of dance floor dynamics evident on each rework. On the solo tip he followed 'Need U (100%)' with another UK No.1 'I Got U' both songs achieving platinum sales. Between 2013 and 2020 he hit the Billboard Dance Chart No.1 with seven singles, including "The Power", 'Won't Look Back' and 'Ocean Drive'. With each release Duke Dumont staying true to his club roots, achieving widespread success.
On his album 'Duality', Duke Dumont channels his years of experience into a cohesive record that epitomises his core beliefs; striving for perfection in terms of musicality, energy and feeling. The result is an honest, cathartic expression of Dumont's desire to embody the mentality of a true artist, liberated from genre specifics and scored with his own sonic fingerprint. Dumont's aim was to produce a meaningful LP, one that has longevity and the potential to achieve classic status. Sincere emotion transcends time and, by paying close attention to the musicality of his productions, Dumont hopes his songs will retain their earnest appeal forever. Over the past decade he has been refining his skills, studying music theory and losing himself in the infinite world of possibility that can be accessed through key, rhythm, tone, melody and harmony. He also dipped into songwriting and lyricism, learning about cadence, the power of language and how to construct a song. On the album tracks he partnered with each singer to write collaborative songs, tapping into the DNA of each artist to create an authentic contribution. What you hear on the album is a genuine connection between Dumont and his featured artists, many of whom he considers to be friends. This authentic energy lends itself to the album's emotional content - every word, every note a product of the creativity that arises from real camaraderie.
Duality showcases Duke Dumont's impressive skillset, demonstrating the abilities of an artist who has an intuitive understanding of how to move the listener, physically, mentally and emotionally. From the first half, which is designed to get you dancing and features the single 'Therapy', plus 'Obey' (with Roland Clark) and 'The Power' (with Zak Abel) to the latter half of the album, which takes us into more wistful territory, it's a testament to his singular vision. Duality is a long-player in the traditional sense, produced to be listened to in its entirety, rather than a collection of radio-friendly singles. Besides his own production and vocal features, Duality incorporates live string arrangements, guitar players, drummers and piano keys. At the core of the album's overall sound is the notion of music that can be visualised; like a painting. For each track Duke Dumont knew he'd struck gold when he could see what it would look like. This also feeds into the live show, where his compositions will be accompanied by visuals on the big stage.
For Duke Dumont the epitome of live is performing your own music, this is one of his key aspirations. With several chart-topping hits under his belt, plenty of singles and EPs, plus his stunning new LP, he is equipped with everything he needs to achieve that dream. As he readies himself for a headline performance at Coachella, Dumont remains humble, determined and eternally focused on producing music that will endure beyond his lifetime...
~~~~~~~~
Before 2012 Duke Dumont was known as a 'producer's producer'. He was the name on a 12" record the DJ knew to reach for when he wanted to please the crowd, without them knowing who had constructed the mesmerising sonic confection they were dancing too. In 2012, two EPs on Tiga's Turbo Recordings (with whom Duke has had a long standing relationship) changed all that. 'For Club Play Vol. 1 & 2' offered up sweet ecstatic deep house & UK bass cuts that have united people across the spectrum of music, from early club adopters like Annie Mac, Erol Alkan, Diplo, Martyn and Jackmaster to Fearne Cotton on daytime Radio 1, Trevor Nelson on 1xtra and even podcasts by Tiesto and Avicci. On some nights in Duke's beloved Fabric London, you would hear the anthemic 'The Giver' being played in all three rooms at the same time. Duke's early career was mentored by Switch (last sighted producing for Beyoncé) and he made his name as the 'go-to' man to remake a pop song for the dance floor (Lily Allen and Bat For Lashes were notable clients). In 2011, he moved out of London to the countryside (Hertfordshire, where his studio overlooks a forest) to focus on his original material. Synthesizing his influences from techno to UK garage and house he brought back goodies from this zen-like exile. 'For Club Play Only Vol. 1' was released in April 2012 on Turbo. With 'Street Walker' and 'Thunderclap' on there, it alerted the heads to the Duke movement and received support from the likes of Jamie Jones and Simian Mobile Disco. Remixes for AlunaGeorge and Santigold quickly followed, then in August 'For Club Play Only Vol.2' featuring 'No Money Blues' and 'The Giver' made Duke the man to watch. 'The producer's producer' had become the 'people's producer'. 'Need U (100%)' features 17 year-old starlet AME on singing duties. With a chunky low-end, funky stabs and silky vocals this is like an early 90s house classic couched in 2013 techno techniques. In 1988 Inner City would have been jealous of this one. Co-written by teenage wonder-kid MNEK (who recently sung on Rudimental's 'Spoons' with Syron) the Duke will release 'Need U (100%)' on his newly minted Blasé Boys Club label.
~~~~~~~~
"I did 150 DJ shows last year. That's 3 per week, and 110 of them were overseas," explains Duke Dumont. "The problem is," he laughs, "I'm not the type of person who can record music on the road." Quite how the hell the London producer has finished this debut album, Blasé Boys Club, then, is both a total miracle and a tribute to his work ethic. "I try to push myself as hard as I can, and I hope this record represents that."
In a way, the enormous success of Duke Dumont has somewhat slipped under the radar. So unassuming is Adam George Dyment, that it's easy to forget he played one of the most pivotal roles in making UK deep house the thundering global juggernaut it is today. When his single 'Need U 100%' soared straight to number 1 in March 2013, it became the first UK house track to do so in over a decade, reaching Gold certification, and opening up a gap in the British music consciousness for deep house to really prosper on a massive scale. It's fair to say that the success of "Need U 100%" blew open a void for other deep house acts like Route 94 and Gorgon City to fill, transcending so many from club favourites to serious chart contenders.
Dumont followed that success 9 months later with his next single, 'I Got U', a Whitney Houston inspired Waikiki Beach of a dance track, that, again, topped the UK singles chart. An achievement put into stark context when you think of the acts - Pharrell Williams and John Legend - that it was keeping from top spot. And when his third big single 'Won't Look Back' rose to number 2 on the UK chart, whilst topping the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart, Dumont's name as a top ten producer was cemented.
Away from the charts though, he continued the underground explorations that first made his name, through the For Club Play Only EP series on Turbo Recordings. So while 'Won't Look Back' was snaking into Radio 1's A-list, the more radical and rigid percussive banger 'Drumapella' from his other project was simultaneously permeating the underground club scene. It's this multifaceted success, a fingers on all turntables approach, that unleashed such a relentless touring schedule for Dumont, taking him worldwide - and all the while he would be snatching at moments of downtime to work on the material that would comprise his first full length record.
At Coachella, Dumont put this prospective album material to the test - performing a 60 minute live set of all original work to a crowd that swelled from 3,000 to 25,000 during his show. "I was between 2 EDM acts, so I was a little scared," he admits. "When you are performing music at a live level, things can get very competitive. Is the act before you going to be more aggressive, louder, are their lights going to be bigger and better? The thing a lot of people lose in that respect is that music should have a lot of emotion to it. It should be heartfelt. It should trigger something. I put most of the songs from the album into that set, so it all hinged on my stuff. This was no DJ set. And I felt proud when it really captured the crowd's attention."
So much tireless work has gone into making his live show what it is, taking cues from acts like Chemical Brothers and Daft Punk, in an effort to create a performance that truly reflects the artistic craft of electronic music rather than pandering to the cultural clichés of hedonistic immediacy. His performances are pulsating, emotional journeys. But, at the end of the day, the show would be nothing if the source material wasn't strong enough, and that's where Dumont excels.
The album has also given him a chance to breath some new life into existing material. 'The Giver' first dropped in 2012 on Turbo, and quickly turned a deep house staple, it's use becoming almost ritualistic in the way so DJs would consistently deploy it as their peak time banger. And soon, it developed an organic life of its own online. "When I wrote it, I don't even think deep house was invented in its current form," says Dumont. "I've always wanted to play it to as wide an audience as possible. It did really well by itself, but that was without any promo or marketing. Now, with the re-polish I've done on it, I want it to have the best possible chance to do well on radio."
Away from Dumont's clear affinity for deep house, prominent vocals and textured electronic pop, there's also one other key influence that bleeds through his work. "I came through as a DJ with a lot of the French wave guys like Justice, Sebastian, Mr Oizo," he explains. "And Daft Punk's Discovery: that just has the perfect balance of incredible music alongside massive dance tracks." Somewhere in his subconscious, this powerful French influence is etched and it comes across most prominently on standout track 'Ocean Avenue' - a hard and slinky pop jam that conjures nocturnal visions of a lost scene from Nicolas Winding Refn's 2011 film Drive.
The record has also given Dumont a chance to widen his scope of collaboration. His fine ear for vocals has already seen him team up with MNEK and AME, and the record boasts further features from Vincent McMorrow, and the legendary 80s house vocalist Robert Owens. The grooving 8 minute disco track that features the latter is like Dumont's very own homage to Daft Punk's epic 'Giorgio'.
The funny thing about all the success that now surrounds him is that Duke Dumont hasn't really changed the way he makes music, and the re-release of 'The Giver' will pay testament to that. The change has come more in both the UK and American music culture, and the way club music now finds itself positioned so boldly on both sides of the Atlantic. "I remember I went to America in 2008," he says, "and I played in a nightclub in New York called Studio B. I remember I got heckled by people asking me to play hip-hop. So, when I went back in 2012, I was genuinely petrified, but it ended up being one of the best tours I've ever done. The scene just seems to get bigger and bigger."
With his eyes set on some huge UK shows, and massive forthcoming collaborations, Harrow-born Adam George Dyment looks set to play a huge role in the way UK pop music continues to shift ever further into new realms, just like an early noughties Timbaland did for the US or a recent Pharrell has done for the world. Still, he remains unnervingly grounded: "I don't necessarily want to be the biggest DJ or biggest act in the world, but I certainly want to be one of the best."
A dynamo whose has produced a stunning back catalogue that includes international chart No.1 hits , Multi Grammy nominations and bumpin' Chicago-influenced underground productions, Duke Dumont is a contemporary electronic music powerhouse. Deeply committed to creating high quality music imbued with emotional depth, Dumont is versatile, extremely adept and hard working.
His illustrious career has taken him on tour around the world, many times over, and placed him in the top tier of electronic music artists of his ilk. Poised to release his debut album 'Duality', he will present the culmination of studio work record in London & LA, showcasing a voice that is diverse yet immediately identifiable as Duke's. Features include RY X, Zak Abel and house legends like Roland Clark, reflecting his open-minded approach across 10 polished tracks that encompass a range of emotional states. With an accompanying live show , Duke Dumont is preparing to enter a new phase of his musical endeavours, and showcasing his the breadth of his expertise.
Since 2007 Duke Dumont has channeled his deep love for electronic music into a variety of acclaimed releases, moving through pumping electro and vibrant techno to conquer the UK charts with 'Need U 100%'. His early releases on Tiga's Turbo Recordings helped establish his reputation for producing high quality club music that moves the dance floor, physically and emotionally. By 2012 he'd produced two career-defining EPs - For Club Use, Vol 1 and For Club Use, Vol 2. Tracks like 'The Giver' cemented Dumont's rep for catchy hooks, precision arrangement and powerful emotion. A year later he hit the No.1 spot in the UK charts with 'Need U (100%)' (featuring A*M*E), demonstrating his ability to merge classic house motifs with first-rate songwriting.
In the years since those breakthrough releases Duke Dumont has lent his remarkable talent to a flurry of major label remixes and production projects while maintaining a steady flow of his own solo releases. His remix work covers a wide range of acts, from hip hop royalty EPMD, Missy Elliot and Gucci Mane to Mystery Jets, Bonobo and HAIM, his signature attention to detail and command of dance floor dynamics evident on each rework. On the solo tip he followed 'Need U (100%)' with another UK No.1 'I Got U' both songs achieving platinum sales. Between 2013 and 2020 he hit the Billboard Dance Chart No.1 with seven singles, including "The Power", 'Won't Look Back' and 'Ocean Drive'. With each release Duke Dumont staying true to his club roots, achieving widespread success.
On his album 'Duality', Duke Dumont channels his years of experience into a cohesive record that epitomises his core beliefs; striving for perfection in terms of musicality, energy and feeling. The result is an honest, cathartic expression of Dumont's desire to embody the mentality of a true artist, liberated from genre specifics and scored with his own sonic fingerprint. Dumont's aim was to produce a meaningful LP, one that has longevity and the potential to achieve classic status. Sincere emotion transcends time and, by paying close attention to the musicality of his productions, Dumont hopes his songs will retain their earnest appeal forever. Over the past decade he has been refining his skills, studying music theory and losing himself in the infinite world of possibility that can be accessed through key, rhythm, tone, melody and harmony. He also dipped into songwriting and lyricism, learning about cadence, the power of language and how to construct a song. On the album tracks he partnered with each singer to write collaborative songs, tapping into the DNA of each artist to create an authentic contribution. What you hear on the album is a genuine connection between Dumont and his featured artists, many of whom he considers to be friends. This authentic energy lends itself to the album's emotional content - every word, every note a product of the creativity that arises from real camaraderie.
Duality showcases Duke Dumont's impressive skillset, demonstrating the abilities of an artist who has an intuitive understanding of how to move the listener, physically, mentally and emotionally. From the first half, which is designed to get you dancing and features the single 'Therapy', plus 'Obey' (with Roland Clark) and 'The Power' (with Zak Abel) to the latter half of the album, which takes us into more wistful territory, it's a testament to his singular vision. Duality is a long-player in the traditional sense, produced to be listened to in its entirety, rather than a collection of radio-friendly singles. Besides his own production and vocal features, Duality incorporates live string arrangements, guitar players, drummers and piano keys. At the core of the album's overall sound is the notion of music that can be visualised; like a painting. For each track Duke Dumont knew he'd struck gold when he could see what it would look like. This also feeds into the live show, where his compositions will be accompanied by visuals on the big stage.
For Duke Dumont the epitome of live is performing your own music, this is one of his key aspirations. With several chart-topping hits under his belt, plenty of singles and EPs, plus his stunning new LP, he is equipped with everything he needs to achieve that dream. As he readies himself for a headline performance at Coachella, Dumont remains humble, determined and eternally focused on producing music that will endure beyond his lifetime...
~~~~~~~~
Before 2012 Duke Dumont was known as a 'producer's producer'. He was the name on a 12" record the DJ knew to reach for when he wanted to please the crowd, without them knowing who had constructed the mesmerising sonic confection they were dancing too. In 2012, two EPs on Tiga's Turbo Recordings (with whom Duke has had a long standing relationship) changed all that. 'For Club Play Vol. 1 & 2' offered up sweet ecstatic deep house & UK bass cuts that have united people across the spectrum of music, from early club adopters like Annie Mac, Erol Alkan, Diplo, Martyn and Jackmaster to Fearne Cotton on daytime Radio 1, Trevor Nelson on 1xtra and even podcasts by Tiesto and Avicci. On some nights in Duke's beloved Fabric London, you would hear the anthemic 'The Giver' being played in all three rooms at the same time. Duke's early career was mentored by Switch (last sighted producing for Beyoncé) and he made his name as the 'go-to' man to remake a pop song for the dance floor (Lily Allen and Bat For Lashes were notable clients). In 2011, he moved out of London to the countryside (Hertfordshire, where his studio overlooks a forest) to focus on his original material. Synthesizing his influences from techno to UK garage and house he brought back goodies from this zen-like exile. 'For Club Play Only Vol. 1' was released in April 2012 on Turbo. With 'Street Walker' and 'Thunderclap' on there, it alerted the heads to the Duke movement and received support from the likes of Jamie Jones and Simian Mobile Disco. Remixes for AlunaGeorge and Santigold quickly followed, then in August 'For Club Play Only Vol.2' featuring 'No Money Blues' and 'The Giver' made Duke the man to watch. 'The producer's producer' had become the 'people's producer'. 'Need U (100%)' features 17 year-old starlet AME on singing duties. With a chunky low-end, funky stabs and silky vocals this is like an early 90s house classic couched in 2013 techno techniques. In 1988 Inner City would have been jealous of this one. Co-written by teenage wonder-kid MNEK (who recently sung on Rudimental's 'Spoons' with Syron) the Duke will release 'Need U (100%)' on his newly minted Blasé Boys Club label.
~~~~~~~~
"I did 150 DJ shows last year. That's 3 per week, and 110 of them were overseas," explains Duke Dumont. "The problem is," he laughs, "I'm not the type of person who can record music on the road." Quite how the hell the London producer has finished this debut album, Blasé Boys Club, then, is both a total miracle and a tribute to his work ethic. "I try to push myself as hard as I can, and I hope this record represents that."
In a way, the enormous success of Duke Dumont has somewhat slipped under the radar. So unassuming is Adam George Dyment, that it's easy to forget he played one of the most pivotal roles in making UK deep house the thundering global juggernaut it is today. When his single 'Need U 100%' soared straight to number 1 in March 2013, it became the first UK house track to do so in over a decade, reaching Gold certification, and opening up a gap in the British music consciousness for deep house to really prosper on a massive scale. It's fair to say that the success of "Need U 100%" blew open a void for other deep house acts like Route 94 and Gorgon City to fill, transcending so many from club favourites to serious chart contenders.
Dumont followed that success 9 months later with his next single, 'I Got U', a Whitney Houston inspired Waikiki Beach of a dance track, that, again, topped the UK singles chart. An achievement put into stark context when you think of the acts - Pharrell Williams and John Legend - that it was keeping from top spot. And when his third big single 'Won't Look Back' rose to number 2 on the UK chart, whilst topping the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart, Dumont's name as a top ten producer was cemented.
Away from the charts though, he continued the underground explorations that first made his name, through the For Club Play Only EP series on Turbo Recordings. So while 'Won't Look Back' was snaking into Radio 1's A-list, the more radical and rigid percussive banger 'Drumapella' from his other project was simultaneously permeating the underground club scene. It's this multifaceted success, a fingers on all turntables approach, that unleashed such a relentless touring schedule for Dumont, taking him worldwide - and all the while he would be snatching at moments of downtime to work on the material that would comprise his first full length record.
At Coachella, Dumont put this prospective album material to the test - performing a 60 minute live set of all original work to a crowd that swelled from 3,000 to 25,000 during his show. "I was between 2 EDM acts, so I was a little scared," he admits. "When you are performing music at a live level, things can get very competitive. Is the act before you going to be more aggressive, louder, are their lights going to be bigger and better? The thing a lot of people lose in that respect is that music should have a lot of emotion to it. It should be heartfelt. It should trigger something. I put most of the songs from the album into that set, so it all hinged on my stuff. This was no DJ set. And I felt proud when it really captured the crowd's attention."
So much tireless work has gone into making his live show what it is, taking cues from acts like Chemical Brothers and Daft Punk, in an effort to create a performance that truly reflects the artistic craft of electronic music rather than pandering to the cultural clichés of hedonistic immediacy. His performances are pulsating, emotional journeys. But, at the end of the day, the show would be nothing if the source material wasn't strong enough, and that's where Dumont excels.
The album has also given him a chance to breath some new life into existing material. 'The Giver' first dropped in 2012 on Turbo, and quickly turned a deep house staple, it's use becoming almost ritualistic in the way so DJs would consistently deploy it as their peak time banger. And soon, it developed an organic life of its own online. "When I wrote it, I don't even think deep house was invented in its current form," says Dumont. "I've always wanted to play it to as wide an audience as possible. It did really well by itself, but that was without any promo or marketing. Now, with the re-polish I've done on it, I want it to have the best possible chance to do well on radio."
Away from Dumont's clear affinity for deep house, prominent vocals and textured electronic pop, there's also one other key influence that bleeds through his work. "I came through as a DJ with a lot of the French wave guys like Justice, Sebastian, Mr Oizo," he explains. "And Daft Punk's Discovery: that just has the perfect balance of incredible music alongside massive dance tracks." Somewhere in his subconscious, this powerful French influence is etched and it comes across most prominently on standout track 'Ocean Avenue' - a hard and slinky pop jam that conjures nocturnal visions of a lost scene from Nicolas Winding Refn's 2011 film Drive.
The record has also given Dumont a chance to widen his scope of collaboration. His fine ear for vocals has already seen him team up with MNEK and AME, and the record boasts further features from Vincent McMorrow, and the legendary 80s house vocalist Robert Owens. The grooving 8 minute disco track that features the latter is like Dumont's very own homage to Daft Punk's epic 'Giorgio'.
The funny thing about all the success that now surrounds him is that Duke Dumont hasn't really changed the way he makes music, and the re-release of 'The Giver' will pay testament to that. The change has come more in both the UK and American music culture, and the way club music now finds itself positioned so boldly on both sides of the Atlantic. "I remember I went to America in 2008," he says, "and I played in a nightclub in New York called Studio B. I remember I got heckled by people asking me to play hip-hop. So, when I went back in 2012, I was genuinely petrified, but it ended up being one of the best tours I've ever done. The scene just seems to get bigger and bigger."
With his eyes set on some huge UK shows, and massive forthcoming collaborations, Harrow-born Adam George Dyment looks set to play a huge role in the way UK pop music continues to shift ever further into new realms, just like an early noughties Timbaland did for the US or a recent Pharrell has done for the world. Still, he remains unnervingly grounded: "I don't necessarily want to be the biggest DJ or biggest act in the world, but I certainly want to be one of the best."
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His illustrious career has taken him on tour around the world, many times over, and placed him in the top tier of electronic music artists of his ilk. Poised to release his debut album 'Duality', he will present the culmination of studio work record in London & LA, showcasing a voice that is diverse yet immediately identifiable as Duke's. Features include RY X, Zak Abel and house legends like Roland Clark, reflecting his open-minded approach across 10 polished tracks that encompass a range of emotional states. With an accompanying live show , Duke Dumont is preparing to enter a new phase of his musical endeavours, and showcasing his the breadth of his expertise.
Since 2007 Duke Dumont has channeled his deep love for electronic music into a variety of acclaimed releases, moving through pumping electro and vibrant techno to conquer the UK charts with 'Need U 100%'. His early releases on Tiga's Turbo Recordings helped establish his reputation for producing high quality club music that moves the dance floor, physically and emotionally. By 2012 he'd produced two career-defining EPs - For Club Use, Vol 1 and For Club Use, Vol 2. Tracks like 'The Giver' cemented Dumont's rep for catchy hooks, precision arrangement and powerful emotion. A year later he hit the No.1 spot in the UK charts with 'Need U (100%)' (featuring A*M*E), demonstrating his ability to merge classic house motifs with first-rate songwriting.
In the years since those breakthrough releases Duke Dumont has lent his remarkable talent to a flurry of major label remixes and production projects while maintaining a steady flow of his own solo releases. His remix work covers a wide range of acts, from hip hop royalty EPMD, Missy Elliot and Gucci Mane to Mystery Jets, Bonobo and HAIM, his signature attention to detail and command of dance floor dynamics evident on each rework. On the solo tip he followed 'Need U (100%)' with another UK No.1 'I Got U' both songs achieving platinum sales. Between 2013 and 2020 he hit the Billboard Dance Chart No.1 with seven singles, including "The Power", 'Won't Look Back' and 'Ocean Drive'. With each release Duke Dumont staying true to his club roots, achieving widespread success.
On his album 'Duality', Duke Dumont channels his years of experience into a cohesive record that epitomises his core beliefs; striving for perfection in terms of musicality, energy and feeling. The result is an honest, cathartic expression of Dumont's desire to embody the mentality of a true artist, liberated from genre specifics and scored with his own sonic fingerprint. Dumont's aim was to produce a meaningful LP, one that has longevity and the potential to achieve classic status. Sincere emotion transcends time and, by paying close attention to the musicality of his productions, Dumont hopes his songs will retain their earnest appeal forever. Over the past decade he has been refining his skills, studying music theory and losing himself in the infinite world of possibility that can be accessed through key, rhythm, tone, melody and harmony. He also dipped into songwriting and lyricism, learning about cadence, the power of language and how to construct a song. On the album tracks he partnered with each singer to write collaborative songs, tapping into the DNA of each artist to create an authentic contribution. What you hear on the album is a genuine connection between Dumont and his featured artists, many of whom he considers to be friends. This authentic energy lends itself to the album's emotional content - every word, every note a product of the creativity that arises from real camaraderie.
Duality showcases Duke Dumont's impressive skillset, demonstrating the abilities of an artist who has an intuitive understanding of how to move the listener, physically, mentally and emotionally. From the first half, which is designed to get you dancing and features the single 'Therapy', plus 'Obey' (with Roland Clark) and 'The Power' (with Zak Abel) to the latter half of the album, which takes us into more wistful territory, it's a testament to his singular vision. Duality is a long-player in the traditional sense, produced to be listened to in its entirety, rather than a collection of radio-friendly singles. Besides his own production and vocal features, Duality incorporates live string arrangements, guitar players, drummers and piano keys. At the core of the album's overall sound is the notion of music that can be visualised; like a painting. For each track Duke Dumont knew he'd struck gold when he could see what it would look like. This also feeds into the live show, where his compositions will be accompanied by visuals on the big stage.
For Duke Dumont the epitome of live is performing your own music, this is one of his key aspirations. With several chart-topping hits under his belt, plenty of singles and EPs, plus his stunning new LP, he is equipped with everything he needs to achieve that dream. As he readies himself for a headline performance at Coachella, Dumont remains humble, determined and eternally focused on producing music that will endure beyond his lifetime...
~~~~~~~~
Before 2012 Duke Dumont was known as a 'producer's producer'. He was the name on a 12" record the DJ knew to reach for when he wanted to please the crowd, without them knowing who had constructed the mesmerising sonic confection they were dancing too. In 2012, two EPs on Tiga's Turbo Recordings (with whom Duke has had a long standing relationship) changed all that. 'For Club Play Vol. 1 & 2' offered up sweet ecstatic deep house & UK bass cuts that have united people across the spectrum of music, from early club adopters like Annie Mac, Erol Alkan, Diplo, Martyn and Jackmaster to Fearne Cotton on daytime Radio 1, Trevor Nelson on 1xtra and even podcasts by Tiesto and Avicci. On some nights in Duke's beloved Fabric London, you would hear the anthemic 'The Giver' being played in all three rooms at the same time. Duke's early career was mentored by Switch (last sighted producing for Beyoncé) and he made his name as the 'go-to' man to remake a pop song for the dance floor (Lily Allen and Bat For Lashes were notable clients). In 2011, he moved out of London to the countryside (Hertfordshire, where his studio overlooks a forest) to focus on his original material. Synthesizing his influences from techno to UK garage and house he brought back goodies from this zen-like exile. 'For Club Play Only Vol. 1' was released in April 2012 on Turbo. With 'Street Walker' and 'Thunderclap' on there, it alerted the heads to the Duke movement and received support from the likes of Jamie Jones and Simian Mobile Disco. Remixes for AlunaGeorge and Santigold quickly followed, then in August 'For Club Play Only Vol.2' featuring 'No Money Blues' and 'The Giver' made Duke the man to watch. 'The producer's producer' had become the 'people's producer'. 'Need U (100%)' features 17 year-old starlet AME on singing duties. With a chunky low-end, funky stabs and silky vocals this is like an early 90s house classic couched in 2013 techno techniques. In 1988 Inner City would have been jealous of this one. Co-written by teenage wonder-kid MNEK (who recently sung on Rudimental's 'Spoons' with Syron) the Duke will release 'Need U (100%)' on his newly minted Blasé Boys Club label.
~~~~~~~~
"I did 150 DJ shows last year. That's 3 per week, and 110 of them were overseas," explains Duke Dumont. "The problem is," he laughs, "I'm not the type of person who can record music on the road." Quite how the hell the London producer has finished this debut album, Blasé Boys Club, then, is both a total miracle and a tribute to his work ethic. "I try to push myself as hard as I can, and I hope this record represents that."
In a way, the enormous success of Duke Dumont has somewhat slipped under the radar. So unassuming is Adam George Dyment, that it's easy to forget he played one of the most pivotal roles in making UK deep house the thundering global juggernaut it is today. When his single 'Need U 100%' soared straight to number 1 in March 2013, it became the first UK house track to do so in over a decade, reaching Gold certification, and opening up a gap in the British music consciousness for deep house to really prosper on a massive scale. It's fair to say that the success of "Need U 100%" blew open a void for other deep house acts like Route 94 and Gorgon City to fill, transcending so many from club favourites to serious chart contenders.
Dumont followed that success 9 months later with his next single, 'I Got U', a Whitney Houston inspired Waikiki Beach of a dance track, that, again, topped the UK singles chart. An achievement put into stark context when you think of the acts - Pharrell Williams and John Legend - that it was keeping from top spot. And when his third big single 'Won't Look Back' rose to number 2 on the UK chart, whilst topping the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart, Dumont's name as a top ten producer was cemented.
Away from the charts though, he continued the underground explorations that first made his name, through the For Club Play Only EP series on Turbo Recordings. So while 'Won't Look Back' was snaking into Radio 1's A-list, the more radical and rigid percussive banger 'Drumapella' from his other project was simultaneously permeating the underground club scene. It's this multifaceted success, a fingers on all turntables approach, that unleashed such a relentless touring schedule for Dumont, taking him worldwide - and all the while he would be snatching at moments of downtime to work on the material that would comprise his first full length record.
At Coachella, Dumont put this prospective album material to the test - performing a 60 minute live set of all original work to a crowd that swelled from 3,000 to 25,000 during his show. "I was between 2 EDM acts, so I was a little scared," he admits. "When you are performing music at a live level, things can get very competitive. Is the act before you going to be more aggressive, louder, are their lights going to be bigger and better? The thing a lot of people lose in that respect is that music should have a lot of emotion to it. It should be heartfelt. It should trigger something. I put most of the songs from the album into that set, so it all hinged on my stuff. This was no DJ set. And I felt proud when it really captured the crowd's attention."
So much tireless work has gone into making his live show what it is, taking cues from acts like Chemical Brothers and Daft Punk, in an effort to create a performance that truly reflects the artistic craft of electronic music rather than pandering to the cultural clichés of hedonistic immediacy. His performances are pulsating, emotional journeys. But, at the end of the day, the show would be nothing if the source material wasn't strong enough, and that's where Dumont excels.
The album has also given him a chance to breath some new life into existing material. 'The Giver' first dropped in 2012 on Turbo, and quickly turned a deep house staple, it's use becoming almost ritualistic in the way so DJs would consistently deploy it as their peak time banger. And soon, it developed an organic life of its own online. "When I wrote it, I don't even think deep house was invented in its current form," says Dumont. "I've always wanted to play it to as wide an audience as possible. It did really well by itself, but that was without any promo or marketing. Now, with the re-polish I've done on it, I want it to have the best possible chance to do well on radio."
Away from Dumont's clear affinity for deep house, prominent vocals and textured electronic pop, there's also one other key influence that bleeds through his work. "I came through as a DJ with a lot of the French wave guys like Justice, Sebastian, Mr Oizo," he explains. "And Daft Punk's Discovery: that just has the perfect balance of incredible music alongside massive dance tracks." Somewhere in his subconscious, this powerful French influence is etched and it comes across most prominently on standout track 'Ocean Avenue' - a hard and slinky pop jam that conjures nocturnal visions of a lost scene from Nicolas Winding Refn's 2011 film Drive.
The record has also given Dumont a chance to widen his scope of collaboration. His fine ear for vocals has already seen him team up with MNEK and AME, and the record boasts further features from Vincent McMorrow, and the legendary 80s house vocalist Robert Owens. The grooving 8 minute disco track that features the latter is like Dumont's very own homage to Daft Punk's epic 'Giorgio'.
The funny thing about all the success that now surrounds him is that Duke Dumont hasn't really changed the way he makes music, and the re-release of 'The Giver' will pay testament to that. The change has come more in both the UK and American music culture, and the way club music now finds itself positioned so boldly on both sides of the Atlantic. "I remember I went to America in 2008," he says, "and I played in a nightclub in New York called Studio B. I remember I got heckled by people asking me to play hip-hop. So, when I went back in 2012, I was genuinely petrified, but it ended up being one of the best tours I've ever done. The scene just seems to get bigger and bigger."
With his eyes set on some huge UK shows, and massive forthcoming collaborations, Harrow-born Adam George Dyment looks set to play a huge role in the way UK pop music continues to shift ever further into new realms, just like an early noughties Timbaland did for the US or a recent Pharrell has done for the world. Still, he remains unnervingly grounded: "I don't necessarily want to be the biggest DJ or biggest act in the world, but I certainly want to be one of the best."
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