Duke Dumont strikes again! After an incredible 2013 that culminated in a Grammy nomination for Best Dance Recording for his debut single ‘Need U (100%)’, the London phenomenon returns with “I GOT U’, an intoxicating journey of sunny bliss that is already shaping up as one of the records of the year. Dan Prince gets the world exclusive…
Adam welcome to DMCWORLD, where in the world are you right now?
“Hi Dan, I’m on a flight, travelling from Copenhagen to London – my fifth flight in two days, having DJed in a small club in Amsterdam then onto an arena in Lithuania.”
When we were trying to arrange this interview your management admitted your schedule (as always!) was very tight as you were preparing for the Grammy’s and your nomination for Best Dance Recording for ‘Need U (100%)’. We interviewed Dirty Vegas last week who in 2004 were in the theatre bar when it was announced they had won with ‘Days Gone By’…I take it you didn’t make the same mistake?!?
“I almost made that same mistake by missing my category nomination, but I made it with 2 mins to spare in the end. The awards are all day and the times aren’t announced until the morning so it’s pretty chaotic. I can see how Dirty Vegas missed the announcement.”
Gotta ask, did you write a speech?
“I didn’t write a speech, but anyone who is nominated who hasn’t done a roll call of ‘thank you’s’ in their head is a liar. The artists who went up and said ‘that was so unexpected, I don’t know what to say’ needed to pipe down. There were a few fake humble and sincerity acceptance speeches that day.”
Well 2014 has begun the same way 2013 ended with Duke Dumont on dance floors all over the world, this time thanks to the magnificent ‘I Got U’ featuring Jax Jones that has already smashed the top of the world famous Buzz Chart. “As long as I got you baby” is a line that’s going to be all over Miami in a few weeks, talk us through the making of the record and the hook up with Jax…
“I met Jax Jones last summer because he helped me work on the performance of ‘Need U’, for the Capital Summertime Ball in Wembley Stadium. But the more we spoke, the more I realised he was a producer in his own right. ‘I Got You’ involved both of us supplying different sound elements to make the song, and contributing to the composition. So for example, Jax composed the chorus steel drum section, and I composed the outro steel drum section. I programmed the drums, bass, and mixed most of the record, and Jax’s played a lot of the piano parts, so it was truly an equal collaborative effort.”
‘I Got U’ has a lush Ibiza vibe to its production, was this something you wrote during your summer travels/gigs?
“The studio is all about escapism – summer songs in winter and winter songs in summer. It makes sense if you’re in the studio because you don’t know what’s going on outside.”
Watch video here:
You grew up listening to a lot of Motown and Stax records, the soul and emotion in your records shows that. So let’s take you back to that childhood bedroom, was there a dream back then to become a musician or did that all come later on…?
“When I was around 14 years old, I wanted to be an A&R and become a talent scout at a record label so I could try to understand how records I loved were made. I’m talking the studios these records were recorded in, the session musicians, mix engineers, and mastering engineers. But my passion for producing music superseded my goal of working for a record label when I was around 16. I was always pretty good with computers, so got a copy of the first Logic, when you could buy it for PC, and also played around with a program called Reason. Because Reason was almost like a computer came I learnt it very fast…it’s not as intimidating as a lot of the software when you’re starting out.”
Who were some of the vocalists that were an inspiration back then?
“I started making music around 1999, when the first wave of garage was popular. So the chopped up R&B style vocal has always appealed to me. In other artists like Burial, Jamie XX, and Joy Orbison, I can hear how they were also inspired by this era of dance music. As far as individual vocalists go, I loved what Lain brought to Wookie’s album. Wookie’s musicality in the album was great but Lain played a big part in making that record what it was.”
What did your family think of your choice of career?
“Initially my family wanted me to get a ‘proper job’, with stability. In all honesty, it has only been the last two years that I’ve felt I could sustain a career from making music, having done it full time for seven years.”
You taught yourself to DJ when you were 14. Can you remember your first ever DJ gig and how much you were paid?
“My first ever gigs were in bars around my local area. I didn’t get paid a penny, only travel expenses. I was the worst bar DJ in the world because I’d play techno to a Champagne, Reebok Classic wearing type of crowd. I was actually sacked twice from different bars, and on both times, replaced by pretty female DJs. When I won Diesel U Music in 2007 it helped me get my first run of club DJ shows, and was a much better environment to DJ in.”
You readily admit that you gave up ten years of your life to perfect the art form of producing and composing. To the thousands of up and coming producers reading this that will sound like a massive chunk of their life they hadn’t even thought of committing to, these days a kid gets a laptop and the next minute they’re headlining Ultra. What are your thoughts on this awful modern day phenomenon?
“I don’t think it is a modern phenomenon. I feel if you are willing to dedicate 10 years of your life to a particular craft, whether its music, studying medicine, etc., that is what you are supposed to do with your life, regardless of whether it can benefit you financially. I could honestly say, that if I never made another pound from producing music or DJing, I would still continue in some capacity, even though i would have to hold down a 9-5 job.”
The idea behind the Blasé Boys Club was to provide a platform for new artists to have a successful career, you wished to create a fraternity vibe –hence the name! Tell us about some of the artists we should be looking out for in 2014…
“The first two signings are Kiwi and Jax Jones. With regard Kiwi, he’s an experienced DJ In his own right having played top nights like Bugged Out and holding down residencies at the likes of Bugged Out and XOYO. The main reason I’ll be releasing his music is because essentially it’s electronic music with character as opposed to the kind of boring strain of dance music that’s popular around Europe. For example, his single I’ll be releasing reminds me of Roman Flugel and that’s a real honour as Flugel’s one of the best producers in the game. Moving on to Jax Jones, the collaborator on ‘I GOT U’, he’s writing music from a slightly different perspective whereby it’s more song based but has it’s roots in electronic. Essentially, the acts on the label are very much about that boys club mentality. We’re about good fun and it’s going to be a laugh on the road when we get going with the Blasé Boys Club showcases.”
Away from dance music, who are some of the artists on your radar at the moment?
“The last album I was impressed by was the Blood Orange album purely because the tone of the record and the sonics were of a really high quality. And I’ve got a soft spot for more leftfield music, that’s the kind of stuff I listen to when I’m travelling or at home.”
What is your favourite remix you have created?
“That would be Canyons ‘When I See You Again’ (Duke Dumont Rain On Kilimanjaro Mix). I did it in 2011 for Modular, they reached out to me and the reason I liked it is because I didn’t use any of the backing track and used analogue synths, re-producing the track really.”
{http://soundcloud.com/dukedumont/canyons-when-i-see-you-again}
A quote from you from last summer…“I’ve found with music that if you still like something two months, three months, or a year after you recorded it, usually it has got a good shelf life.” Are there any tunes on the album that you have resurrected for this future release?
“Literally 50% of the music on there was started two years ago. The reason for that isn’t that I’m too busy to write new music but that those demos stood the test of time and still have elements that sound good today. At the same time, I’m also updating them while trying to retain the soul of what made them good.”
What is the greatest record you have ever played to a dancefloor?
“My personal favourite would be Frankie Knuckles ‘Your Love’.”
Not many people know this, but Duke Dumont is really good at…
“Fifa…if you’re up to the challenge I’m currently giving away guest list places to anyone who can beat me. Keep an eye on Twitter for the next round…” (@DukeDumont)
Now I know you have an obsession with catalogue music from the 70s and 80s – but on a more commercial tip – give us one of your guilty pleasure records…
“I don’t have an obsession it’s just the roots of a lot of good hip-hop, ranging from J Dilla to Madlib to Tribe Called Quest. That Katy Perry record with Juicy J is my current guilty pleasure though.”
And finally, Adam…when was the last time you had a friggin’ holiday??
“It was 11 years ago, a lad’s holiday to Kos. Say no more.”
‘I Got U’ is released March 16th via Blasé Boys Club / Virgin Records and is available for pre-order on iTunes here – http://po.st/IGotU
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