dukedumont

Tickets for @district_8_dublin are on-sale now. Get them quick. Link in bio.

🇮🇪 .. Excited to be coming back. Last time tickets went fast . You might need to be quick.

“Together” I wanted to create a record that feels euphoric and fosters a sense of community. When paired with the visuals during the live show, it all comes together seamlessly. The live show visuals were inspired by a snippet of a video from Adult Swim’s Off the Air. Much of the album was created shortly after I moved to Los Angeles and discovered that w**d is legal here. Needless to say, I ended up watching a lot of that show—and gained approximately two stone in the process, eating a lot of Trader Joe snacks. Special thanks to @howtodresswell. I’d love to collaborate again, perhaps on a more club-oriented record.

“Nightcrawler” @SayLouLouMusic and I recorded this at my favorite studio in the world, @ConwayRecordingStudios. I wanted to achieve the best possible recording for Say Lou Lou’s vocals, which is why we wrote and tracked here. It was a pleasure collaborating with Say Lou Lou. I really appreciated their dynamic approach—tagging each other in to take over recording seamlessly while staying incredibly productive. The foundation of the track—drums, synths, and bass—was something I put together, but the finishing touch, the icing on the cake, came from @RobHarrisGtr and Hal, who brought the guitars to life. I’ve always enjoyed creating Italo-inspired records around 115 BPM. I’m currently wrapping up an emotive rave album, after which I’ll shift my focus back to house music. That said, I’ll likely dive into a full Italo project soon, as I already have enough ideas in my studio to complete an album.

“Let Me Go” We (@ryx) recorded this at Paramount Recording Studios in LA. My vision was to create a record that felt like a hymn or mantra—one that would build in tension and then release. I wanted it to serve as a symbolic gesture representing the process of dying. With that blueprint in place, RY took my vision and painted the canvas with his own brush. Possibly the most anti-pop record I’ve made to date.

“Love Song” This is one of my favorite tracks from the last album. A few elements in this track were also used in previous records. The high lead synth is the same one from “The Giver,” and the technique of the unsynced synth arpeggio in the middle of the song was something I first used on a remix for @mysteryjets in 2008. When I create club tracks, I always start with the drums, bass, and low end. However, I approached this one as a song because I wanted to make it emotive. This track was made with my live show in mind.

“Robert Talking” Laying the foundation for @this_is_robert_owens to demonstrate his genius. Thanks to @theyoungpunx for connecting me with Robert, and helping out on the record. Easter egg about this record. When Robert says 606, 707, 808, 909, each of those drum machines feature at that point , and throughout the record.

“Streetwalker” The first track on my For Club Play Only EPs. I believe this was my second release on @turborecordings—still one of the best labels in dance music. At the time, the label roster included myself, Azari & III, Boys Noize, Charlotte De Witte, Chromeo, Gesaffelstein, and many other incredible acts I haven’t mentioned. I think this was the first track I made on @ableton. Doing an awful mixdown myself oddly gives it a bit of charm. I remember making the track in an empty office space in Rayners Lane, right opposite the pirate radio station Freeze FM. I was only allowed to use the space between 10 PM and 5 AM. Special shoutout to @djsneak for remixing this record—the remix still holds up today. Also, big thanks to @tiga, Thomas Sontag, and @bizarrap for recently singing this down the phone to me. :)

“Losing Control” My vision for this song from the outset was to create it as a live experience. There’s a unique energy that comes with a record featuring a strong synth lead solo and an unforgettable hook. The vocal hook was provided by @nathannicholsonmusic, who sent me the acapella he had created with @paulharrisdj. I got to work on the instrumental, and then @scottlowemusic helped me add some additional textures and elements to bring it to life. I’ve realized that not all music needs to be a streaming hit. I find greater satisfaction in creating a record with a vibe or atmosphere that feels impactful when I perform it live.

“The Chant” The original title of the song was “Euphoric DJ Tool.” I should have kept that title. My favorite song I’ve made to play in the last couple of years. I’m a big fan of an elongated breakdown, and @ericprydz’s Opus from a few years ago reminded me of this. The record was built around the chord sequence, which is the opposite of how I’d usually make a club record—starting with drums and low-end as the foundation. @djwillclarke loaned me some elements for this record as well, which definitely helped improve the drums and take them to a better place.

“Won’t Look Back” Creating this record involved three key stages. The first was getting the beat and general idea together. The second stage was a session with @jaxjones and Naomi Miller who contributed to the songwriting. In another session, @marckinchen joined in and helped refine the piano. The final step was tracking the lead vocals with Yolanda Quartley, working alongside @theyoungpunx. For me, Yolanda is one of the best vocalists in the world. Her solo career flourished under her country alias ‘Yola’, earning her a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. She was concerned about dance music overshadowing her country music rooted artist persona, which she was probably right about and made the right call.

“Melt” Probably the most requested of my lesser-known records. It was never released as a single but was included on an EP. Advice for producers: don’t bundle things onto EPs. Sonically, it’s one of the better records in my catalog and still seems to hold up today. It appears to encapsulate the sound of that era, even though I wasn’t consciously trying to achieve that.