Coachella Band Preview: Duke Dumont

Well, here we are. Coachella begins Friday. FINALLY! We made it guys. April 21, 2019 until April 15, 2022. 1,090 days. This feels surreal, but it’s happening. I’m so so happy. There’s a few more artists I wanted to preview, but as always I need to just narrow it down and choose one. This last week of the longest Coachella wait ever, we’ve got an electronic DJ who has been putting out music since 2006, Duke Dumont.

Adam George Dyment, known professionally as Duke Dumont, first started his career in the late 2000’s by remixing pop songs. He hails from Harrow, England which is in the suburbs of London. His first single, “Need U”, came in 2013 and he’s been simultaneously releasing original music and remixes since. His single “I Got U” which was also released in 2013 was even nominated for a Grammy. Despite his lengthy career, his debut album came out in 2020. Up until that, point he only dropped EPs.

Duke Dumont is first and foremost a house artist. Some may say he dabbles in deep house or tech house but honestly, I define him as just pure house. He played his first Coachella in 2015 at the Sahara tent, and even though I might have been there, I definitely did not see him, nor did I step foot in Sahara. Obviously you know that changed by the following spring when I got into Flume, but electronic music at that time for me wasn’t a thing. I’ve definitely progressed and I’ll likely be at Sahara several times this year. I would bet that we’ll see Duke Dumont again at Sahara. He plays Sunday and I would expect another night time set. You might only have a few days left, but here’s what you wanna have on repeat, if you’re planning on seeing him:

1. Ocean Drive
2. I Got U
3. Real Life
4. Red Light Green Light
5. The Power
6. Need U
7. Won’t Look Back
8. Inhale
9. The Giver (Reprise)
10. Therapy

So that’s it for this round of Coachella previews. Hopefully we’re back again next year, but you never really know what can happen as we all learned. I’ve truly been soaking it all in as I’m currently out in Indio hard at work on Weekend 1! So far it’s been incredible to be back here. It’s always been my rule to live every Coachella like your first Coachella, but this time I urge you to live this year like your first Coachella and your last. Basically live it up as best as you can. We finally can and the vibes are gonna be more immaculate than ever. Happy Coachella! We deserve it!

Coachella Band Preview: Jamie xx

Two things: it’s almost March and I’m almost home from my winter in Mexico! This means one thing: Coachella is a little over a month away after almost 1,100 days. Simple math. It makes my Coachella motto all that morning meaningful. I’ve always said to live every Coachella like your first Coachella. This time live every Coachella like your first Coachella and your last Coachella. Live it up hard. You never know. It just might be a while before your next one. Safe to say it’s been that way for this week’s preview artist. He last performed solo at the event in 2015 and performed with his band The xx in 2017. He goes by the name Jamie xx.

James Thomas Smith, or Jamie xx, is an English DJ/record producer. As I mentioned, he’s a member of indie pop band The xx, but it was shortly after the band’s formation that he began remixing tracks leading to his solo work. Along with remixing tracks by The xx, he began remixing music of several artists such as Florence + the Machine, Adele, and Glasser. His first album, We’re New Here, was entirely remixes. It came out in February 2011. His second and first original album, In Colour, was released in May 2015. He hasn’t really released much new music since then, aside from a single in 2020. The xx, however, last put out an album in 2017.

It’s definitely been a while since the last polo fields visit for the electronic artist who specializes in a style that incorporates future garage, post-dubstep, and house. He takes to the stage on Sunday in the desert. I’d imagine he would play the Sahara tent, but I could very well be wrong. He may be on the Coachella main stage or behind the booth at Outdoor. I would love a Jamie xx sunset set, and I feel like I’m not alone in this so I’ll be crossing my fingers that it happens. I’m also hoping that there may even be an appearance from Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim, the other two members of The xx. It would be so sick to get the band back together for their first appearance in several years. To get ready for whatever the Jamie xx set brings, I’ll be listening to:

1. Loud Places
2. I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times)
3. Gosh
4. See Saw
5. Idontknow
6. Obvs
7. Girl
8. On hold (Jamie xx remix)
9. You’ve Got the Love (Jamie xx remix)
10. Stranger in a Room

Brighter Days: Album Review

I like to think that the spring of 2016 is when I started to get into electronic music even though I know it was a progressive interest up until that point. There were several songs I had been listening to in 2015 through the beginning of that year but it was in spring 2016 when I actually got into an electronic artist, Australian DJ, Flume. Like I said though, by that point I was listening to several electronic songs regularly. One of those was the hit “Sweet Lovin'” by British electronic artist, Sigala.

I sampled a song or two of Sigala’s other music, but really only took a liking to “Sweet Lovin'”. Interestingly enough, it helped me bond with a fellow co-worker when I worked my first music festival that summer and I actually caught part of Sigala’s set at it.

Flash forward a little over 2 years since then and Sigala’s debut album Brighter Days is out. It was released last weekend. I wasn’t even aware that he had a debut in the works, but after releasing new music over the last 3 years since he stepped onto the electronic scene, it was bound to happen.

Sigala, better known to the world as Bruce Fielder, from Norwich, Norfolk, England released his first single in 2015. The single includes samples from the Jackson 5’s “ABC”. It debuted at number 71 on the UK Singles Chart, then hit number 1 the following week. Sigala’s second single “Sweet Lovin'” reached number 3 on the chart. In 2016, Sigala began touring. He played shows and festivals throughout Europe with three appearances in the United States, Ultimate Music Experience, Ultra Music Festival, and Firefly Music Festival. He continued touring mostly in Europe in 2017 and 2018 as well. In fact his appearances at Ultimate, Ultra, and Firefly mark his only U.S. appearances to date.

His first full length album Brighter Days came out last week on September 28th. The album features 16 tracks and includes many of his singles from the last few years like, “Easy Love”, “Sweet Lovin'”, “Say You Do”, “Give Me Your Love”, “Came Here For Love”, “Lullaby”, “Feels Like Home”, and “We Don’t Care”. Every song on the album is one that makes you want to dance. Sigala’s signature house/trop house/dance-pop style is evident on each track. The new album already features a few new bangers like latest single “Just Got Paid” featuring Ella Eyre, Meghan Trainor, and French Montana and “Ain’t Giving Up” featuring Craig David.

Sigala is briefly touring in the UK this month in support of his debut’s release, but there’s no doubt that the release should bring more touring for the English producer. Hopefully he’ll be back in the states soon and I’ll have another opportunity to check him out. I’m proud to say that I was at one of his only U.S. appearances to date. I only stuck around for a few songs though so seeing him again would be amazing, especially since I got more into his music after I last saw him perform. Sigala is definitely one of my favorite electronic artists so I’m telling you now to go check out his first album before he’s appearing in a city near you! It’s great music to dance to, chill to, drive to, and especially work out to. It has kept “me coming cause it’s all that I need” so it’s safe to say that it might for you too and you won’t be disappointed!