Duke Dumont LIVE @ XOYO, London 30.05.14

Duke Dumont is currently riding the crest of a wave. Since releasing two EPs on Tiga’s turbo recordings imprint titled ‘For Club Play Only’ Vol.1 and Vol.2, he has been championed by the likes of Annie Mac and Erol Alkan. 2013 saw the release of ‘Need U (100%)’ featuring A*M*E on vocal duties and resulted in a UK #1 and a Grammy nomination; earlier this year Duke Dumont released “I Got U”, landing a second UK #1 and will no doubt be a perennial track on radio stations throughout the summer, complete with steel drums, weaving piano and Balearic synths. If you get a chance, definitely watch the music video for ‘I Got U’, though be warned it may result in you inadvertently booking an extended trip to Thailand, such is the jealousy invoking nature of the scenes.

duke-dumont-contact-informationEstablished in 2010 against the tide of club closures in London, XOYO has quickly cemented itself as one of the most tasteful clubbing venues in the Shoreditch area, booking an incredibly diverse range of DJs and acts but always with a focus on quality. It’s a fairly intimate venue and there is an intensity to the lighting rig that I haven’t encountered in any other venue that at times can be disorientating when the strobes and blinders are in full flow, but doesn’t detract from the experience.

Duke Dumont played a two hour set of bass driven house, indicative of the label ascribed to him as being a revitalizing artist for the reborn garage scene, through to warped electronica as well as more straight up flavours; the set was heady and fast-paced, offering the audience little in the way of let-up. The biggest reactions came when Duke Dumont played his own tracks, especially ‘I Got U’ given its current popularity. Such is the standard of his own productions, there was a distinct difference in comparison to other artist tracks he had chosen for inclusion in his set, and they seemed bland and repetitive in comparison; any tracks following dance-floor bombs such as ‘The Giver’ will struggle. Duke Dumont’s mixing was incredibly slick, as you would expect after years of honing his craft. Rounding off his set with Frankie Knuckles – ‘Your Love’ (the song that The Source and Candi Staton sampled for ‘You Got the Love’), expertly weaving the iconic opening synth riff into the mix, everyone in the room realised they are witnessing an individual currently at the peak of his powers, and a nice touch to pay homage to The Godfather of House Music, Frankie Knuckles, who sadly passed away two months ago.

Once Duke Dumont had finished, I went upstairs to Room 2 where Lemmy Ashton was playing a huge variation of tracks ranging from the electronic funk of Todd Terje – ‘Inspector Norse’ through to full on 80s classics such as Madonna – ‘Like A Praye’ and Kool and the Gang – ‘She’s Fresh’. By this point everyone that was left was pretty hammered so took full advantage of the opportunity to throw outrageous shapes on the dance-floor and belt out the choruses, a very entertaining end to the night.

Duke Dumont has recently signed with Astralwerks, so expect a full length recording to be released later this year. If his current standard of production is anything to go by, it should be nothing short of fantastic.