For Domu / Umod / Sonar Circle / Bakura (etc), This really is The End ...

filthy light thief — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:46:43 -0800

The story starts in 1992 or so, when the 14 year old Brit, Dominic Stanton, bought turntables and started spinning early drum'n'bass. He transitioned from DJ to producer, made demo tracks, and got signed by age 17. He went on to produce broken beat* and jazzy downtempo*, even into the realm of disco edits. Then about two weeks ago, the 31 year old musician called it quits.

The point is that I am no longer Domu. He is a character, always has been, and as of Friday 13th November 2009, he no longer exists. Neither does Umod, Sonar Circle, Bakura, Yotoko, Rima, Zoltar, Blue Monkeys, Realside or any of the other names I put out music under. I am cancelling all my gigs and not taking any more. My hotmail is closed, my Twitter is closed and my Facebook is closed.

Furthermore, his website is closed and the original post of his farewell message is lost, though you can still view the cached version or find it copied elsewhere. Domu's website now simply states This really is The End . . . Step inside for an abbreviated journey. Dominic Stanton's musical interests were first hip-hop and acid house and techno. From there, he followed the early days of jungle and drum'n'bass as a DJ, later producing some tracks and sending demos around, eventually signing with Dennis 'Dego' McFarlane and Mark 'Marc Mac' Clair on their label, Reinforced Records. For the first recording on Reinforced, Stanton joined two other guys and formed Static Imprints for one single, released in 1996. Then the trio became a duo, known as Sonar Circle, and they released their first three singles in 1997, including Devient Concept / Keep My Sanity. The duo released another single in 1998, and the only Sonar Circle album, Radius, came out in 1999. The duo became a solo artist, with Stanton becoming the only person behind the name. He released two more singles and two EPs by 2003, but had largely moved onto other projects. Dominic Stanton's most prolific profile started in 1999, when the Domu single Dressed to Ill was released on the 2000 Black label, a broken beat/ future jazz/ deep house imprint of the drum'n'bass focused Reinforced Records label. In 2000, Domu released his first single on the Italian Archive label, where he later released two albums (2001, 2005). In 2007, Domu produced an album for Pete Simpson on the Papa Records label. And this past summer, Tru Throughts released a compilation of what Stanton considered the most important works of his from the last 10 years. Stanton's two other solo projects were Umod and Zoltar. The former was more sample-based than his other work, and as Umod he released an album and a single in 2004, another single in 2006, plus some odd tracks. Zoltar was more of a one-off personality, and is credited for a 2004 single and a remix of a Umod track. The rest of his musical creations were collaborations. There were at least 10 profiles for these joint efforts, ranging from the one offs as Kudu (one single in 2000) and Blue Monkeys (one single in 2001), to the longer lasting Bakura, which produced an album in 2005 and a few singles. Another group was Legends of the Underground, a multimedia performance group based on music created by Stanton, Mark De Clive-Lowe and Paul "Seiji" Dolby (the trio had earlier collaborated as Kudu). The soundtrack was released on Kindred Spirits in Amsterdam in 2005. Live shows merged music, dance, and an animated 3D world (3D glasses supplied). Along with production and DJing, Dominic Stanton started the online label TrembleO, focusing on digital distribution of new and old tracks of his own creation, as well as other artists and a few releases on CD and vinyl. The official site was taken down, but the MySpace page is still public. In the wake of the announcement, there was much discussion on blogs and forums, and much use of the twitter tag 'weloveyouDomu'. Tribute mixes a-plenty were posted, highlighting the history of Dominic Stanton. People pulled out past mixes from Domu, letting the man speak for himself. He might return, or maybe find something else to fill his life. Until then, there is a vibrant past to re-live. Audio/Video clips 1997- Sonar Circle - Devient Concept (6:04), from Devient Concept/Keep My Sanity 2001- Sonar Circle - Havoc (5:59), from the Havoc EP 2001- Aardvarck - ReSpoken (Domu's Broken Dialect Mix) (6:21), from the Re Spoken 12" 2003- Bakura - Thinking About (Domu Mix) (5:34), from the Veya Veya / Thinking About 12" 2005- Domu - Quarantine (6:20), from The Electric Institute compilation 2007- Domu presents Pete Simpson - Coming Back Around video (4:29) and Play This Song (4:41), from the album Look a Little Further 2007- Domu presents Pete Simpson - Look A Little Further (The Muthafunkaz 12" Vocal Mix) (7:00), from the Look a Little Further single 2007- Making of Swell Session video (3:02), from Swell Communications featuring Domu and Elsa Esmeralda 2008- Broke'n'£nglish - Take It Low (Domu Remix) (5:09), from the Take It Low 12" 2008- Replife - Put It Down (Domu Remix) (4:41), from Put It Down / R U Ready 7" 2009- Domu & Yannah Valdevit - City Madness (A&D's 4 The Summer Mix) (2:25), sample from the City Madness / Info People single 2009- Tortured Soul - Home To You (Domu Remix) (5:17), from the Home To You remixes 2009- Interview in Paris (3:23), posted after his announcement to retire but recorded in the months prior Mixes by Domu 2004- Interview and mixset for Red Bull Music Academy Feb 22, 2005- Live from CSUF (scroll down for the link to the mix, read more on his profile) October 2007- Exclusive Domu guest mix for Urban Landscapes [dates unknown]- TrembelO Radio Show, showcasing Domu and a rotating cast of extras including Shifty, Marin, and Soza.

Filling up the city skies with righteous grooves

jammy — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 15:39:49 -0800

Four Hours of Free Funkiness Filter: Pretty Lights Derek Vincent Smith is a DJ with quite mad skills who weaves funky masterpieces of chill-hiphop-electronica. But, really, I can't say it any better than Kyle at Aurgasm (where I found this):

Organic, soulful, electronified and good-feeling vibes, freely shared by Colorado producer Derek Vincent Smith. Nearly four hours of this Pretty Lights sound is available for free on his website. It’s a vivid collage of continuity, enriched with robust beats, eloquently laced vocal samples that range from nostalgic to serene, both compelling and entertaining, with a diverse selection of instruments all aimed towards enjoyment.

kahvi

lw — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 15:19:23 -0800

free downtempo music Try this or this if you like Thievery Corporation or maybe Brian Eno. Or Boards of Canada.

Propperly Chilled

JPowers — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 05:08:50 -0800

Properly Chilled, "a great guide to the downtempo music scene/lifestyle, spotlighting not only the essential release reviews, label/artist profiles and other data on the genre but also exclusive DJ mixes and all kinds of other goodies" (via). Check out the totally free, totally chill Radio Jazztronica #3 mix from DJ Chicken George. It's 55+ minutes of "unpredictable, energetic and heart-felt" downtempo that packs a serious punch. Did I mention it's free?

Bedroom Music for Bedroom People

syscom — Sun, 18 Apr 2004 17:05:47 -0800

Bedroom Music for Bedroom People A veritable treasure trove of hours and hours of mixes of fine abstract headphone-fodder of varying flavours, be it compelling hiphop or weirdo IDM or just etcetera. A fine way to pass a lazy Sunday away ...

MetaFilter posts tagged with downtempo

For Domu / Umod / Sonar Circle / Bakura (etc), This really is The End ...

Rhymes with blahg

Filling up the city skies with righteous grooves

kahvi

Propperly Chilled

Bedroom Music for Bedroom People