Antonello Zappa
British producer DNMO obtained began in music a decade in the past.
“I had just entered high school and we did a GarageBand crash course lesson in the music department,” he says. “I had played drums my whole life and my understanding of making music was that you’d have to have bandmates etc, so I became obsessed with the idea of being able to make an entire piece of music alone. I spent the next 3-4 years just learning Ableton any minute I could outside of school, even played some terrible empty club nights around my hometown along the way when I was like 13, haha. Things really took off in my last year of school around 2017 when I had a couple popular remixes on SoundCloud and signed with Deadbeats/Universal. From there everything was just super-exponential and within a year I was touring full time.”
DNMO has a tough time describing his sound, as a result of he says that his “sound is almost having no sound.”
“I make music across all ends of the spectrum — from Drum & Bass to House, Hip Hop, R&B, jazz… I really try to not put any limitations on the music I make on a day-to-day basis and it always leads to my best work, in my opinion,” he says. “I suppose the most common theme is always focused around melodics, that takes the lead 90% of the time. Big synths, basses, and drums. Lately on the DNMO side of things I’ve been pretty much exclusively making/putting out Drum & Bass. Outside of that I’ve been making a lot of UK-influenced Hip Hop and R&B.”
The artist has combined feelings in regards to the present state of electronic music.
“There’s something about electronic music 5-10 years ago that just hit so much deeper than I feel like it has recently, but maybe that’s just the nostalgia in me, which I try to be mindful of,” he says. “I do think we’re in a super exciting time right now though with how accessible new technology is and the endless musical possibilities that just weren’t there 10 years ago. Artists like Fred Again.. are really pushing the space forward in a new/exciting way that feels super refreshing right now. And with the Skrillex albums being imminent I’m pretty optimistic about the future of dance music.”
His newest launch is “Together.”
“I started ‘Together’ early last year with the idea of making a super retro/analogue-style lead sound,” he says. “After making the patch I think I was actually just sitting on a sofa and started playing random melodies that ended up being the lead on the song. It really felt like the track wrote itself and came together super quick in a matter of like 4-5 hours. I usually like to keep things moving particularly with D&B production, but I felt like this melody was so catchy it had to revolve around that instead of going all over the place. From there I pretty much wrapped the production and felt that it just needed a big hook to lift into the drop so it wasn’t too repetitive.”
Wanting forward, DNMO has lots deliberate for 2023.
“I have tons of new music coming in the next few months, all of which have been my favourite songs to play in my sets lately and I’m doing my first run of headline shows which I’m super stoked for as well,” he says. “I’m also extremely passionate about cooking so this year I’m really trying to bridge both my love for music and food together. I can’t say too much on that right now but I’m very excited!”
Getting Together with DNMO: DNMO’s “Together” is out now.
– • –
NOTE: The promoting disclaimer under doesn’t apply to this text, nor any originating from the Village Voice editorial division, which doesn’t settle for paid hyperlinks.
Promoting disclosure: We might obtain compensation for among the hyperlinks in our tales. Thanks for supporting the Village Voice and our advertisers.