JULIEN DYNE RELEASES FEATURE-FILLED FIFTH ALBUM, MODES
Artwork by Jae Hoon Lee
Acclaimed New Zealand producer and multi-instrumentalist Julien Dyne has released his fifth solo album, Modes.
Out today on renowned UK label Soundway Records, the record sees Dyne harness the talents of emerging star Semisi Ma'i'ai, longtime collaborators Lord Echo, Ladi6 and Mara TK, and Aotearoa icons Dallas Tamaira a.k.a Joe Dukie (Fat Freddy’s Drop), Che-Fu, and Troy Kingi, amongst many others.
Three singles from the album have already been released. The latest, 'Be Real' features vocals by NZ hip hop royalty Ladi6, while 'The More I Get The Less I Have To Pay' and ‘Your Life' both showcase the lush crooning of Ma'i'ai, frontman for Dunedin indie act Marlin's Dreaming.
Heavy as it is on the jawdrop local features, Modes casts a wider collaborative net – a trans-Tasman connection utilising some of Melbourne’s best, including bass/production virtuoso Horatio Luna, instrumental cinematic funk architect Lachlan Stuckey (Surprise Chef), future soul queen Allysha Joy, bedroom funk stars Liam McGorry and Nkechi (Ex-Olympian/Saskwatch), and dream folk icon Tim Guy.
And that’s not the half of it. Modes features an incredible line-up of instrumentalists from around Aotearoa, and the world (see album bio for more).
As a whole, the record continues the forward-thinking percussive jazz and afro-inspired house music soundscapes explored on Dyne's 2018 album Teal, which garnered acclaim from peers and fans alike – including Late Night Tales, Toddla T, Ransom Note, and BBC6 Music.
On Modes, his trademark production mastery can be relied upon once more, as well as his music's insistent rhythmic drive and intensity.
Says Dyne of the album, “The majority of this record was created during the first lockdown of 2020. I was fortunate enough to receive funding from Creative New Zealand, which enabled me to focus on this project while the world was shutting down. Lots of files were shared via the internet, which made for an interesting collaborative process – little parcels of sonic information which were then shaped and sculpted afterwards, yelding fresh results.”
Photo credit: Harlin Davey
The artist has a long and impressive history of collaborative, live, and solo musicianship. Best known for his solo work on BBE Records, he’s also worked with the likes of Theo Parrish, Steve Spacek, and Andreya Triana along the way.
Having also remixed the likes of Marcel Vogel, Ghostwave and Leroy Burgess (alongside Frank Booker), Dyne has accumulated a number of accolades over the course of his career, including being hotly tipped by the likes of Moodymann and Gilles Peterson.
Here’s what some of his Modes collaborators have to say:
“I’ve been a great admirer of Julien’s mahi for a while – his drum tone and feel are unparalleled. Was an honour to be a small part of his latest offering.” – Troy Kingi
“Working with Julien is always a natural process, we've made three songs together over the course of his solo career and the collaboration has always been fluid and easy. He's a great friend and a progressive, exciting musician and artist. I'm always very proud of the work we do together.” – Ladi6
Dyne's employer via Avantdale Bowling Club, frontman Tom Scott, also offers his blessing:
“Julien is mortal drum god. I seen him play 5-17 timing immaculately half-asleep off a half a bottle of Hennessy. His gift is that he can sprinkle the perfect dose of jazz school into the dancefloor without killing the party. He's an adult student. He's put in his 10,000 hours and is still committed to his studies – his music is like the thesis written from his research. It's like you're hearing his whole record collection assembled together into some kind of gumbo. You could pull out stems from one of the songs and compare them and they might be totally different genres from each other, but that's what makes them harmonise. He makes hybrids. But I don't mean Yaris's. More like solar-powered Eldorados.”
JULIEN ON THE ALBUM'S SINGLES:
'Your Life'
This song goes a way back and is the first collaboration with Semisi Mai'a'i. We met at the Cross St Music Festival, I was super surprised when he said his band Marlin’s Dreaming only agreed to play the festival after they saw I was on the line-up – truly strange and flattering! We entered the studio soon after and began working on this song and soon had three more. Semisi is an incredible talent and it’s an honour to work with him. Also on this track is my long-time collaborator Brandon Haru on keyboards, Melbourne bass wizard Horatio Luna, longtime favourite Lewis McCullum on horns and keyboards, plus William Ricketts and myself on other instruments.
'The More I Get The Less I Have To Pay'
Again, an older track that lived in many incarnations before arriving at this point. More of a downbeat track and an ode to boogie funk meets hip hop with glacial vocals, quite a 90s throwback flavour to this track (and also throughout the album). The only slow song on the album, I thought it was a good one to mix things up tempo-wise – this track features legendary musician Lord Echo on guitar, Guy Harrison and Brandon Haru on keyboards, Horatio Luna on electric bass, drum icon Chris O’Connor on harp, and William Ricketts on vibraphone.
'Be Real'
A feel-good ode to summer and good times. Combining influences from modern electronic music production and vintage boogie funk, this track features my long-time employer / collaborator Ladi6. She has the Midas touch with music and can make anything turn great. Guy Harrison created the beautiful keyboard melody, legendary bassist Chip Matthews rules on this one, jazz legend Jonathan Crayford adds deft Fender Rhodes touches, with extra juice provided by old friends Jeremy Toy, Isaac Aesili, and William Ricketts.
View the full list of featured vocalists here.
For more info, or to request interview time contact:
Sarah Illingworth
sarah@goodluckmansion.com
+642041387342