Hi friends: back at it again (with the white vans). This week I want to share an artist with you that has left me thinking “holy shit.” I am completely and utterly impressed with the talent of this artist: D.D Dumbo.
This solo act comes all the way from Australia, and recently released an album titled Utopia Defeated.
D.D Dumbo, real name Oliver Hugh Perry, plays the 12-string guitar, which is something you don’t see very often. On top of that, he uses drums and a looping system to create music. This makes his live performances incredibly captivating, and speaks for his creativity.
The video below highlights his style perfectly. We can see how into the music he gets by the way he moves. His eyes are never on the crowd, which suggests that it’s not about popularity for him. It’s simply about the music and being in the moment.
(This video features songs “Walrus” and “Tropical Oceans.” Studio versions can be found below.)
The 12-string guitar creates something singular to D.D Dumbo. His sound is hard to pinpoint, and so is his genre. His Spotify biography coins it as “pop fusion.” I think there’s something more to it than that, but I’m lacking the words to describe it — it is unlike anything I’ve ever heard before.
The song I stumbled upon, the one that first grabbed my attention, was “Walrus.” Maybe it was because of the subject matter, but I think it had more to do with the quality of Perry’s voice. He has a voice that he is able to easily manipulate — he can make it strong, and at other times you can hear it waver with a unique vibrato.
The second song that I fell in love with is called “Tropical Oceans.” As the song opens, there are vibes of darkness enforced by the vocals and lyrics: “My eyes blew out I could finally see / Warm magical tropical oceans / Organs of people circle the sea / I fell back to perpetual motion.” The emotion is heavy in Perry’s voice, which draws listeners in. The song finishes after a rapid build up of instrumentals and vocals.
A faster-paced song is “Brother,” which really gets my feet-a-tappin’. The drums in this song are what makes this happen, as well as the opening guitar riffs which feature a style called palm muting.
This video shows more than my words could offer. It once again displays D.D Dumbo’s style, which is hella cool to say the least.
In the end, it’s obvious that D.D Dumbo is about to make waves in the music world. His emotion, creativity and all around love for music is as clear as day. All I can say is that hopefully he comes to the United States soon.
