#dtone

14-October-2018 By Gary Blake

I caught up with US based award winning remixer, producer and songwriter DTone (aka Devon Moore) ahead of his new version of the Neon Radiation song 'Underdog'.

1. How did you get into music and who are your influences?

I played piano as a child, and growing up I learned about the power of good music, composition, and groove from listening to the likes of Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, Henry Mancini, and Motown.

I attribute my inspiration to produce to the album Verve Remixed. That album deepened my love of jazz music, and introduced me to amazing nu-jazz and electronica outfits and producers such as De-Phazz, Mark de Clive-Lowe, and Matthew Herbert. I’m also heavily inspired by old movie musicals and film scores, as well as mainstream pop and R&B.

2. What are your musical aspirations?

I want to bring jazz, musicals and easy listening, EDM, and pop together in an accessible way through audiovisual entertainment — music videos and visual albums, composition and production styles, old school and new school influences, live performance, the whole gambit. It sounds like a hefty task, but I believe that it can be done, and that there’s a place for it in the music industry.

3. Tell us about your hardware - including real instruments you play

I play piano and any other synths or midi controllers I can get my hands on!

4. Tell us about your software - DAW, synth patches, sample packs

Ableton Live is my go-to for LIFE — I remixed Underdog using Ableton Live Intro. I also use Logic Pro and GarageBand.

5. How do you get yourself heard in a massively overcrowded music industry?

I feel that it is just best to stay true to who you are, and the right crowd will follow. As the old Gospel saying goes, “I’ll go if I have to go by myself.”

6. Do you have a particular style or genre you are drawn to - or are you more of a free spirit?

I’m primarily based in nu-jazz, EDM, and pop, but I compose and arrange with various styles and vocalists in mind. Just listen to my Soundcloud or Bandcamp — you’ll see how diverse my sounds can go.

7. If you could remix or produce any artist or band who would it be?

I’ve always said I’d like to do my own Verve Remixed album, or simply to be featured on an instalment. Brushing soundwaves with some of the best jazz virtuosos in history would be a dream come true for me.

8. Your best Top Tip to any remixer just starting out

Remixes are musical conversations. Treat the original tracks as vocabulary, and while staying true to yourself and your style, connect to the song in different ways. Keep your mind and ears open. The best remixes always come out of the spirit of improvisation and playfulness, but still respecting the original artists’ vision.

9. Do you play live? If so tell us more…

Live dates as DTone are coming soon… Hard at work on that.

10. What is it about the song ‘Underdog’ that inspired you to create such an amazing new version of it?

I heard a lot of sonic potential in the original song to be something spectacular. I love when songs and albums tell stories, and the message behind the lyrics were something that I felt could be dramatized and intensified even more than the original.

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Release Information:

DTone's remix of 'Underdog' by Neon Radiation is released on all streaming/download sites on 26-Oct-2018.

The Neon Radiation original version of 'Underdog' is released on 19-Oct-2018.

Links:

Spotify Underdog Remixes (from 26-Oct-2018)

DTone Spotify Artist Page

DTone Twitter

DTone Soundcloud

Spotify Underdog EP (from 19-Oct-2018)

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