Mount Kimbie is an English

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

duo consisting of Dominic Maker and

Kai Campos Kai Campos (born 4 February 1986) is a British electronic musician from St. Austell, Cornwall. He made his name as one half of Mount Kimbie alongside Dominic Maker and as a musician and DJ in the Greater London electronic music scene. He initial ...

. Formed in 2008, the duo expanded on the musical template of the UK

dubstep Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken be ...

scene, releasing early EPs '' Maybes'' and '' Sketch on Glass'' to critical praise the following year. Their debut album ''

Crooks & Lovers ''Crooks & Lovers'' is the first studio album by Mount Kimbie. It was released on Hotflush Recordings on 19 July 2010. It received critical acclaim, and was included in the year end lists of several publications. Background The duo used a mixture ...

'' in 2010 received further acclaim and was listed as one of the defining albums of the decade by ''

DJ Mag ''DJ Magazine'' (also known as ''DJ Mag'') is a British monthly magazine dedicated to electronic dance music and DJs. Founded in 1991, the magazine is adapted for distribution in the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, France, Italy, Lat ...

''. The band signed with

Warp Records Warp Records (or simply Warp) is a British independent record label founded in Sheffield in 1989 by record store employees Steve Beckett and Rob Mitchell and record producer Robert Gordon.Southern, Richard (2003) "Label of Love: WARP", X-RAY, ...

in 2012, and released their second album '' Cold Spring Fault Less Youth'' the following year and third album ''

Love What Survives ''Love What Survives'' is the third studio album by British electronic music duo Mount Kimbie, released on Warp on 8 September 2017. Background Artwork for the album is by Frank Lebon, who also directed the official videos for "Marilyn" (featuri ...

'' in September 2017. They have collaborated with artists such as James Blake,

King Krule Archy Ivan Marshall (born 24 August 1994), also known by his stage name King Krule, among other names, is an English singer, songwriter, musician, rapper and record producer. He began recording music in 2010 under the moniker Zoo Kid. The fol ...

, and

Micachu Mica Levi (; b. 28 February 1987), also known by their stage name Micachu, is an English singer, songwriter, composer and producer. Levi is classically trained and since 2008 has released experimental pop music with their band Good Sad Happy ...

History

Early years: 2008–2011

Kai Campos is originally from St. Austell in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, while Dom Maker is from

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

. They met at Southbank University in London, where Campos was attending university for the second time and Maker was studying film. They started making music together at a home studio in

Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon p ...

. Arguably responsible for inspiring the term "

post-dubstep Post-dubstep is an umbrella term applied to a range of musical styles that have been influenced by the sparse, syncopated rhythms and heavy sub-bass of the UK dubstep scene. The breadth of styles associated with the term post-dubstep precluded i ...

", the duo released a series of acclaimed early EPs, including '' Maybes'' and '' Sketch on Glass'', that expanded beyond the dubstep sound. The band's debut album, entitled ''

'', was released on 19 June 2010 in the UK to critical acclaim. At the end of 2010, ''Crooks & Lovers'' was included in over thirty 'Best of 2010' lists, including ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'', ''

Mixmag ''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights. History The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was prin ...

'',

Resident Advisor ''Resident Advisor'' (also known as ''RA'') is an online music magazine and community platform dedicated to showcasing electronic music, artists and events across the globe. It was established in 2001. ''RA''s editorial team provides news, musi ...

, ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'', ''

Drowned in Sound ''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums. History ''D ...

'', ''

'' listed them at number 22 in their 30 Artists For 2011. In 2010, Mount Kimbie toured the UK, Europe and America. They were also involved in the festival circuit playing at

The Great Escape Festival The Great Escape Festival is a three-day music festival held in Brighton and Hove, England every year in May. It is operated by MAMA Festivals and showcases new music from a variety of genres. The festival was founded in 2006 and roughly hosts ...

, Stag & Dagger festival,

Glade Festival Glade Festival was an electronic dance music festival, founded by Nick Ladd and Ans Guise, which originally started out as Glastonbury Festival's Glade Stage, which was established by Luke Piper and Mark Parsons who also became founding partn ...

Field Day Festival Field Day is an outdoor music festival held every year on New Year's Day in Sydney at The Domain. It is a one-day music festival showcasing hip-hop, house, indie and electronic artists from all over the world. The event has been running sin ...

and

Bestival Bestival was a four-day music festival held in the south of England. It had been held annually in the late summer since 2004 at Robin Hill on the Isle of Wight. In 2017 the festival relocated to the Lulworth Estate in Dorset. The event was organ ...

amongst others. The duo were then invited to perform at Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Awards event in February 2011. In March and April 2011, they embarked on a US tour which included performances at

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

and

Coachella Coachella may refer to: * Coachella, California * Coachella Canal, in California * Coachella (festival), an annual music and arts festival in California * "Coachella – Woodstock in My Mind", a 2017 song by Lana del Rey See also

* Coachell ...

. They also toured in Australia in March, selling out all six of their performances, with Australia's ''The Vine'' saying of their Melbourne performance, "They flesh out skeletal elements of tracks with alternative instrumentation, or accentuate features with subtle additions or substitutions. In this way much of the material aired tonight is invigoratingly bolstered, altered or augmented in some way. It makes for a stimulating performance." However, regarding a live realisation of ''Crooks & Lovers'' in Glasgow in early 2011 ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' said that "presenting such short tunes as standalone pieces when they might function better threaded together gives the set a disjointed feel." The pair are closely linked to friend, producer and BBC Sound of 2011 runner-up, James Blake. He has collaborated with them live and lent his skills to the remixing of "Maybes" which features on the Mount Kimbie EP ''Remixes Part 1'', released 12 April 2010, as well as contributing elements to ''Crooks & Lovers''. They've also featured on his

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

residency. Mount Kimbie have produced remixes for

The Big Pink The Big Pink are an English electronic rock band from London, consisting of multi-instrumentalists Robertson "Robbie" Furze, Akiko Matsuura and Charlie Barker. Initially a duo, they signed to independent record label 4AD in 2009 and won the ...

, Foals,

The xx The xx are an English indie rock band from Wandsworth, London, formed in 2005. The band consists of Romy Madley Croft (guitar, vocals), Oliver Sim (bass guitar, vocals), Jamie Smith, also known as Jamie xx (beats, MPC, record production), a ...

and

Andreya Triana Andreya Triana is a British singer and songwriter, ''Red Bull Music Academy'' alumna and MOBO nominated artist hailing from South East London, Her debut album, ''Lost Where I Belong'' released in September 2010 on London based record label Ninj ...

Warp: 2012–2022

Mount Kimbie signed to

in June 2012. The group toured North America that year with

Squarepusher Tom Jenkinson (born 17 January 1975), known professionally as Squarepusher, is an English electronic musician, record producer, bassist, multi-instrumentalist and DJ. His music spans several genres including drum and bass, IDM, acid house, ...

. Tony Kus joined the duo as their live drummer from October 2012 to 2015. Since 2016, Marc Pell of Micachu and the Shapes and Andrea Balency have joined Mount Kimbie's live show on drums and keyboards. They released their second album '' Cold Spring Fault Less Youth'' in 2013. Mount Kimbie performed a full tour across the US and Europe in late 2013 to tie in with the launch of the album. In September 2015, Mount Kimbie hosted a weekly residency every Tuesday, throughout September, with

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

based online radio station NTS Radio. The shows included guests such as James Blake,

William Basinski William Basinski (born June 25, 1958) is an American avant-garde composer based in Los Angeles, California. He is also a clarinetist, saxophonist, sound artist, and video artist. Basinski is best known for his four-volume album '' The Disintegra ...

and

. In July 2016, Mount Kimbie announced they would be taking a break from recording and be heading out on the road. Playing a small number of European shows including Pitchfork Music Festival. In 2016

Chance the Rapper Chancelor Johnathan Bennett (born April 16, 1993), known professionally as Chance the Rapper, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, and record producer. Born and raised in Chicago, Bennett released his debut mixtape '' 10 Day'' in 2012. He ...

sampled 'Adriatic' from their 2010 debut album on his mixtape

Coloring Book A coloring book (British English: colouring-in book, colouring book, or colouring page) is a type of book containing line art to which people are intended to add color using crayons, colored pencils, marker pens, paint or other artistic media ...

on the track Juke Jam featuring

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...

and Towkio. A second 'transatlantic' NTS residency took place across April and May 2017, broadcasting out of both London and Los Angeles, and once again featuring guests including James Blake, Archy Marshall,

Actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

and Warpaint. On 3 April 2017, Mount Kimbie released a new track, "We Go Home Together" on Warp Records, featuring long time collaborator James Blake. This was followed by another new track, "Marilyn", featuring

. The track was accompanied by a music video by fashion photographer Mark Lebon, featuring Lebon's sons, Tyrone and Frank, both of whom have previously collaborated with Mount Kimbie. On 12 July 2017, Mount Kimbie announced that they would be releasing their third album, ''

'', on 8 September 2017. Alongside this they released a new track, "Blue Train Lines" featuring

. ''Love What Survives'' featured contributions from

, James Blake,

and Andrea Balency. The album received strongly positive reviews upon release; DIY gave the album a 4/5 review, describing it as "the most affecting work to date by some stretch", and ''Mixmag'' called the album "searingly brilliant" and rated it 8/10. ''Pitchfork'' rated the album 8.4/10, selecting it as their "Best New Music", as well ranking the album at 34th in their 50 Best Albums of 2017 list. Mount Kimbie toured extensively across the world in 2017 and 2018 to support the album, including festival appearances at Pitchfork Music Festival, Primavera Sound Festival, Field Day and Electric Picnic. On 9 August 2018, Mount Kimbie's compilation release as part of the DJ Kicks series was announced, featuring an original production by the duo titled "Southgate". In 2019 they released a four track live recording of the Warp NTS live session. In the same year they were commissioned by

Adidas Originals Adidas Originals (often stylized as adidas Originals) is a brand of a line of casual and sportswear created by German multinational corporation Adidas. It consists of a heritage line, specializing in athletic shoes, t-shirts, jackets, bags, ...

to produce music for a new campaign. In the recent years, they have collaborated with artists such as

Slowthai Tyron Kaymone Frampton (born 18 December 1994), better known by his stage name Slowthai (stylised in lowercase), is a British rapper. Raised in Northampton, he rose to popularity in 2019 for his gritty and rough instrumentals and raw, politica ...

, James Blake,

, and

. On 15 September 2020, the trio

, James Blake and Mount Kimbie released their collaborative single titled "feel away" which appeared on Slowthai's UK number one album

Tyron Tyron is a given name: * Tyron Brackenridge (born 1984), Canadian football defensive backs coach * Tyron Carrier (born 1987), American athlete who was formerly a wide receiver * Tyron Frampton (born 1994), British rapper better known as Slowthai ...

. In July 2021, Mount Kimbie announced the release of two tracks that were part of the 'Love What Survives' recording sessions, but did not make it onto the album. On 28 July 2021, the tracks entitled 'Black Stone / Blue Liquid' were released on limited edition vinyl and made available to download via their website until 30 July. An accompanying music video was made for the track 'Black Stone'. The video was directed by Peter Eason Daniels. In November 2021, Dom Maker received a Grammy nomination for his co production work on James Blake's track 'Before'. The song was nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Recording.

MK 3.5: Die Cuts , City Planning: 2022–Present

In September 2022, Mount Kimbie preluded the announcement of their double album with the release of two double-sided singles by either member of the duo. Dom Maker released tracks 'A Deities Encore' featuring Liv.e and 'In Your Eyes' featuring frequent collaborator

alongside label mate

Danny Brown Daniel Dewan Sewell (born March 16, 1981), better known by his stage name Danny Brown, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He has been described by MTV as "one of rap's most unique figures in recent memory". In 2010, after amassing ...

. Kai Campos released two techno-infused tracks, 'Q / Quartz'. The day prior to announcing album, Dom Maker dropped non-album track 'Locked In' featuring

Maxo Kream Emekwanem Ogugua Biosah Jr. (born March 29, 1990), known professionally as Maxo Kream, is an American rapper from Houston, Texas. His debut album ''Punken'' was released in 2018, and the follow-up and major label debut, ''Brandon Banks (album), ...

and

Pa Salieu Pa Salieu Gaye (born 1 July 1997) is a British rapper and singer. In January 2020, he released his debut single "Frontline", which was the most-played track of 2020 on BBC Radio 1Xtra. He has since featured on songs with South London's SL for "H ...

. The album, entitled ‘MK 3.5: Die Cuts , City Planning’, created in two halves by Los Angeles-based Dominic Maker and London-based Kai Campos, will be released on

in November 2022.

Style

Mount Kimbie's early work drew from the contemporary UK

scene while expanding beyond its typical scope. ''

'' described the pair as "leading an exploratory breakaway from bass-heavy dubstep towards a lighter, hazier style of

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

rich with drowsy ambience and chopped-up

found sound Found objects are sometimes used in music, often to add unusual percussive elements to a work. Their use in such contexts is as old as music itself, as the original invention of musical instruments almost certainly developed from the sounds of nat ...

s." According to ''

'', in their work "dubstep is unraveled and reassembled from its brawny rhythms upward, connecting the dots between

musique concrète Musique concrète (; ): " problem for any translator of an academic work in French is that the language is relatively abstract and theoretical compared to English; one might even say that the mode of thinking itself tends to be more schematic, ...

, R&B, hip-hop,

drone Drone most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...

and the midnight

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

sounds of

Burial Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

." In 2009, ''

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

'' described their music as making use of "sped-up vocal samples, little tunnels of ambience, unimposing synth patches, and syncopated percussion that sounds like someone putting away the silverware," clarifying that "their rhythms are still dubstep in DNA-- deftly syncopated, slightly off-center, ambiguously danceable-- but most of what they lay on top of the beat sounds like it's being dragged out from places dubstep usually doesn't go: R&B,

post-rock Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation with ...

, IDM". The duo use

field recording Field recording is the term used for an audio recording produced outside a recording studio, and the term applies to recordings of both natural and human-produced sounds. It also applies to sound recordings like electromagnetic fields or vibra ...

s to form major elements of their music. "It’s amazing what you can pick up with a field microphone. I mean, you might just hear someone riding around but when you slow it down it’s almost like there’s a beat to it. And then just taking little pockets of that rhythm and stretching it out. A lot of what we do is about experimenting with different little bits of tone that you don’t necessarily hear on the first listen... and then trying to make songs out of them."

Solo Work

Kai Campos

In 2018 Kai curated a techno-driven DJ-Kicks mix and has been DJing consistently ever since, including a b2b tour with

and headline sets at Printworks and Fabric.

Dom Maker

Dominic Maker now lives in L.A. where he has produced for artists such as

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

and James Blake.

Discography

Studio albums

*''

'' (2010,

Hotflush Hotflush Recordings is a British record label. Founded by electronic musician Paul Rose, the label began as a UK Garage night on Stokes Croft in Bristol when Scuba was studying at University of Bristol, booking the likes of Artful Dodger (duo) ...

) *'' Cold Spring Fault Less Youth'' (2013,

Warp Warp, warped or warping may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books and comics * WaRP Graphics, an alternative comics publisher * ''Warp'' (First Comics), comic book series published by First Comics based on the play ''Warp!'' * Warp (comics), a ...

) *''

'' (2017,

) *''MK 3.5: Die Cuts , City Planning'' (2022,

)

EPs

*'' Maybes'' (2009, Hotflush) *'' Sketch on Glass'' (2009, Hotflush) *''Blind Night Errand'' (2010, Hotflush) *''Carbonated'' (2011, Hotflush) *''CSFLY Remixes'' (2013, Warp) *WXAXRXP Session (2019, Warp)

Compilation

*'' Mount Kimbie DJ Kicks'' (2018, DJ Kicks)

Remixes

– "Basic Space" (2009) *

– "Velvet" (2009) * Foals - "Spanish Sahara" (2010) * LV & Untold – "Beacon" (2010) *

– "A Town Called Obsolete" (2010) *

Kelis Kelis Rogers-Mora (; born August 21, 1979), known mononymously as Kelis, is an American singer, songwriter and a professionally trained chef. At age 14, she was admitted to New York's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Perform ...

– "Jerk Ribs" (2014)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mount Kimbie Musical groups from London English electronic music duos Male musical duos Post-dubstep music groups Hotflush Recordings artists Warp (record label) artists