Dukwa Shares New EP 'Matter of Time'

Florence-based DJ/producer Dukwa returns with his club-ready EP Matter of Time, out now [29th November 2022] on Gudu Records. The follow-up to driving bass-laced single 'Prune', the EP came to life during the creation of his new live set and signals a sonic evolution for the artist who finds himself moving into deeper, slightly darker territory.

Following recent releases from Mogwaa, Hiver, Brain de Palma, Peggy Gou and her coveted I Go remix package with Soulwax, DJ Koze and Maurice Fulton, Matter of Time is a stellar Gudu debut for Dukwa, promising four prime-time club workouts that are as powerful as they are tender.

The tracks that make up Matter of Time, are intertwined with his hardware-driven live show, and were developed in tandem with recent live performances. The EP's lead track 'Prune' was born from "playing my Nord, trying to find some cool melodies and basses to add to my live show", but after Dukwa came across the track's distinctive bassline, it then formed the starting point to an entirely new live set.

He adds, "When I was making my new live set I was searching for new melodies, grooves and vocals. Suddenly the bassline of Prune was born. I felt like 'Ok this could be a huge track for my Live set' and in the, meantime it defined the tracks I produced next to it. I was taking my soul into darker and more techno-oriented sounds, I wanted to express myself 100% because I needed to change."

Likewise, 'VoX' stemmed from a happy studio mistake: in Dukwa's words, "when I recorded the first loop of the bassline, I thought I played with impeccable timing - but it wasn't!", but the off-beat live programming turned out to be a revelation, and the track's wonky feel became its distinctive calling card.

Elsewhere, Dukwa describes 'Jeopardize' as "his first 'close-techno' track" since his 2015 collaboration with Herva ("I love it because it was unexpected and powerful in the same way"), while the EP's closing track 'Nuvola' stemmed from an internal conversation about taking his music "deeper and simpler", leading to one of Dukwa's most melodic and emotional tracks yet.

As with all of Dukwa's music, everything on Matter of Time feels thick and textural but most importantly human, full of natural movement and rhythm. In his words, "complexity is not always the best choice you can take in music - but it's an art to make complex music feel simple and enjoyable."

Based in Florence, Dukwa made his name in the mid-to-late 2010s with a series of releases on Numbers, Bosconi, Tdsr and his own Dukwa Music label, picking up top-tier support from Annie Mac, Ben UFO, Seth Troxler, Solomun, Pete Tong and more. Long supported by Peggy Gou and no stranger to sharing the bill with her, it's no surprise that Dukwa now joins the label; his stand-out signature sound embodies the warm, rich grooves which are the foundations of her much-loved Gudu Records.

Listen to the new single here: