D.C. Gore conjures sleek synth-pop anthems, as soaring musicality and sky-high euphoria worms its way into your earholes via a delightful tongue-in-cheek delivery.
formerly of London trio Little Cub, we have been treated to three singles from DC – real name Dominic Gore – thus far: with each spinning a web of tessellating synth loops and swooping balearic soundscapes.
Debut album All These Things arrives later this month, and plays out somewhere between a traditional LP and a thematic, 45-minute party mix. Expansive, ambitious tracks crucially hold onto their sense of fun, making for an addictive and tasty listen. From slow-burning numbers like ‘Need You Tonight’, to the more industrial instrumentals of ‘California’, Gore’s debut packs the ammunition to carry you from the pre-drinks to the very dregs of the night.
Much like fellow 80s synth revivalists Nation of Language or Keep Dancing Inc, there is something transportive – mesmeric, even – about DC’s output. We caught his recent show at Brixton Windmill and it’d definitely a show worth catching.
Your tracks feel so closely paired with Pet Shop Boys’ era of adorning intricate synthesisers with an unapologetically pop songwriting style, who do you see as your sonic peers in 2022?
John Grant is someone I think about a lot. The way he straddles different genres and yet his lyrics remain so consistently him. I think I strive for that. A lot of my sonic influences come from electronic or electro acoustic music, Ella Minus or Hannah Peel spring to mind straight away but band wise Nation of Language, The KVB, Working Men’s Club, Dewey, Confidence Man, TVAM are all acts I love. Alex Cameron, Jarvis Cocker or Hayden Thorpe as songwriters perhaps. I used to dress up as Neil Tenant when I was a kid so the Pet Shop Boys thing is probably buried deep in me.
Stone-cold banger ‘Nietzsche On The Beach’ was one of our favourite tracks of the year before we’d even heard it, what came first: the title? Or the track?
Ha thank you. I honestly couldn’t tell you. I saw a picture of an unnamed conservative MP on the beach during Tory party conference and they looked so gross and yet they were sitting on so much power – I thought about the idea of the Ubermensche and it started from there.
The KVB’s remix of ‘Nietzsche On The Beach’ is also a top-tier listen, how did the re-working of the track come about?
I’m a fan. I saw them last year and just loved the show. Sapphire Goss who directed the video for Nietzsche also directed a video for them so there seemed a bit of synchronicity there which I’m always drawn too. The first pass of the remix was the one we went with (no notes) – it completely blew me away.
Your forthcoming debut album, All These Things, features such intricate and lengthy arrangements, were these tracks initially written to a handful of chords before being built into the behemoths that we hear on the final tracklist?
Yes the songs were all from very short demos I made using just the inbuilt plug-ins in Ableton. Quite often there was no mic and I’m just singing over the built-in microphone bit of the laptop. It gives everything a really punchy compressed sound which sounds great but then spending a long time trying and failing to remake that sound in the studio.
‘I Like You’ perfectly intertwines cynicism with romance, but it leads us to wonder.. what would be the most unforgivable type of music for a romantic interest to be a fan of? There must one at least one genre which would cause a line to be drawn?
Ha well I guess it can be anything really because it is dependent on the person it’s intended for. When I was working with George FitzGerald there was someone in the studio next door who listened to gabba all day and night. I think I would find that quite challenging
Where can we catch a DC Gore show in 2022?
Everywhere! We’re up and running now so hoping to get out as much as possible. We’re about to announce some more shows including some special events so keep an eye on the squares for that.
photo credit: Holly Whitaker
All These Things is out later this month via Domino Recordings
