At last, Swick and King Doudou release their new project Digi Mangal, out via NLV Records.
With a creative partnership that first began through their collaborative Internet Dreams EP in 2014, Digi Mangal, started as a project dating back to 2018 where the pair both found themselves in London, and was sketched outbetween marathon FIFA sessions, a diet of Mangal food delivered by motorcycle and a shared penchant for global club music.
Continuing their creative crossover, Digi Mangal brings together King Doudou and Swick‘s individual creative strength with an intertwined vision. Whether revisiting unfinished ideas from Internet Dreams or exploring an entirely new sound shaped by their respective environments, the pair approached Digi Mangal with the same forward-thinking, playful approach to sound design that first brought them together, now channelled into a fully-formed club record. On reconnecting with Swick, King Doudou says “Back in winter 2018 Swick hit me up. He was staying in London for a few months and I came over to visit him. We ate strictly Mangal food delivered by motorcycle, played FIFA and eventually, four years after Internet Dreams, we started to work on some new music together.”
Joining singles ‘Calor’ with reggaeton star Ms. Nina and most recent ‘125cc Delivery’, supported across The Line of Best Fit, 10 Magazine Australia, BabyStep Magazine, triple j Unearthed and DJ support from ben ufo, DJ ADHD, DJ co.kr, ac slater & more. The EPincludes ‘Severe Delays’ and ‘Haloumi Drums’, pushing out the full extent of their partnership with frenetic soundscapes and complete creative freedom, resulting in a club record that feels both nostalgic and entirely new.
Today’s focus track ‘No Messin Around’ ascends between longstanding influences of baile funk and grime with the vocal additions of UK MCs Jammz and Geoblu. King Doudou says, “I remember it started as a weird baile funk instrumental with a NES Punch Out Vibe lol, we were looking for a vocal and Swick had this Jammz acapella from another project . It worked so well that we built the song around it, and then Danny had geo record another verse . I think it shows that baile funk and grime are pretty close musically, a hard bass, some weird sounding percussions and a lot of energy.”
As a solo producer, Swick is an architect of high-voltage dance music that feels at once intensely local and entirely borderless. He has quickly gained a reputation worldwide for his tight drums, energetic synths and genre-defying output. As well as working locally with Tkay Maidza, Nina Las Vegas, Olana, Big Skeez and more, his recent international credits include M.I.A., with joints on ‘MATA’ and her most recent ‘M.I.7’ as well as his collaboration with Diplo on ‘Keep It Gully’ / ‘Dat A Freak’ (the latter became the basis for Jennifer Lopez’s certified platinum record ‘Booty’.) He has also worked extensively in the UK producing for Big Zuu, Kamakaze, Duppy, LYAM, Geoblu and Manga Saint Hilare among others. Across more than a decade at the vanguard of global club music he continues to effortlessly blend dancehall, grime and hyperpop into his bold club-ready sound.
French DJ and producer King Doudou (aka Hugo Douster) takes listeners from one continent to another, looking for the common tie between Latino-American Dembow, Ivorian Coupé Décalé, Jersey Club, and Baile Funk. Having played sets around the world from Sonar to Boiler Room, he’s worked with the likes of Bad Gyal, J Balvin (of which he was awarded a Latin Grammy in 2020), Skrillex, andmore, tying the link between the mainstream and the underground, Europe and America, the old school and the avant-garde.
Digi Mangal is out now, buy/stream here.
TRACKLIST
Calor (feat. Ms Nina)
125cc Delivery
No Messin Around (feat. Jammz & Geoblu)
Severe Delays
Haloumi Drums
Swick & King Doudou – Digi Mangal / Internet Dreams
Limited Edition 12” Vinyl
This special 12” release pairs the brand new Digi Mangal EP on Side A with the long out-of-print cult favourite Internet Dreams on Side B, bringing together two eras of Swick and King Doudou’s unmistakable blend of baile funk, grime, global club sounds and internet-age weirdness.
Side A – Digi Mangal
Swick & King Doudou – Calor (feat. Ms Nina)
Swick & King Doudou – 125cc Delivery
Swick & King Doudou – No Messin Around
Swick & King Doudou – Severe Delays
Swick & King Doudou – Haloumi Drums
Side B – Internet Dreams
Swick & King Doudou – OS WAR III
Swick & King Doudou – 56K DESERT CONNECTION
Swick & King Doudou – HACKERS CONVENTION JAM
Swick & King Doudou – CHAMPIONSHIP RINGTONE LEAGUE
Pre-order Digi Mangal / Internet Dreams Limited Edition 12” Vinyl here