DOMi, JD BECK Ready First LP Since ’22

Before the Grammy nominations, late-night TV appearances and the avalanche of internet hype, DOMi Louna and JD Beck told SPIN they were simply chasing the sounds in their heads. “We’re just trying to make the music we hear,” the duo said in a 2022 interview, embracing a restless creative philosophy that has made them one of the most unpredictable acts to emerge from jazz’s modern fringe.

Four years after the release of their acclaimed debut NOT TiGHT, DOMi & JD BECK are finally back. The keyboard-and-drums tandem will release their sophomore album, WHO ASKED?, on July 31 via Anderson .Paak’s APESHIT imprint in partnership with Blue Note Records.

More from Spin:

• Springsteen, Santana, Joel Honor Clive Davis
• Turnstile Taps Eclectic Cast For Fall Tour
• Brandon Flowers Turns Rootsy On Solo LP

Available now for pre-order across multiple formats, including 180-gram vinyl, colored variants, CD, cassette and digital editions, WHO ASKED? finds the duo expanding the maximalist musical language that made NOT TiGHT such a head-spinning arrival in 2022. But rather than leaning on the star-studded guest list that helped define that record, DOMi and JD have taken a different route this time around.

According to the pair, WHO ASKED? is somehow both more stripped-down and more elaborate. Though it dispenses with the high-profile cast that populated NOT TiGHT, the album actually features a larger cast of contributors, including a chamber-sized ensemble of classical musicians enlisted to help realize the duo’s increasingly ambitious orchestral ideas. With both DOMi and JD providing vocals throughout, the project veers into chamber pop if it were filtered through impossible time signatures, jazz-fusion muscle and a kaleidoscopic indie-tronica sensibility.

NOT TiGHT launched the pair from prodigy status into full-fledged breakout stars and earned two Grammy nominations. Both artists emphasized to SPIN that they weren’t interested in fitting neatly into the jazz world — or any world, really. Instead, they described their work as an ongoing experiment fueled by curiosity and instinct.

Fans already got an early taste of the new material when the duo recently debuted instrumental versions of several songs at the Toronto Jazz Festival. More previews are coming in the weeks ahead with appearances scheduled for the Ottawa Jazz Festival on Thursday (June 25) and the Montreal Jazz Festival on July 2.

They’ve also been the project with a series of cinematic vignettes, offering cryptic glimpses into the world surrounding WHO ASKED?

To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here.