Marmaduke Duke
Marmaduke Duke, the self-created surreal musical world of enigmatic Scottish duo The Atmosphere and The Dragon, two frontmen better known as Simon Neil of Biffy Clyro and JP Reid of Sucioperro, will release their next single ‘Silhouettes’ remixed by Jacknife Lee (Bloc Party, Weezer, Editors) on 6 July, 2009.
The single will be released on limited 7" and download only and follows on from the release of ‘Silhouettes’ follows on from the album release of Duke Pandemonium in May, and singles ‘Kid Gloves’ and the massive radio hit ‘Rubber Lover’, which spent four weeks in the top 20, and still remains in the top 40 now a full six weeks after release.
‘Silhouettes’ is a track which truly demonstrates Marmaduke Duke’s inherent pop nous and their capacity to write songs with dance floor irresistibility. Jacknife Lee’s take is high-adrenaline, blitzed dance-punk mayhem, with throbbing, pulsating dirty electro riffs fitting seamlessly with The Dragon’s melodic overlaying vocals and urgent refrains: “I don't care about places, religion or races, Well I don't care yeah, I'm faithless: I care about you.” It is a track which cannot fail to make you move.
The 16th Century Duke, inspired by a trilogy of unfinished books written by a Portuguese man befriended by the Scottish duo, is perceived by The Atmosphere and The Dragon – the Duke’s henchmen - as a wandering soul, a personification of man’s most primitive and often under-explored impulses, and Duke Pandemonium is the Duke's vision of a hedonistic and aberrant disco-party.
In the debut album The Magnificent Duke, The Duke charted his slow descent into psychosis as represented by three differing musical suites– larynx-shredding rock, head-mashing ambient and heart-melting acoustic. In Duke Pandemonium, we see a change in the duke: The Duke is back and is ready for a party fuelled with decadence, deviance and dancing.