DOMENIQUE DUMONT - People On Sunday [LTD CD]

The Leaf Label

£11.18

Format: CD
Catalogue No.: BAY127CD
Barcode: 843190012725
Release Date: 12 Jun 2024
Genre: Electronic/Soundtracks

2024 BLACK VINYL REPRESS NOW IN STOCK, AHEAD OF NEW ALBUM ‘DEUX PARADIS’ TO BE RELEASED LATER THIS AUTUMN

“The joy that People on Sunday radiates is self-evident, even when untethered from the film that inspired it” 7.0 Pitchfork

“Rippling exotica that manages to evoke the carefree, bittersweet nature of the picture and also flows beautifully as an album” 8/10 Uncut

“Marbling old school melodicism into a warm and rich set of scenes, replete with steel drums, distant waltzes and decaying exotica” DJ

“Approaches the nostalgic aura of Ernest Hood’s Neighborhoods, although this album feels quite a bit trippier and more ethereal” 8/10 AllMusic

“The score has a beautifully whimsical and shimmery underwater vibe” Gorilla vs Bear

“Seriously dreamy stuff” Electronic Sound

People On Sunday is an original soundtrack to the 1930 silent film variously known as Menschen am Sonntag, Les Hommes le Dimanche and People On Sunday. The film is a key work of interwar German cinema, based on a screenplay by Billy Wilder.

Like Domenique Dumont’s earlier albums, Comme Ça and Miniatures De Auto Rhythm, People On Sunday evokes a more innocent, carefree time conjured by wistful electronics full of warmth and melody. Touching on the hazy exotica that made those two records so alluring, here Dumont draws on his love of classical music, library music and early electronic experimentation to create a timeless sound. If his past productions possessed a certain Mediterranean quality, across these 13 new pieces Dumont’s shimmering synth-pop has an enchanting simplicity.

Part documentary, part fiction, the film People On Sunday follows a group of characters going about their business in Weimar-era Berlin over one weekend and shows normal life in Germany before dictatorship.

“The film shows people and their surroundings shortly before all of it was destroyed,” says Dumont. “Ironically, watching this movie with the eyes of today, it looks more surreal than documentary. And I can’t help but think and reflect about the times we are living in now. We might have similar desires people had a hundred years ago, but we now have a completely different approach to life.”

• People On Sunday is the third album by Domenique Dumont
• Freshly signed to The Leaf Label, having previously released two albums on Parisian electronic/dance label Antinote
• It follows on from the cult success of synth-pop exotica albums Comme Ça (2015) and Miniatures de Auto Rhythm (2018)
• The album was originally conceived as a soundtrack to the classic 1930 German silent film known variously as Menschen am Sonntag, Les Hommes le Dimanche and People on Sunday
• It was originally performed at Les Arcs Film Festival, with plans for further film festival concerts when regulations allow
• Watch the video for first single ‘People On Sunday’ featuring excerpts from the film
• Artwork and design by artist Edward Carvalho-Monaghan
• Press support from Pitchfork, Resident Advisor, Uncut, DJ, Electronic Sound, Gorilla vs Bear and more
• Radio support from BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio 3’s Night Tracks, NTS, Worldwide FM, KEXP, WFMU, KCRW, Beats In Space
• Dumont recently remixed Domino’s Jaakko Eino Kalevi, and has also reworked tracks by Cola Boyy and Mark Barrott
• Festival appearances have included Mutek Montreal, Dekmantel, Nuits Sonores, Milhões de Festa and the Venice Biennale
• UK promo by Thea Hudson-Davies at The Leaf Label <thea@theleaflabel.com>

Side A:
I Arrival
II Gone For A Wander
III Sunshine in 1929
IV Water Theme (Le Château de Corail)
V We Almost Got Lost
VI Falling Asleep Under Pine Trees

Side B:
VII People On Sunday
VIII Merry-Go-Round
IX Running Down The Hill
X Rituals
XI Watching Boats Pass By
XII Back To Everyday Life
XIII Everyday Life