“I can just be me…” Dossa reveals more about new solo journey

It starts today with Mamunabu on Modus

As you may have spotted on social media recently, Austrian duo Dossa & Locuzzed have officially parted ways.

Renowned and respected for their funky, often disco-oriented take on dancefloor D&B the duo’s output has slowly dwindled since the release of their impressive debut album Resonate in 2019 as the two friends have found their lives going in different directions.

Making it official with a statement on Instagram last month, Benni Dossa will retain their original social media accounts and continue to represent solo, building on the firm foundations he and erstwhile partner Rene Locuzzed have spent the best part of 10 years digging on labels such as Viper Recordings, Mainframe, Liquicity and Shogun Audio.

Now ready to build a whole new chapter, Dossa kicks off with Mamunabu on Camo, Krooked and Mefjus’s label Modus which drops today May 2 via a brand new label VA entitled Modus Modules vol. 2. Plenty more is expected to follow. We called up Benni to find out more…

 

 

Please tell us this split was a friendly parting!

Oh totally friendly. Ultimately everything started with the covid lockdowns. We released our debut album a few months before covid hit, so our whole tour around that fell flat. We spent a lot of time figuring out ways to maintain the same lifestyle we had when we were DJing and it was a very tricky time!

It really was!

So Rene changed position in his day job to a software engineer and he really enjoyed that role. It became another nerdism in his life and over time this affected his priorities. So that’s where Rene is at and I still see him very regularly. We are still good friends and he’s been really helpful to me with the name change. He’s very happy now which is maybe quite a funny reflection on a life spent working in the music industry.

Haha probably. So Rene dealt with the covid shit show by upgrading his work situ, how did you deal with it?

Well nothing changed for us in a way because we were used to being on our own in a room haha. We tried to compensate for our stage presence with Twitch streams, plug-in reviews and switching our podcast to a video format among other things. I learnt a lot about myself during this time actually. I learnt I’m not much of a streamer. It’s not me. I’m much happier being a nerd and figuring out sounds.

A real self finding journey for both of you, then?

Oh absolutely. It was a very self aware time wasn’t it? You had time to think about yourself, where you want to be, where you want to go…

I know everyone reading will relate to that. I love the word nerdism you’ve used. When you go in deep on something, whether it’s writing, making music, coding, any nerdism, there’s only so much headspace you can give to anything else in life, right?

Haha that’s right. And it does take up a lot of headspace; you’re not just making music, you’re organizing press shots, you’re marketing, you’re organizing yourself for DJ gigs. It was too much for Rene with his new job and we sat down about a year ago to figure it all out. We felt that me taking over the Dossa & Locuzzed platforms and accounts and rebranding was the best thing to do.

Bet that’s been a bit of a headache?

At points it’s been tricky for sure but everything is sorted and I’ve got to shout out the Viper crew, they were hugely helpful and supportive during every aspect of this process. Big up Brendan, Asad and everyone at the label.

Amazing. How has the creative process gone? Is it scary? Exciting? Thrilling? All of the above?

It’s very exciting actually! In the last phase of working with Rene we were spending a lot of time really over-thinking what people expected of us or what we should be making and where we stood within the genre. Now this is a new phase it’s very different. I don’t feel any of those challenges because everything is so different. I can just be me and it feels very natural.

Sick! So you’ve learnt your skills during this time in a duo and now this is the first time you’ve released music as a solo artist in almost ten years. What a moment!

Yeah it is I guess. I think there will always be traces of the original Dossa & Locuzzed sound because half of that was me. But the one big benefit I have returning to being a solo artist is that I’ve learnt a lot about the industry – management, agents, marketing, making deals. I know what I want and I can do it that way.

Yes! And it kicks off on Modus

Exactly. I’m very happy about this. We were speaking with Camo, Krooked and Mefjus before we parted and had been planning a release the moment they started releasing music by other people. Rene and I started the tune together and I finished it. We’ve been friends with the guys for a very long time which adds to the personal side of things.

The Austrian connection is super strong! You go way back with Camo & Krooked don’t you?

That’s right. I’ve known Krooked for a long time. We come from the same area. He started producing just as I had started DJing so we spent a lot of time sharing jokes and stories backstage in the local club Warehouse when we were younger. So the history there is very strong.

The energy on Mamunabu is strong. It feels perfect for Modus

Nice one. It came together very naturally actually. It developed a life of its own and it does feel right for Modus

Is that indicative of the Dossa sound as we head into the future?

There will be lots of different sounds from me in the future. I’m not limiting myself at all. The first few releases you see coming out may have some traces of the old sound because they started with us both but as things develop you’ll hear some jazzy sounds, maybe a bit more weird sounds. I’m going with the flow and having faith in myself and my audience.

Huge respect to that. Having faith that your audience will understand you and support you is so important and often overlooked by the industry

I think so too. When you try to write for this invisible audience the minute you lose a lot of creative potential. You’re making music for an illusion but the only person you can write for is yourself. So whatever happens, I know I will be faithful to myself.

YES. You can’t account for anyone’s tastes so you might as well make music for you own tastes!

Yes correct and we realized this over covid times actually. There is a big difference between the artist branding and the individual behind that. I might be known as Dossa but behind that is me, a music lover and a student of all styles. I love all electronic genres, I love jazz, I love Motown stuff. So why I should restrict myself? Let’s see what happens…

Dossa – Mamunabu is out now

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