Hot off the heels of his RCA debut, Douvelle19 returns with the second offering of his forthcoming EP - a track titled ‘Crawl’ featuring the exceptional SIPHO. Out now, the collaborative release delivers Douvelle19’s signature dose of electronic brilliance - aligning soulful sentiments and compelling percussion.

With all the makings of a palpable listening experience, ‘Crawl’ is elevated by SIPHO’s captivating vocals, which seamlessly intertwine with the track’s masterful production. The Birmingham-born powerhouse lends his vocals for ‘Crawl’, delivering a flawless performance following the success of his critically acclaimed debut album in 2023.

“From its inception, ‘Crawl’ has felt like this accidental ode to espionage. Deep in drama and romance, it’s an electronic lullaby that slices through you” - Douvelle19.

“Hopping on this one with Douvelle19 was a dream. It’s always great to collaborate with other producers - to see how someone else’s brain works and come together to make our own funky brain stew. The song came out so gorgeous and colourful. It needed some hopeful lyrics, blended with a bit of Floating Points inspiration on the beat for some absolute garage FILTH. This tune’s for the people, it’s that ‘we outside’ music.”- SIPHO.

With a forthcoming EP showcasing a breadth of rising star vocalists, Douvelle19’s love for uplifting artists remains a constant throughout his musical journey. A stand-out among the Welsh music scene, and a testament to his growing influence, this December will see him collaborate with global dance platform Keep Hush. Building on the success of his Locally Sauced club night, the link-up will deliver an unforgettable event featuring Welsh talent from across the electronic spectrum.

A further showcase of his technical prowess, Douvelle19 continues to cement his position as a key payer within the dance world with ‘Crawl’, crafting compelling beats and narratives alongside some of the scene’s most exciting voices.

Douvelle19 has always operated between a myriad of sonic worlds. The Newport-based producer’s interest in the fluidity of genres and bridging disparate sounds stretches back to his childhood. Growing up in the mid-90s with separated parents he would hear a wide range of genres from 1930s jazz and blues, anthemic trance and trip hop to early electronic forerunners like New Order & Leftfield. Faithless and Madonna were in heavy rotation in the kitchen and his sister’s passion for Arabic pop music (Nancy Ajram, Sabah) inspired a love of drum-driven beats.

Encountering such a melting pot of audial influences rendered his own pre-teenage taste as equally eclectic: obsessions veered between Missy Elliott & Timbaland to Limp Bizkit & Sum 41. The first albums his dad bought him - Eminem’s ‘The Marshall Mathers’ LP and Marilyn Manson’s’ ‘Antichrist Superstar’ - also foreshadowed the genre-fusing artist he would go on to become. “It’s always been about bringing sounds together in my mind,” Douvelle19 summarises. “I spent time identifying the sonics that evoked something within me, and then tried to understand the choices that led the artist to get there”.

Douvelle19’s earliest creative outlet came when he joined a youth centre in Newport. Whilst there, he stumbled upon a world of new opportunities and made music-related connections. Meeting MCs, DJs and radio presenters, he started spending every penny he could save from skipping lunch in school to buy white label vinyl. From DJ’ing, he started making beats and filming music videos – organically finding his passion for helping people express themselves. 

He later went on to have his own local radio show and became a presenter for the Urban Circle Youth Centre, all while studying at school. After buying the cheapest Stanton turntables he could find, he taught himself how to DJ on vinyl aged just 14. “All I did was skate, mix vinyl and play Call Of Duty,” he remembers. Having spent all his money on building a record collection, he was inspired to create his own dubplates. This birthed his journey into making grime instrumentals for him and his mates, which he uploaded to Myspace and Soundcloud - “I wanted what any DJ wanted – to have music that no one else had”.

Douvelle19 describes his younger self as “the kid with the Bluetooth speaker playing beats”. Substantial gratification came from the local park where older mates would ask him “who made this beat?” after a huddled barring session. Despite making a name for himself in the local scene, his electronic music prowess was not recognised at school. “Even when I played my music to my GCSE music teachers, they would just be like ‘okay, cool, whatever’; they would rather me play the drums (which I had learnt to do).” 

Nonetheless, he pursued his passion for music and, aged 15, found his way into the industry. Forming the group Astroid Boys, he felt he had a purpose – to make music. “Somebody was wanting something from me; it wasn’t just going out there into the ether,” he reflects. After making their first EP, selling CD copies on the street and filming music videos, the Cardiff scene started paying attention and he began sneaking into 18+ clubs for performances.