Biography
Keyboardist and drummer duo DOMi & JD BECK have built a reputation for their frenetic, forward-looking mix of progressive jazz, hip-hop, and R&B. The pair signed with Anderson .Paak’s Apeshit label and sent their first album, NOT TiGHT, to the summit of Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz chart.
The two musicians formed their partnership in 2018, with DOMi Louna handling keyboards and JD Beck on drums. Born Domitille Degalle in Metz, France, DOMi began piano and drum studies at age three and had already developed into a standout performer by her teens. A short enrollment at the Conservatoire de Paris preceded her move to Berklee College of Music in Boston on a full jazz scholarship. Online video clips she posted quickly attracted the interest of hip-hop figures Anderson .Paak, Louis Cole, and Thundercat, who drew her into their circle.
She encountered Beck in 2018 at a NAMM trade show. The Dallas-born drummer had started playing at age eight and benefited from early tutelage by local percussionists Robert “Sput” Searight of Snarky Puppy and Mike Mitchell, a regular in the Stanley Clarke Band. Additional experience came from gigs in producer Jah-Born’s band, where he absorbed blended influences of hip-hop, electronic music, and DJ grooves. The two clicked immediately and launched a creative exchange that fused DOMi’s 1970s jazz-fusion leanings with Beck’s brisk blend of IDM, funk, and prog. Live dates followed, along with appearances beside Thundercat, Herbie Hancock, Ariana Grande, and others. Their ongoing work with .Paak culminated in a signing to his Apeshit label and a co-writing credit on the song “Skate” from the rapper’s 2021 Grammy-winning Silk Sonic collaboration with Bruno Mars.
In 2022 they issued “SMiLE” as the lead single from their debut full-length, NOT TiGHT. The album featured guest turns by Herbie Hancock, Thundercat, Mac DeMarco, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and additional artists alongside .Paak. It topped Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz chart and received a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album.
The two musicians formed their partnership in 2018, with DOMi Louna handling keyboards and JD Beck on drums. Born Domitille Degalle in Metz, France, DOMi began piano and drum studies at age three and had already developed into a standout performer by her teens. A short enrollment at the Conservatoire de Paris preceded her move to Berklee College of Music in Boston on a full jazz scholarship. Online video clips she posted quickly attracted the interest of hip-hop figures Anderson .Paak, Louis Cole, and Thundercat, who drew her into their circle.
She encountered Beck in 2018 at a NAMM trade show. The Dallas-born drummer had started playing at age eight and benefited from early tutelage by local percussionists Robert “Sput” Searight of Snarky Puppy and Mike Mitchell, a regular in the Stanley Clarke Band. Additional experience came from gigs in producer Jah-Born’s band, where he absorbed blended influences of hip-hop, electronic music, and DJ grooves. The two clicked immediately and launched a creative exchange that fused DOMi’s 1970s jazz-fusion leanings with Beck’s brisk blend of IDM, funk, and prog. Live dates followed, along with appearances beside Thundercat, Herbie Hancock, Ariana Grande, and others. Their ongoing work with .Paak culminated in a signing to his Apeshit label and a co-writing credit on the song “Skate” from the rapper’s 2021 Grammy-winning Silk Sonic collaboration with Bruno Mars.
In 2022 they issued “SMiLE” as the lead single from their debut full-length, NOT TiGHT. The album featured guest turns by Herbie Hancock, Thundercat, Mac DeMarco, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and additional artists alongside .Paak. It topped Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz chart and received a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album.
Albums
Singles
