Dominique Leone

Exploring the array of concepts embedded in Dominique Leone's unconventional pop compositions might begin with a review of the playlists from mixes he posted on his site, provided the audio itself remains inaccessible. Those selections traverse '70s singer/songwriters, Krautrock, minimal techno, disco, and avant-garde, touching on Harry Nilsson and Randy Newman, Michael Rother and Suicide, Anders Ilar and Giorgio Moroder, Morton Feldman and Richard Strauss, though such references capture only a fraction of the sources that shaped his approach. Norwegian DJ/producer Hans-Peter Lindstrøm became an early champion of Leone's work, issuing the debut self-titled EP, which originated as an MP3-only release, in late 2007 after first featuring the track "Conversational" in his LateNightTales mix contribution. The self-titled album followed in 2008 as the inaugural release on Lindstrøm's Strømland label, while Abstract Expression appeared in 2009 via Important. Leone has also written music criticism for All Music Guide and Pitchfork.