Biography
Husband-and-wife duo Peaking Lights fuse dub, Krautrock, disco, and psychedelic pop into their singular strain of cosmic sound. Beginning with free-form spaced-out improvisations, the pair crystallized a lo-fi pop aesthetic steeped in dub on their widely praised 2011 album 936. Subsequent projects such as 2014’s Cosmic Logic and 2020’s E S C A P E incorporated stronger synth-pop and house elements, appearing in far more polished productions while preserving the hazy, DIY sensibility of their earliest recordings.
Indra Dunis, previously of Dynasty and Numbers, and Aaron Coyes had already played together in the Bay Area outfit Rahdunes when they launched a home-recording venture built around drum machine, Hammond organ, guitar, and prominent bass lines. Their first output arrived in 2008 via a handful of limited-run tapes and CD-Rs on the respected Night People imprint, along with joint ventures alongside the Italian free-jazz collective Jooklo. The initial vinyl offerings, Imaginary Falcons (2009) and Space Primitive (2010), both issued on Night People, presented extremely lo-fi space-pop pieces enveloped in echo and tape hiss.
In 2010 the duo debuted on the Los Angeles label Not Not Fun with a split 7″—part of the Bored Fortress series—shared with Night People founders Wet Hair. The following year Not Not Fun issued the dub-centric full-length 936, which earned enthusiastic notices and broadened their audience. That momentum prompted a deal with Domino’s subsidiary Weird World, which put out a deluxe reissue of 936 in November 2011. Two separate remix EPs followed: 936 Remixes on Weird World, featuring contributions from dub pioneer Adrian Sherwood and cloud-rap duo Main Attrakionz, and the more dance-oriented 936 Remixed on Not Not Fun’s house sublabel 100% Silk.
During 2012 Peaking Lights delivered their third album, Lucifer, a more studio-polished effort that broadened their sonic palette and incorporated vocal contributions from their infant son Mikko. Lucifer in Dub and the house-focused Lucifer Re-Lit appeared soon after. Mexican Summer, which handled the American release of Lucifer, also put out the limited non-album 7″ “More High” in 2013. The duo launched their own Two Flowers label and repressed 936 on vinyl. Shifting from Weird World to the main Domino roster, they issued the cleanly recorded, rhythm-driven Cosmic Logic in 2014. Over the ensuing years they remained active as remixers, working with Sinkane, the Charlatans UK, Roedelius, and Korallreven. A disco-inflected single, “Conga Blue,” surfaced on Two Flowers in 2016; it shared a 12″ with “Little Flower,” featuring actress Chloë Sevigny, the next year. Neither track appeared on the double album The Fifth State of Consciousness, released on Two Flowers in June 2017.
In 2018 Peaking Lights issued Sea of Sand, among their most house-oriented recordings, via the Amsterdam dance label Dekmantel. They teamed with dub originator Lee “Scratch” Perry and producer Ivan Lee for the EP Life of the Plants, which Stones Throw released in 2019. Now based in Amsterdam, the duo unveiled their sixth full-length, E S C A P E, on Dekmantel in 2020.
Indra Dunis, previously of Dynasty and Numbers, and Aaron Coyes had already played together in the Bay Area outfit Rahdunes when they launched a home-recording venture built around drum machine, Hammond organ, guitar, and prominent bass lines. Their first output arrived in 2008 via a handful of limited-run tapes and CD-Rs on the respected Night People imprint, along with joint ventures alongside the Italian free-jazz collective Jooklo. The initial vinyl offerings, Imaginary Falcons (2009) and Space Primitive (2010), both issued on Night People, presented extremely lo-fi space-pop pieces enveloped in echo and tape hiss.
In 2010 the duo debuted on the Los Angeles label Not Not Fun with a split 7″—part of the Bored Fortress series—shared with Night People founders Wet Hair. The following year Not Not Fun issued the dub-centric full-length 936, which earned enthusiastic notices and broadened their audience. That momentum prompted a deal with Domino’s subsidiary Weird World, which put out a deluxe reissue of 936 in November 2011. Two separate remix EPs followed: 936 Remixes on Weird World, featuring contributions from dub pioneer Adrian Sherwood and cloud-rap duo Main Attrakionz, and the more dance-oriented 936 Remixed on Not Not Fun’s house sublabel 100% Silk.
During 2012 Peaking Lights delivered their third album, Lucifer, a more studio-polished effort that broadened their sonic palette and incorporated vocal contributions from their infant son Mikko. Lucifer in Dub and the house-focused Lucifer Re-Lit appeared soon after. Mexican Summer, which handled the American release of Lucifer, also put out the limited non-album 7″ “More High” in 2013. The duo launched their own Two Flowers label and repressed 936 on vinyl. Shifting from Weird World to the main Domino roster, they issued the cleanly recorded, rhythm-driven Cosmic Logic in 2014. Over the ensuing years they remained active as remixers, working with Sinkane, the Charlatans UK, Roedelius, and Korallreven. A disco-inflected single, “Conga Blue,” surfaced on Two Flowers in 2016; it shared a 12″ with “Little Flower,” featuring actress Chloë Sevigny, the next year. Neither track appeared on the double album The Fifth State of Consciousness, released on Two Flowers in June 2017.
In 2018 Peaking Lights issued Sea of Sand, among their most house-oriented recordings, via the Amsterdam dance label Dekmantel. They teamed with dub originator Lee “Scratch” Perry and producer Ivan Lee for the EP Life of the Plants, which Stones Throw released in 2019. Now based in Amsterdam, the duo unveiled their sixth full-length, E S C A P E, on Dekmantel in 2020.
Albums
E S C A P E
2020
Sea of Sand
2018
The Fifth State of Consciousness
2017
Little Flower
2017
936
2013
Lucifer in Dub
2012
Lucifer
2012
Singles
