The Dø

A duo from France and Finland that stakes claim to any sounds it finds appealing, the Dø—pronounced “doh,” after the opening solfege note—consists of multi-instrumentalist Dan Levy and vocalist Olivia Merilahti. The two first encountered each other while scoring the 2005 French film Empire of the Wolves and soon afterward launched their own project, taking the initial letters of their first names to form the Dø. Later that same year they issued their debut release, a three-song EP containing “The Bridge Is Broken,” a piece originally written for the contemporary ballet Scène d’Amour. While readying the Dø’s first album, Levy and Merilahti maintained outside scoring work for cinema—including the award-winning The Passenger—as well as for dance, theater, and poetry productions. Momentum built quickly at home in France once several tracks appeared on their MySpace page in 2007, prompting a run of sold-out Paris concerts. One of those tracks, “On My Shoulders,” became the band’s inaugural single and the earliest public glimpse of the forthcoming album. In 2008 the full-length A Mouthful climbed to number one on the French charts, making the Dø the first act to reach that position while performing exclusively in English. After the record reached the remaining European markets and Australia, Levy and Merilahti spent the balance of 2008 and 2009 on tour. Their first North American dates took place in September 2009, yet A Mouthful did not appear in the United States until Six Degrees released it in April 2010. The Dust It Off EP surfaced late that year, foreshadowing the brighter, more assured tone of Both Ways Open Jaws, which arrived across Europe in March 2011 and in the U.S. that November. Following the completion of touring for that album, Merilahti and Levy elected to change course. Inspired by the abrasive electronics of Fuck Buttons, Death Grips, and Kanye West’s productions, they delivered the taut yet aggressive Shake Shook Shaken in 2014.