Biography
After starting out with a raw blues edge, the Duke Spirit gradually expanded into a broader palette drawing on indie pop, Motown, and shoegaze textures. The group came together when singer and harmonica player Liela Moss encountered guitarist, keyboardist, and singer Luke Ford during their art-school years. While Moss concentrated on photography and Ford on painting, the two abandoned their studies and relocated to London to devote themselves to music. Bassist and percussionist Toby Butler, a friend, soon came aboard, followed by roommate Dan Higgins on guitar; drummer Olly Betts completed the roster.
Their debut 7-inch appeared under the name Solomon, yet the first release credited to the Duke Spirit was the 2003 EP Darling, You're Mean, issued by City Rockers. The same label followed later that year with the well-received Roll, Spirit, Roll EP.
Continued touring and recording were aimed at a fall 2004 album, but City Rockers collapsed early in the year, leaving the band without a label. Loog stepped in, issuing Cuts Across the Land in the U.K. during spring 2005. Startime International handled American distribution, bringing the album to the States in early 2006 and sending the Duke Spirit on tour alongside Ted Leo & the Pharmacists. That same year they issued the limited-edition EP Covered in Love, which contained their interpretations of songs by Jesse Mae Hemphill, Arthur Lee, and Desmond Dekker. A separate collaboration with UNKLE was tracked at producer Chris Goss’s studio in Joshua Tree, California, and surfaced on the 2007 UNKLE album.
Goss was again behind the boards for the band’s second full-length, Neptune, which surfaced in spring 2008. The 2011 release Bruiser took a deliberately heavier direction. Activity ceased in 2012 while Moss and Butler explored electropop under the name Roman Remains and Betts played drums for Furs. When the Duke Spirit reconvened in 2014, they rejoined former Cocteau Twins member and Cuts Across the Land producer Simon Raymonde; with new bassist Rich Fownes now in place, the sessions yielded the more sensual and luminous fourth album Kin in 2016. Momentum continued into the following year with the gentle collection Sky Is Mine.
Their debut 7-inch appeared under the name Solomon, yet the first release credited to the Duke Spirit was the 2003 EP Darling, You're Mean, issued by City Rockers. The same label followed later that year with the well-received Roll, Spirit, Roll EP.
Continued touring and recording were aimed at a fall 2004 album, but City Rockers collapsed early in the year, leaving the band without a label. Loog stepped in, issuing Cuts Across the Land in the U.K. during spring 2005. Startime International handled American distribution, bringing the album to the States in early 2006 and sending the Duke Spirit on tour alongside Ted Leo & the Pharmacists. That same year they issued the limited-edition EP Covered in Love, which contained their interpretations of songs by Jesse Mae Hemphill, Arthur Lee, and Desmond Dekker. A separate collaboration with UNKLE was tracked at producer Chris Goss’s studio in Joshua Tree, California, and surfaced on the 2007 UNKLE album.
Goss was again behind the boards for the band’s second full-length, Neptune, which surfaced in spring 2008. The 2011 release Bruiser took a deliberately heavier direction. Activity ceased in 2012 while Moss and Butler explored electropop under the name Roman Remains and Betts played drums for Furs. When the Duke Spirit reconvened in 2014, they rejoined former Cocteau Twins member and Cuts Across the Land producer Simon Raymonde; with new bassist Rich Fownes now in place, the sessions yielded the more sensual and luminous fourth album Kin in 2016. Momentum continued into the following year with the gentle collection Sky Is Mine.
Albums
Singles
