Lee_Dwayne + Musician in Darlington, EN

ABOUT

I started my music journey listening to OMDs 1988 'Best Of' album in my dads car on cassette. He is a big fan, and it wasn't long before the influence rubbed off on to me. I grew my interest in electronic music, and grew my own personal interests with rock from my era. I wrote my first song in 2010, using an 8track and a basic Bontempi kids keyboard. I enjoyed the difficult experimental side of things. Felt more real. It wasn't long before I started attending various gigs, from local events, to mainstream acts. I was fortunate to see Linkin Park, and over joyed to say I have seen Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Depeche Mode, and Editors, as these are my biggest interest in music to date. After a break in 2015, I pulled out my old kits, and started again. Here I am, and one day, I may end up supporting one of my influences! You never know.

My first official release is a Demo collaboration of 9 songs, in chronological order of creation to display how I have changed and progressed throughout my ideas and experience. It's not often you hear music created from before the artists first great song, which people often deem as their "first". It also features a couple of recent projects where I have had the pleasure of working with Lady Nightmare, and MARQ Electronica. 'No No No' and 'Our Song' are personal favourites, with heavy 80s vibes clearly expressing my influences.

I later released 2 singles in 2024. 'Trying to Catch Your Eye', and 'Slow Down'. Both of which are available digitally, and also physically on CD in my local HMV in Darlington. Due to a stock issue, which involved HMV losing my stock, I had only 6 'Trying to Catch Your Eye' CDs delivered. 'Slow Down' however was fully stocked. There is a bonus track on Trying to Catch Your Eye (HMV CD Version), which is a remix I made for a band from Liverpool called MiG 15. MiG 15s bassist, James McCluskey, is the son of OMDs frontman Andy McCluskey, whom ironically, I sampled for the 'Trying to Catch Your Eye' single. It was only fitting to have them feature together.

On 25th September 2024, 'Slow Down' was reviewed in Narc Magazine. This was my first ever review, and a happy result. My favourite line describing the track as "... psychedelic ear candy."
Only a week later, I released 'Red Morning Sun', a Charity CD featuring 2 tracks, 'Red Morning Sun', and 'Too Many Times'. All income raised from the purchase of the physical CDs have gone to Alzheimer's Society Charity. 'Red Morning Sun' is a great example of my expression as a Multi-Genre artist. The idea for the song started in 2015, in a YMCA hostel room, in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, where I was a resident at the time. I was involved with a, lets say adventurous crowd, of very nice people, and still keep in touch with a few today. I experimented with a couple of new things to me, consumables, and the after effects of one of these, led to the creation of this song. I'm not into any of 'that' now, however if I hadn't been back then, 'Red Morning Sun' may never have existed. After a particular consumption, I felt after a couple of hours, that nothing was happening, so I went to bed. I promptly woke up, opened my desk draw, ped off a bit of toilet tissue, and wrote onto it, "I walk down this road alone, to find a little piece of my mind". I put it down, picked up my guitar, and played that little tune you hear behind the vocal. Put the guitar down, crawled back into bed, and off to sleep again. That was that. All happened in less than a minute. I remembered that little tune for 9 years, before deciding to do something with it, upgrading myself from toilet tissue, to a magnificent Tascam Model 12.

Delving into the tech Side of things, im very file dependent. I love files, but I also love misplacing them and losing them. Lots of ideas and creations have come and gone through genius and clumsiness. When I started this whole, "I want to start making music" thing, I purchased my first real piece of kit, a Roland Boss BR600. I would connect a Casio Midi Keyboard (the kind with all them jolly demo jingles like 'When the Saints Go Marching In, and Silent Night), and just record direct into the BR600. This was also how I laid out my drums, and basslines. It was an out of time mess! Made some, let's say interesting pieces. My first "song", was called 'Secret', which featured a friend who identified as Colie-Jay on the track. Fair to say, despite the huge lack of professionalism and quality, a few people actually liked it, and so did I for a while. Then came along 'I'm On It', and this was my first well-liked song. I even got through a competition with the track, however I was booted on the next stage due to lack of sales for any tickets to my next audition. Of course, it's always money isn't it.
I was introduced by a friend, some software by Propellerhead, called Reason. And this changed everything. I remade some earlier material that I recorded live through the BR600, and it gave it all new life. Could I rap? No, but it's how I started my interest in creation. I felt, with not being a great singer, that it was an easy option, but at the same time, I just knew that it wasn't me, and you can hear that evidently through my voice. I moved on from this stage, and started writing songs for me to start singing. Then 'Dreaming' came along, where I mixed programmed drums, with synths, live guitar recordings, and singing vocals. A lot of my very early creations can be found on a CD available online through most digital platforms called 'Lee Dwayne - The Beginning (A Demo Collection)'. This showcases how I started as a musician, up to a point when I changed everything, boosted my knowledge, met great people, and started writing real music! I promoted this occasion with a one-off show at NE Volume in Stockton in November 2023. After upgrading my tech, laptop on this occasion, I lost a lot of creation files, which is an issue for a few songs, but mainly my BR600 would now not connect to new laptop hardware. For this reason, I moved to Tascam, and got their Model 12 machine, and it's great. First song created on this was 'Red Morning Sun'. Still rocking Reason to this day. Not just Reason, but Reason 5. Old right? That's how I like it. Not a fan of change.

Enemies. Nobody wants those.
I have been attending lots of events, involving artists signed to a local record label, called 'Butterfly Effect Records'.
Through a Butterfly Effect festival, hosted by Pealie's Barn, I met a lot more. This is where I met Condrad from 'Last of the Fallen Angels', Psy & Dan from Ceiling Demons (properly, first met briefly at their Snakes & Ladders debut at The Forum in Darlington), and Scruffy Bear. I'd layer go on to meet artist all over through links of others, and developed a circle of great, amazingly talented musicians, that I've developed a relationship with, and I'm very thankful for that.
Enemies. I had a few personal, mental enemies to deal with. So naturally I wrote about them.
Back in the studio (The Sawmill) with Lady Nightmare, we wrote, and produced 'The Enemy'. As I mentioned earlier, I can't rap, very well... but Psy & Dan from Ceiling Demons can. They have a very unique style,and I was captivated by it. I said to myself, "This is who I need".
So I approached, we chatted, and hot to work. I'd visit them in there home town, Richmond. Using my old techniques, including the dodgy old laptop, amd the BR600, we recorded their vocals. Such great guys. Not to mention Psy's vinyl collection. Jealous? Very.

'The Enemy' was the last song I have created using my methods that I adopted over the last decade. All changed with 'Red Morning Sun'.

'The Enemy' also has it's own remake, titled 'TH NMY'. 'TH NMY' is a fully reimagined take on the original, and features and a completely different, contrasted, B-Side.
4 10" vinyl singles were created to celebrate my collaboration with 'Lady Nightmare', and Butterfly Effect's 'Ceiling Demons'. 1 copy of everyone involved. The song got some great attention.

Retirement
Retirement at 33 year old? Nahh. But I have stopped, and cut all ties with music. Mid 2024 was an awful time, where my partner got seriously ill, so I made a point of aiding my focus elsewhere. Nothing was more important than her.

I did however, also mention that I will be completing unfinished projects, and persuing unfinished business. And with that, 'Sic Parvis Magna' arrives.
Latin, Sic Parvis Magna, better translated as greatness from small beginnings, is the title given, to my first, and last, real, proper album. I am very happy with it, and will ensure 'Lee Dwayne' goes out with a bang!

After speaking with Stephen from Butterfly Effect Records, who very generously offered to serve my CD single releases in his bar, we arranged 'Sic Parvis Magna', to be privately performed upstairs at Angels Cut.

Not long before the show at Angels Cut, I finished a song I started in 2015, 'Sweetest Perfection'. This is the last song made for SPM.

Screen name:

Lee_Dwayne

Member since:

Jun 23 2026

Active within 1 week

Level of commitment:

Moderately Committed

Years playing music:

15

Gigs played:

Under 10

Tend to practice:

1 time per week

Available to gig:

1 night a week

Most available:

Nights

Influences

OMD, Depeche Mode, Editors, Hurts, Linkin Park

Instrument experience:

Vocalist:

Moderate

Keyboard:

Moderate

Electronic Music:

Moderate

Acoustic Guitar:

Intermediate

Bass Guitar:

Intermediate

Background Singer:

Intermediate

EQUIPMENT

Guitar, Bass, Vocals, Keyboard (Midi)

MUSIC