Goodbye Dom, hello Kiss 1O8. The Massachusetts dude who set the world on fire a few years ago with the indie hit “Living In America” is ready for another close-up, but it looks like some changes have been made to his overall game. Speaking to Exclaim! in an interview that ran today, Dom (the dude) says he’s given his band a rest, changed his working name to Kiss 1O8 — a tribute to the Boston radio station Kiss 108 FM — and has a new electronic music record on the way, titled HYPERFANTASY XL LP. It’s got a listening party and everything set for October 29 at Le Poisson Rogue in New York. It’s released two days later on Halloween, according to the newly-minted Kiss 1O8 Facebook page.
Oh boy!
In the Exclaim! interview, the Brooklyn resident says:
“[I’m] takin’ a break from Dom for now,” he says. “Dom was a lot of fun for a while. [It] was my first ‘band,’ and it took me all over the world on a wild adventure. Unfortunately, music labels and industry people really fucked up my good time. Once it stopped being fun, I decided it would be unfair to me and the people who enjoy my music to try to force something that I wasn’t feeling. So I banked all the Dom tracks and started making electronic music again.”
He also gets into how HYPERFANTASY XL LP is a departure from his previous work, and details since record label troubles and financial stuff. But what we’re most interested in is the name change. Copy editors, please note that looks like an “O” in the name, not a “0”. He goes on:
“I chose the name Kiss 1O8 after Kiss 108 FM, a pop radio station I used to listen to as a kid. That and 108 is a sacred number in some cultures, as it represents one, nothing and everything. When I hear ‘Stargate,’ I don’t immediately think of the ’90s sci-fi soap, I think of two bald men from Norway. To be honest, I don’t really care what Ryan Seacrest or anybody else thinks about it.”
Earlier this year, Dom — we mean Kiss 1O8 — released a new track called “H O T . L I M I T,” and you can get re-acquainted with that below.
Your move, Kiss 108.
Ahhhh, the good ol’ days…