Philadelphia, PA – Critically-acclaimed singer/songwriter Matt Duke will have his song “Spilt Milk”, from his sophomore album, Kingdom Underground (Rykodisc/MAD Dragon Records), featured on Lifetime’s award-winning series “Army Wives’” this Sunday August 17th at 10:00PM/EST. Kingdom Underground is set to be released in late September 2008.
Kingdom Underground is an impressive collection of ten pop songs that exude a playful quality while the youthful songwriter tackles serious issues. While the subject matter on some of these songs carries a lot of weight, Kingdom Underground is an undeniable pop record by a young (he’s 23), self-taught, modern day troubadour from South Jersey who has successfully mixed his philosophical observations and experiences with his intuitive pop/folk sensibilities. Duke, an avid reader and what some may call an old-soul, crafted an album that touches upon themes of spiritual unrest (“The Father, the Son, and the Harlot’s Ghost”, “A Happy Hooligan”), addiction (“I’ve Got Atrophy on the Brain”), and failed relationships (“Walk It Off”). Other tracks like “Rabbit”, recently featured on PerezHIlton.com, and “Opossum” showcase Duke’s amazing songwriting ability, as he uses animal imagery to address his own fears.
Each song brings its own unique sound that keeps the listener tuned in. Duke comments, “I think the vibe on the song ‘Sex and Reruns’ really sums up the experience of making this record as a whole for me. It was the last song I wrote on the record and as deep as I got into some of those heavier ideas, I couldn’t help but throw a wrench in the spokes by giving each song some sort of giddy musical twist.”
These twists are evident not only in the song writing, but in the production as well. The album was produced by Marshall Altman (Matt Nathanson, Kate Voegele, Marc Broussard) and recorded at Altman’s Galt Line Studios in Los Angeles.
In 2006 Duke released his debut album Winter Child on Drexel University’s student-run record label MAD Dragon Records. The album received warm support from XPN Radio with Duke performing frequently at World Café Live and at several XPN sponsored events throughout the area. Duke was brought to the attention of Rykodisc through an growing relationship between Drexel University and Ryko Distribution, which distributes MAD Dragon Records. Under a new agreement made between Ryko and Drexel University, Rykodisc now has an exclusive, first-look opportunity to sign artists from the MAD Dragon roster. Matt Duke marks the first signing under this agreement.
In the interests of developing and promoting new talent, Rykodisc has launched a new initiative called Ryko Greenhouse. Matt Duke is the first artist to participate in this program. Ryko Greenhouse gives music fans a sneak preview of our up-and-coming releases by offering two songs available for purchase at iTunes and other digital music providers at a specially reduced price. Two of Matt Duke’s songs, “Rabbit” and “30 Some Days” are available for digital purchase now.
Visit Matt’s official website and MySpace page for additional information, tour dates, videos and special messages from Matt at www.mattdukemusic.com or www.myspace.com/mattduke. Please let me know if you’d like a copy for review.
Media Contacts:
Dana Gaiser, The Lippin Group, 212.986.7080 / dana@lippingroup.com
Sage Robinson, The Lippin Group, 212.986.7080 / sage@lippingroup.com
