Disco Montego
Encyclopedia
Disco Montego are an Australian R&B and dance music
performance, song writing and production duo. The Dowlut brothers Dennis and Darren, formed Kaylan in Melbourne in 1995. They released an R&B album No Commandments in 2000, which reached No. 23 in Australia and spawned three Top 50 singles. In May 2001, they became the studio based group, Disco Montego, and released further singles followed by Disco Montego in September 2002. Their production work included remixing Mariah Carey
's "Boy (I Need You)
" in 2004. The duo's music career was cut short when Darren died of cancer on 5 August 2005, six weeks after being diagnosed with a chest tumour. In 2010, Dennis revived the Disco Montego name with Michael Abdul and released "Hearts on Fire" to celebrate the FIFA World Cup
.
1974 in United Kingdom, his younger brother, Darren, was born in ca 1978 in Mauritius
. The Dowlut family relocated to Melbourne, Australia. By 1995, Dennis and Darren formed Kaylan as a R&B performance group, it was named for a nephew. Their parents returned to Mauritius. In 1996 the band signed with Warner Records
.
From 1998, Kaylan started recording tracks with Rockmelons
' Ray Medhurst, Bryon Jones and Jon Jones producing. Their first release was "Rock Me All Night" in March 2000, which peaked at No. 14 on the Australian Recording Industry Association
(ARIA) Singles Chart
. "Shake It" followed in August (No. 15) with the album, No Commandments (No. 23 on the ARIA Albums Chart), appearing in September. A third single, "Because of You" was released in March 2001 (No. 50). While working on No Commandments, the Dowlut brothers also wrote two tracks for Bardot
(2000) the debut album by winner of reality TV contest Popstars
, the pop group Bardot. They performed a dance role for Baz Luhrmann
's film Moulin Rouge!
(2001). Kaylan toured nationally in support of Vengaboys
, then Destiny's Child
and followed with a tour supporting Bardot. A bonus disc of five tracks remixed by Studio 347 (Darren Dowlut, Dennis Dowlut and Tony Vass) was released with No Commandments in Australia. Studio 347 remixed tracks, "These Days
" and "ASAP
" for Bardot and "When We Were Young
" for pop vocal group Human Nature
.
By May 2001 Kaylan was renamed as Disco Montego, a dance music
group, and released "We Got Love" in mid-year, well ahead of their album Disco Montego which appeared on WEA in September 2002. Kaylan's song "Because of You" was re-recorded and remixed by Disco Montego, Studio 347 programmed and remixed tracks. Two songs feature Katie Underwood
(ex-Bardot) on vocals, including the single "Beautiful" released in May. It reached No. 9 and was certified as gold by ARIA. The track reached No. 10 on the ARIA Dance Singles Chart for 2002. The duo joined with Underwood to perform on the Rumba festival which toured Australia and New Zealand in September, headlined by Bon Jovi
.
"Magic", the next single, also featured Underwood, reached No. 22. The final single "U Talkin' to Me" peaked at No. 17. "Beautiful" was nominated as 'Best Pop Release' and 'Best Video' at the 2002
ARIA Awards. "U Talkin' to Me" won an Australasian Performing Right Association
(APRA) Award for 'Most Performed Dance Work' during 2003 at APRA Awards of 2004
. The track "Autumn Breeze", written by the Dowluts, was recorded by German pop group No Angels
for their second album Now ... Us!
(2002), which achieved popularity in Europe.
The Dowlut brothers ran Bomb Music with partner George Said and were developing the career of Jeremy Gregory (ex-Rockmelons) who signed to Warner Music in the US. The group remixed a Mariah Carey
track "Boy (I Need You)
" from her 2002 album Charmbracelet
after Carey was aware of their Australian success. They performed a remix of "Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word" by Elton John
and Blue
in 2003. They wrote "What Will They Say" for Jimmy Barnes
' album Double Happiness
(2005) – a duet with his brother John Swan
– they also produced the track.
Disco Montego were planning to relocate in 2005 to Los Angeles to take advantage of their higher profile. However, Darren Dowlut was diagnosed with a chest tumour and died six weeks later on 5 August of the cancer, aged 27. Carey was among performers who sent condolences.
In 2009, Dennis Dowlut, Jason Heerah and Aaron Mendoza created a funk, R&B and jazz fusion band, Electric Empire, which released their debut album, Electric Empire in September 2010. In June, Dowlut revived the Disco Montego name with the help of friend and fellow music producer Michael Abdul. They released "Hearts on Fire", a celebration of the 2010 FIFA World Cup
in association with Nando's
to raise awareness for the 'United Against Malaria' campaign, which was distributed through Varrasso PR.
are presented annually from 1982 by the Australasian Performing Right Association
(APRA).
|-
| 2003
|| "Beautiful" – Disco Montego featuring Katie Underwood
– Katie Underwood, Darren Dowlut, Dennis Dowlut || Most Performed Dance Work ||
|-
| 2004
|| "U Talkin' to Me" – Disco Montego – Darren Dowlut, Dennis Dowlut, Robert Woolf || Most Performed Dance Work ||
are presented by the Australian Recording Industry Association
since 1987. Disco Montego has received three nominations.
|-
|rowspan="2"| 2002
||rowspan="2"| "Beautiful" ||Best Pop Release ||
|-
| Best Video ||
|-
| 2003
|| Disco Montego || Best Dance Release ||
Disco Montego
Disco Montego
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
performance, song writing and production duo. The Dowlut brothers Dennis and Darren, formed Kaylan in Melbourne in 1995. They released an R&B album No Commandments in 2000, which reached No. 23 in Australia and spawned three Top 50 singles. In May 2001, they became the studio based group, Disco Montego, and released further singles followed by Disco Montego in September 2002. Their production work included remixing Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
's "Boy (I Need You)
Boy (I Need You)
"Boy " is a song co-written and co-produced by Mariah Carey and Just Blaze for Carey's twelfth album Charmbracelet . It features a sample of the Rose Royce song "I'm Going Down", which is also sampled in the same fashion in rapper Cam'ron's 2002 single "Oh Boy". Cam'ron himself provides verses for...
" in 2004. The duo's music career was cut short when Darren died of cancer on 5 August 2005, six weeks after being diagnosed with a chest tumour. In 2010, Dennis revived the Disco Montego name with Michael Abdul and released "Hearts on Fire" to celebrate the FIFA World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
.
History
Dennis Dowlut was born in caCirca
Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
1974 in United Kingdom, his younger brother, Darren, was born in ca 1978 in Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
. The Dowlut family relocated to Melbourne, Australia. By 1995, Dennis and Darren formed Kaylan as a R&B performance group, it was named for a nephew. Their parents returned to Mauritius. In 1996 the band signed with Warner Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
.
From 1998, Kaylan started recording tracks with Rockmelons
Rockmelons
Rockmelons, often referred to as the Rockies, are an Australian Pop/Dance/R&B group formed in 1983 in Sydney. They are based around Bryon Jones, his brother Jonathon Jones and Raymond Medhurst. They had two Top Five hit singles in the early 1990s with "Ain't No Sunshine" and "That Word ", both sung...
' Ray Medhurst, Bryon Jones and Jon Jones producing. Their first release was "Rock Me All Night" in March 2000, which peaked at No. 14 on the Australian Recording Industry Association
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
(ARIA) Singles Chart
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
. "Shake It" followed in August (No. 15) with the album, No Commandments (No. 23 on the ARIA Albums Chart), appearing in September. A third single, "Because of You" was released in March 2001 (No. 50). While working on No Commandments, the Dowlut brothers also wrote two tracks for Bardot
Bardot (album)
Bardot is the debut album by Australian female pop group Bardot, released in May 2000 .The album went to number one in Australia and New Zealand and spawned the singles "Poison", I Should've Never Let You Go" and "These Days" ....
(2000) the debut album by winner of reality TV contest Popstars
Popstars
Popstars is an international reality television franchise and a precursor to the Idol series. The series first began in New Zealand in 1999 when producer Jonathan Dowling formed the five member all-girl group TrueBliss...
, the pop group Bardot. They performed a dance role for Baz Luhrmann
Baz Luhrmann
Mark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann is an Australian film director, screenwriter, and producer best known for The Red Curtain Trilogy, which includes his films Strictly Ballroom, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge!...
's film Moulin Rouge!
Moulin Rouge!
Moulin Rouge! is a 2001 romantic jukebox musical film directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. Following the Red Curtain Cinema principles, the film is based on the Orphean myth, La Traviata, and La Bohème...
(2001). Kaylan toured nationally in support of Vengaboys
Vengaboys
Vengaboys are a Eurodance pop group based in Amsterdam. The brainchild of two Dutch producers Wessel van Diepen and Dennis van den Driesschen , they enjoyed commercial success in the late 1990s. They are best known for their two UK number one singles, "Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!!" and "We're Going...
, then Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child was an American R&B girl group whose final line-up comprised lead singer Beyoncé Knowles alongside Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Formed in 1997 in Houston, Texas, Destiny's Child members began their musical endeavors in their pre-teens under the name Girl's Tyme...
and followed with a tour supporting Bardot. A bonus disc of five tracks remixed by Studio 347 (Darren Dowlut, Dennis Dowlut and Tony Vass) was released with No Commandments in Australia. Studio 347 remixed tracks, "These Days
These Days (Bardot song)
"These Days" is the third single by Australian pop group Bardot, released in August 2000 on the back of their first national tour. It debuted and peaked at No.19 on the ARIA Singles chart and was certified gold. The single was available in two unique formats...
" and "ASAP
ASAP (Bardot song)
"ASAP" is a pop / R&B song performed by former Australian pop group Bardot, and was the first single from their second album Play It Like That .-History:The fast tempo R&B track is about a partner's interfering mother...
" for Bardot and "When We Were Young
When We Were Young (Human Nature song)
"When We Were Young" is a song by Australian pop band Human Nature, released as the second single from their third album Human Nature in 2001.- Europe Single :# When We Were Young 3:28# When We Were Young 3:38...
" for pop vocal group Human Nature
Human Nature (band)
Human Nature are an Australian pop vocal group. The group was originally formed as a doo-wop band in 1989 while the current members were at school together in Sydney. So far, the band has had 17 Top 40 hits and five Top 10 hits in Australia since 1996 when their first album Telling Everybody was...
.
By May 2001 Kaylan was renamed as Disco Montego, a dance music
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
group, and released "We Got Love" in mid-year, well ahead of their album Disco Montego which appeared on WEA in September 2002. Kaylan's song "Because of You" was re-recorded and remixed by Disco Montego, Studio 347 programmed and remixed tracks. Two songs feature Katie Underwood
Katie Underwood
Not to be confused with Carrie Underwood.Katie Underwood is an Australian singer-songwriter, best known for being a member of Bardot, winners of the first Australian series of Popstars in 2000....
(ex-Bardot) on vocals, including the single "Beautiful" released in May. It reached No. 9 and was certified as gold by ARIA. The track reached No. 10 on the ARIA Dance Singles Chart for 2002. The duo joined with Underwood to perform on the Rumba festival which toured Australia and New Zealand in September, headlined by Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
.
"Magic", the next single, also featured Underwood, reached No. 22. The final single "U Talkin' to Me" peaked at No. 17. "Beautiful" was nominated as 'Best Pop Release' and 'Best Video' at the 2002
ARIA Music Awards of 2002
The 16th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards were held on 15 October 2002 at the Sydney SuperDome.-ARIA Awards:...
ARIA Awards. "U Talkin' to Me" won an Australasian Performing Right Association
Australasian Performing Right Association
The Australasian Performing Right Association is a copyright collective representing New Zealand and Australian composers, lyricists and music publishers. The association's head offices located in Sydney Australia, and it has branch offices in Auckland, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth...
(APRA) Award for 'Most Performed Dance Work' during 2003 at APRA Awards of 2004
APRA Awards of 2004
The Australasian Performing Right Association Awards of 2004 are a series of awards which include the APRA Music Awards, Classical Music Awards, and Screen Music Awards. The APRA Music Awards ceremony occurred on 24 May at Melbourne's Regent Theatre, they were presented by APRA and the...
. The track "Autumn Breeze", written by the Dowluts, was recorded by German pop group No Angels
No Angels
The No Angels are an all-female pop trio from Germany, consisting of band members Lucy Diakovska, Sandy Mölling, and Jessica Wahls. Critically acclaimed, the band has won dozen of awards and prizes since their establishment in the early 2000s, including three ECHOs, a World Music Awards, a NRJ...
for their second album Now ... Us!
Now ... Us!
Now ... Us! is the second studio album by German pop group No Angels, released by Polydor subsidiary Cheyenne Records on June 24, 2002 in German speaking Europe...
(2002), which achieved popularity in Europe.
The Dowlut brothers ran Bomb Music with partner George Said and were developing the career of Jeremy Gregory (ex-Rockmelons) who signed to Warner Music in the US. The group remixed a Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
track "Boy (I Need You)
Boy (I Need You)
"Boy " is a song co-written and co-produced by Mariah Carey and Just Blaze for Carey's twelfth album Charmbracelet . It features a sample of the Rose Royce song "I'm Going Down", which is also sampled in the same fashion in rapper Cam'ron's 2002 single "Oh Boy". Cam'ron himself provides verses for...
" from her 2002 album Charmbracelet
Charmbracelet
Charmbracelet is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, released on December 3, 2002 through Island Records and MonarC Entertainment. The album was her first release since facing a breakdown following the release of her film Glitter and its accompanying...
after Carey was aware of their Australian success. They performed a remix of "Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word" by Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
and Blue
Blue (boy band)
Blue are an English pop vocal group, whose members are Simon Webbe, Lee Ryan, Duncan James and Antony Costa. Blue originally formed in 2001 before splitting in 2005. In 2009, it was confirmed that the band would reform. In April 2009, the group reunited and a Best of Blue Tour was announced...
in 2003. They wrote "What Will They Say" for Jimmy Barnes
Jimmy Barnes
James Dixon Swan , better known as Jimmy Barnes, is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer-songwriter. His father Jim Swan was a prizefighter and his older brother John Swan is also a rock singer. It was actually John who had encouraged and taught Jim how to sing as he wasn't really interested at...
' album Double Happiness
Double Happiness (album)
Double Happiness is an album by Australian singer Jimmy Barnes. It was released on 18 July 2005 on CD and vinyl. The album contains duets Barnes performed with various solo artists and bands.-Track listing :...
(2005) – a duet with his brother John Swan
Swanee (singer)
John Swan, better known as Swanee, is a Australian rock singer. He was born John Archibold Dixon Swan in Glasgow, Scotland in 1952. He is the older brother of rock singer Jimmy Barnes and the uncle of singer and stage performer David Campbell. He emigrated to Australia with his family in 1961...
– they also produced the track.
Disco Montego were planning to relocate in 2005 to Los Angeles to take advantage of their higher profile. However, Darren Dowlut was diagnosed with a chest tumour and died six weeks later on 5 August of the cancer, aged 27. Carey was among performers who sent condolences.
In 2009, Dennis Dowlut, Jason Heerah and Aaron Mendoza created a funk, R&B and jazz fusion band, Electric Empire, which released their debut album, Electric Empire in September 2010. In June, Dowlut revived the Disco Montego name with the help of friend and fellow music producer Michael Abdul. They released "Hearts on Fire", a celebration of the 2010 FIFA World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
in association with Nando's
Nando's
Nando's is a casual dining restaurant group originating from South Africa with a Portuguese/Mozambican theme. Founded in 1987, Nando's operates in thirty countries on five continents....
to raise awareness for the 'United Against Malaria' campaign, which was distributed through Varrasso PR.
APRA Awards
The APRA AwardsAPRA Awards
The APRA Music Awards are several award ceremonies run in Australia and New Zealand by Australasian Performing Right Association to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually....
are presented annually from 1982 by the Australasian Performing Right Association
Australasian Performing Right Association
The Australasian Performing Right Association is a copyright collective representing New Zealand and Australian composers, lyricists and music publishers. The association's head offices located in Sydney Australia, and it has branch offices in Auckland, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth...
(APRA).
|-
| 2003
APRA Awards of 2003
The Australasian Performing Right Association Awards of 2003 are a series of awards which include the APRA Music Awards, Classical Music Awards, and Screen Music Awards. The APRA Music Awards were presented by APRA and the Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society...
|| "Beautiful" – Disco Montego featuring Katie Underwood
Katie Underwood
Not to be confused with Carrie Underwood.Katie Underwood is an Australian singer-songwriter, best known for being a member of Bardot, winners of the first Australian series of Popstars in 2000....
– Katie Underwood, Darren Dowlut, Dennis Dowlut || Most Performed Dance Work ||
|-
| 2004
APRA Awards of 2004
The Australasian Performing Right Association Awards of 2004 are a series of awards which include the APRA Music Awards, Classical Music Awards, and Screen Music Awards. The APRA Music Awards ceremony occurred on 24 May at Melbourne's Regent Theatre, they were presented by APRA and the...
|| "U Talkin' to Me" – Disco Montego – Darren Dowlut, Dennis Dowlut, Robert Woolf || Most Performed Dance Work ||
ARIA Awards
The annual ARIA Music AwardsARIA Music Awards
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Australian Recording Industry Association...
are presented by the Australian Recording Industry Association
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
since 1987. Disco Montego has received three nominations.
|-
|rowspan="2"| 2002
ARIA Music Awards of 2002
The 16th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards were held on 15 October 2002 at the Sydney SuperDome.-ARIA Awards:...
||rowspan="2"| "Beautiful" ||Best Pop Release ||
|-
| Best Video ||
|-
| 2003
ARIA Music Awards of 2003
The 17th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards were held on 21 October 2003 at the Sydney Superdome.-ARIA Awards:*Album of the Year**Powderfinger – Vulture Street...
|| Disco Montego || Best Dance Release ||
Members
Kaylan (–2001), Studio 347 (–2002), Disco Montego (–2005, 2010)- Darren Dowlut – vocals, song writing, programming, mixing, producing, guitar (–2005) (d 5 August 2005)
- Dennis Dowlut – vocals, song writing, programming, mixing, producing (–2005, 2010)
- Tony Vass – re-mixing (–2002) as member of Studio 347
- Michael Abdul – producing(2010) as member of Disco Montego
Albums
Kaylan| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| AUS ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
||
| 2000 | No Commandments
|
23 |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||
Disco Montego
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| AUS ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
||
| 2002 | Disco Montego
|
17 |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||
Singles
KaylanDisco Montego
External links
- [ Kaylan], [ Disco Montego] at Allmusic