Doss
Over the past ten years, the mononym "Doss" has come to represent something increasingly rare in the world of dance music: not just a sound, but an ethos, a tension—a collage of disparate moods coalescing around a single idea. From her 2014 self-titled debut to her 2021 EP, 4 New Hit Songs, the cult-favorite producer, vocalist, and DJ has worked with everything from manic drum patterns and vocal contortions to blustery ambient and shoegaze. At once far-reaching and conceptually unified, Doss' artistic practice is best captured by her gnomic slogan: "It's the music." Don't worry too much about trying to box it in.
Raised in Texas and based in New York, Doss first appeared on the taste-making label Acephalé before making her way to LuckyMe. Last year, by way of a wall-shaking single called "Jumpin," she introduced the creative studio Duet. And though Doss has never shared much about her personal life, her design sensibility (marked by digital puppies, bubblegum pink vinyl editions, and nostalgic nods to the early internet) has always been a clear part of who she is. In her visuals, as in her music, Doss evokes the playful maximalism of the early 2000s with equal parts sincerity, humor, and mystery.
An underground fixture, Doss has always had major fans in big-name artists. SOPHIE, in particular, was a frequent collaborator: they toured together in 2018 and teamed up for the legendary unreleased track "New York's Burning Down" and a version of "Whole New World" on the OIL OF EVERY PEARL'S UN-INSIDES NON-STOP REMIX ALBUM. Doss has spent the past few years remixing tracks for artists like Lady Gaga, Caroline Polachek, AG Cook, and Eartheater, as well as putting out her own exclusive DJ mixes via Apple Music, NTS, and Triple J. She's also played shows with Porter Robinson, and toured with Polachek and Yves Tumor in between selling out her own shows in the US and abroad.
Some of the reworked tracks from her live shows eventually grew into their own EP. 4 New Hit Songs *Remixes, released last year, flipped 4 New Hit Songs on its head with a guest spot from Rye Rye and additional production from scene stalwarts Hudson Mohawke and Plush (formerly known as Unicorn Kid). Where the original EP's version of "Puppy" is slick and propulsive, "Puppy–Feel The Beat Mix" adds bite, creating a more diffuse, angular sound. "Strawberry-Singin' Club Mix" takes the opposite tack, dragging Doss' gauzy original out of the clouds and onto the dance floor.
Doss' newest single "Drugs" is another remix of sorts—a stark, thumping take on Uffie's 2018 synth-pop track of the same name. What started out as a purely personal endeavor led to an official mix, with stems courtesy of Uffie herself. The two artists formed a bond in the process: with Uffie's blessing, "Drugs" is finally finding its way into the light.
"When I'm making my own music, it's an extremely personal and interior process," Doss once told Interview. "When I'm DJing, I want it to feel like the opposite of that: to connect with a large audience and lose myself in that moment along with everyone else in that space." In that spirit, she's played everywhere from basement clubs to EDM festivals, MoMA PS1 to the middle of Times Square. And as her star rises, Doss continues to channel the same energy that won her such a devoted fanbase in the first place. The warm feelings she so skillfully evoked on the fan-favorite "Softpretty" back in 2014 still linger in her new material. Nothing's really changed—it's all just come further into focus.
