 From within the comfortable confines of his recording studio, the exiled Englishman in Paris Duncan Roberts re-emerged in 2003 with the release of his first solo project, the five-song EP1, titled in hommage to his favourite studio toy. The press and radio reaction was so enthusiastic that work began immediately on a follow-up CD. Being an accomplished musician on a multitude of instruments, Roberts began the recording on his own but he soon felt the need to collaborate with other musicians.
The recording was completed with his new bandmates, and Wrapped Up in a Five Pound Note was released in 2004. Dictafone’s music on the debut CD was compared to XTC, Crowded House, and the Divine Comedy. During the busy period when Dictafone was promoting the recording with many energetic live shows, Roberts was busy composing new songs. This often occurred during his sleep, being inspired in his dreams by the likes of no less than Paul McCartney, Neil Hannon, and Ray Davies. He would often wake up at 3am to write down sounds, words, and images from his dreams, before quietly floating back upstream.
Equipped with a large collection of new songs, Dictafone began recording their second CD in mid-2005, this time with much more participation from the entire band throughout the project. Wanting to continually expand musical experimentation in the studio, Dictafone added many elaborate string and orchestral arrangements which were recorded in Sheffield in the north of England. Ambitious and multi-coloured, The Chocolate King was released in France in November 2006.
For music and more information:
http://www.spozzle.com/dictafone.htm
http://www.myspace.com/dictafone
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