ARCH DE TRIOMPHE

Part of Crosstown Rebels' current domination of the underground dance market (an agency he’s signed with, by the way), Tone Of Arc’s live bass-slapping, microphone-heavy, rock n’ roll-like performances result in a very unique and refreshing twist on modern-day deep house and disco.

“Damian Lazarus scouted me,” explains the San Fransisco-based Derrick Boyd when we catch up to find out more. “He got hold of my album (‘Corpus Animus’, released on Auralism Records) when I was Dead Seal. He had me come down to LA and play a live set in front of him and all of his friends.”  
There, he also hooked up with No.19 honcho and one half of Art Department, Johnny White. That was just over two years ago, and after a breakout performance at 2012’s BPM in Mexico, Boyd has had a “life-changing” year, playing hotspots like Berlin’s famed Panorama Bar and Watergate club. “Being able to play some of the best gigs out there has just been next level,” he says. “It opened up my eyes to what my capabilities are, and we’re not even halfway there yet, with Zoe starting to come with us wherever we go.”

Zoe is Zoe Presnick, Derrick’s girlfriend and vocal partner, who tours as part of Tone Of Arc when she can. Eventually, Derrick wants a full band backing him, a sound he says would be a blend of techno and tech house with a dash of MGMT and !!!. He even wants to re-imagine soul classics with an electronic twist. But to Boyd, the way back — using live instrumentation, having an actual band — is actually the way forward.

“If you want to really be recognized as a true musician, then that’s the direction you want to take,” Boyd argues. “It’s been all about this one person up there, giving them all the limelight, but now it has come around where you have more group-oriented acts like Pillow Talk. There’s a lot more dynamics.”

Next, Tone Of Arc has a 13-track album coming out which Boyd describes as, “songs you wouldn’t play in the middle of your set. Real songs with bridges. Very lyrical.” 
It sounds par for the course from the man whose moniker means ‘the sound of the laws of creation’. Create on.