Grammy Awards: Domi & JD Beck on 'crazy' nomination
- Published
JD Beck and Domi are nominated for two of the prestigious awards
The first thing you should know about Domi & JD Beck is that it's OK to be jealous of them.
Domi is 22. JD's 19. They've performed with artists like Ariana Grande and Snoop Dogg and are signed to Anderson .Paak's label.
Oh, and they're nominated for two Grammy Awards.
JD, a drummer, and keyboardist Domi have been called a "supersonic jazz duo" by the media.
Their music is improvised and features influences from dozens of different artists and genres. It's hard to describe.
But when asked to, in three words, Domi's response is quick.
"It's terrible. It's boring. It sucks," she tells BBC Newsbeat.
Physicist, investigator or musicians?
The second thing you should know about Domi and JD is that you shouldn't take everything they say seriously.
Take their website - it says Domi is a 12-year-old theoretical physicist from France and JD a six-year-old sheep investigator from Texas.
Part of that is true - Domi is French and JD grew up in Dallas.
But the rest?
"Totally fake news," admits JD. "But if we believe it to be true, that's all that matters."
Like their tracks, Domi and JD are definitely playful and unconventional, but what they are serious about is making music.
Both have been playing since they were children, practising for hours and, in Domi's case, studying at Berklee, in Boston, one of the world's top music schools.
They gained reputations as talented performers and eventually ended up performing together in 2018.
Domi & JD's jam sessions were seen by producer Thundercat, who invited them to perform at a festival featuring Ariana Grande.
It's also where they met Anderson .Paak. He liked what he heard.
Since then, they say the three of them have been "inseparable", and Domi and JD were the first act signed to his label.
He's one of the artists to lend his voice to their album Not Tight, which is up for a Grammy.
Anderson .Paak (left) has been a mentor to Domi and JD
As you might have guessed by now, Domi and JD aren't too worried about winning.
"We kind of ignore all awards or things like that," says JD.
"I don't want that to be the reason we're making music or, you know, at least making decisions musically.
"I feel like a lot of music nowadays is competitive in a way that's like, 'How many people can we show this to?' Rather than: 'How many people can we make the best music for?'."
But being nominated for Best New Artist, alongside acts like Måneskin and Wet Leg, does bring competition and comparisons.
It's also got people talking about how JD and Domi are bringing jazz to a more mainstream audience.
"Yeah, it's weird," says JD.
"And I guess if it reaches the masses, that's cool. I'm more worried about making the best possible music."
Domi adds: "If it reaches people, it's really cool. But first, it needs to be what we wanted."
"And it never will be because we're perfectionists, and we hate everything we do," says JD.
More than the awards, it's about the quality of music for the pair
And while they haven't got their sights on a trophy, they do admit that being up for an award is pretty cool.
"It's not every year that you have an instrumental band nominated for Best New Artist," says JD.
"Because, you know, vocal domination."
"I don't care about winning," says Domi, "but just being nominated shows that some people care, so it's cool."
JD says: "If we do win, or if we don't, I think we're just ultimately more confident in the decisions we make.
"And I think that's going to benefit us, musically, at least, because we can really stick to our gut."
Follow Newsbeat on Twitter, external and YouTube, external.
Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.
Related topics
- Published6 February 2023
- Published23 January 2023
- Published19 December 2022
