Dom Dolla is enjoying a meteoric rise in the electronic music scene, cementing his status as one of Australia’s most successful exports in the genre. The ARIA Award winner and current Rolling Stone AU/NZ cover star has been smashing through career milestones at a dizzying pace.
The Melbourne-raised producer, whose real name is Dominic Matheson, has assembled an impressive list of achievements in recent months. His sold-out performances at New York’s Madison Square Garden earlier this year marked just the beginning of his global domination, with residencies in the electronic music meccas of Ibiza and Las Vegas following shortly afterwards.
Despite his international success, however, the Australian electronic artist remains candid about navigating the persistent challenge of Tall Poppy Syndrome in his home country. “It’s still there,” Dolla admitted in his Rolling Stone AU/NZ cover story. “You have to act and behave and communicate with a certain level of humility.”
Interestingly, Dolla revealed that this distinctly Australian trait has become one of his selling points abroad. “Funnily enough, that’s the thing that Americans say to me is their favourite thing about Australian artists – the humility and the kindness and open-mindedness that they approach you with,” he said.
Dolla, who spent his early years in the Philippines and Darwin before settling in Melbourne, attributes the global success of Australian electronic artists to their unwavering dedication, saying that every Australian artist who has reached their lofty target “is committed,”
“RÜFÜS DU SOL is so committed. (FISHER) is so committed,” he told Rolling Stone AU/NZ.
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He also offers insight into why Australian dance music producers have gained such international prominence: “Australia being at the forefront of dance music and dance culture, globally, I think is a reflection of how small our population is. Because we have such a small population, from a taste perspective, trends move really, really fast. So, a lot of Aussie dance music producers and songwriters have their finger on the pulse.”
The statistics speak volumes about Dolla’s impact – over 1 billion streams, a Grammy Award nomination, and three ARIA Awards. His collaborative roster includes industry heavyweights like Nelly Furtado and Pete Tong, both of whom spoke to Rolling Stone AU/NZ about their experiences working with the Australian DJ and producer.
