I Got U
by Duke Dumont (featuring Jax Jones)

Album: Single Release Only (2014)
Charted: 1
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Duke Dumont's follow-up single to his #1 hit, "Need U (100%)" is a summery house tune that samples session singer Kelli-Leigh's version of Whitney Houston's song, "My Love Is Your Love." When DJ Annie Mac premiered the cut on her BBC Radio 1 show, she got so excited that she rewound the tune mid play to play it from the beginning again.
  • The interpolating song also features vocals by up-and-coming London based singer-songwriter Jax Jones.

    Jax Jones was once a member of the band Domino Go, who were briefly signed by Atlantic. However after being dropped, the group disbanded and Jones went back to being a session guitarist. One day, he found himself in the studio with Duke Dumont. Dumont's manager heard he was playing with production on the side, and suggested house music.

    "He gave me a bunch of house compilations and stuff like that, and I just drove my head into it," Jones recalled to Billboard magazine. "The second track I made was the record 'I Got U,' which ended up becoming the Duke Dumont single with me featuring. It changed my life."
  • Duke Dumont told MTV News UK about the inspiration for the tune: "I tend to make summery songs in the winter and winter songs in the summer," he said. "I'm like that typical British person that in the winter that moans that it's too cold and in the summer I moan that it's too hot, so the studio is my escapism."

    He added: "There was no master plan like 'hey I'm a gonna make a summer song and then build a buzz around it in January' - there wasn't much thought process to it!"
  • Dumont explained why he chose to sample Whitney Houston's "My Love Is Your Love." "Personally, I'd say it's one of my favorite Whitney songs, especially the later Whitney period," he said. "It got to a point (during the recording process) where I thought maybe it might be worth bringing a singer in and changing it but I thought you know what, out of respect as (the track) started off working the song around My Love Is Your Love I kept it in."

    He continued: "What's quite nice is Wyclef Jean was one of the writer's of the song and obviously with things like that you need to seek permission to use the vocal and Wyclef is kind of quite tough with his music. He doesn't let people use his music for a lot of things but he was willing for us to use the Whitney recording. That was quite nice getting a little bit of respect from his side. So that was a nice touch to it."
  • On his 25th birthday, Jax Jones, faced with money issues, set out to try something new to get him back into the music industry. He explained in a video uploaded to his Instagram how methodically he assembled a choral loop, interspersed it with impactful chords, and introduced steel drums for an added layer of sophistication.

    Jones needed a vocal, so he added "My Love Is Your Love" because it was in the same key before sending it to Duke Dumont. He really liked it and worked on it, making it a bit more club ready.

    "I didn't know what I was doing, but that kind of became my secret weapon," he concluded. "Because I was a beginner, I didn't know the rules, so I could be as creative as I wanted to be. That's my point, try something new."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Billy Gould of Faith No More

Billy Gould of Faith No MoreSongwriter Interviews

Faith No More's bassist, Billy Gould, chats to us about his two new experimental projects, The Talking Book and House of Hayduk, and also shares some stories from the FNM days.

Narada Michael Walden - "Freeway of Love"

Narada Michael Walden - "Freeway of Love"They're Playing My Song

As a songwriter and producer, Narada had hits with Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Starship. But what song does he feel had the greatest impact on his career?

Pete Anderson

Pete AndersonSongwriter Interviews

Pete produced Dwight Yoakam, Michelle Shocked, Meat Puppets, and a very memorable track for Roy Orbison.

The Police

The PoliceFact or Fiction

Do their first three albums have French titles? Is "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" really meaningless? See if you can tell in this Fact or Fiction.

When Rock Belonged To Michelob

When Rock Belonged To MichelobSong Writing

Michelob commercials generated hits for Eric Clapton, Genesis and Steve Winwood in the '80s, even as some of these rockers were fighting alcoholism.

Edie Brickell

Edie BrickellSongwriter Interviews

Edie Brickell on her collaborations with Paul Simon, Steve Martin and Willie Nelson, and her 2021 album with the New Bohemians.