The Notepads - A jazzy/pop acoustic duo with a hint of Electro

Rob ‘Dogger’ Smith the London-based Mancunion delivering liquid drum & bass steeped in soul. 

Smith sat in front of a drum kit before he could walk and played in bands throughout his teens

His musical landscape has been shaped by where he grew up. Manchester’s foreboding skies and frequent rain clouds mean, like so many Mancunian musicians that have come before him, he connects to music with a melancholy undertone, that’s provocative and emotional

Dogger got into DJing, and later producing, on discovering and falling in love with jungle, tracks of influence collide, specifically in drum & bass legends Calibre and the late, great, Marcus Intalex. Beyond these Smith’s influences span David Lynch, Joy Division and Björk, as well as Alix Perez, whose label has now released his music with collaborative partner Mindstate —2019’s Broken Home EP with a second, The Time Is Yours, due imminently. 


The pair like their music stripped back, allowing space for the vocal line to shine, and nowhere does this ring truer than on the title track of Broken Home. Across the four tracks, singer-songwriter Liam Bailey (Bailey laid down the vocal on Chase & Status’ 2011 classic ‘Blind Faith’), brings warmth and soul to Dogger & Mindstate’s crisp and atmospheric production — with watery pads and bright chord progressions, it’s liquid at its most emotive, and its most meditative. 

2019 was a promising year for Dogger & Mindstate, not only for their production debut as a duo, but also for a handful of career-defining shows. Sardinia festival SUNANDBASS was a highlight, where Dogger was invited to play on a lineup curated by Calibre, and the duo played the Space Cadet pool party hosted by DRS

There’s no doubt that 2020 would have been an exciting one for Dogger. That is before, of course, a pandemic brought the world grinding to a halt. But smith used the time to focus on production, both with Mindstate and on their respective solo projects, the fruits of which will come out via Dogger’s new imprint, Precinct. Besides working together, they’re also working with MC DRS, and Manchester-based vocalist [ K S R ].

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