I’ve lost count of the number of UK bangers that Dom Valentino and his trusty bass Tiffany (named for being “boujee”) have had a hand in. He worked on Greentea Peng’s latest album, Tell Dem It’s Sunny. Dancehall legend Popcaan remixed his and Nia Smith’s “Personal” in 2016. Valentino even produced “Crime Riddim” off Skepta’s Mercury Prize-winning album Konnichiwa while he was still in school. Suffice to say, Dom Valentino is the UK’s secret weapon. 

Valentino’s journey started in Brockley, South London, where the longtime bassist fell into the company of then-rising grime stars Novelist, Deema and Blakie. Looking back on that time, Deema describes Valentino as both a “genius” and a “proper geek”, which makes the prolific producer chuckle when I pass on the message.

“He’s funny for that but, yes, definitely,” Valentino admits. “When we were younger, I was obsessed with equipment. Deema gave me my first music paycheck – absolute legend – after we did Chew Your Food, and I spent it on a Prophet synth. We used that on his next project, Rainbow EP. I’ve put a lot back into equipment, so I think that’s what he means. Fuck it, I’ll own that. Synths captivate me. They’re beautiful.”

But Valentino’s ears aren’t just limited to grime and hip hop. Since that first music check, he’s worked on genres spanning jazz, R&B, indie and more. In 2023, Valentino launched his solo career with a jungle remix of Swedish band Peter Bjorn and John’s 2006 smash hit “Young Folks”.

Today marks the continuation of Valentino’s genre-blurring solo career with the release of new dancefloor-ready single “Magazine”, featuring Celeste, Jeshi, Fredwave and Elijah Waters. On the track, the three rappers go back-to-back over a grooving synthesised bassline and four-on-the-floor bass drums, while Brit Award-winning singer Celeste delivers the hook “I like your magazine, I want to be inside it.” Here at Dazed, we like magazines too.

Below, prolific UK producer Dom Valentino breaks down the stories behind five of his most iconic tracks, from Skepta to Popcaan and beyond. 

SKEPTA, “CRIME RIDDIM”

Dom Valentino: This one is mental because it’s almost 10 years ago, and really, this track gave me the clout to even have sessions in the first place and get picked up to work like that. This happened because I lived near Blakie and Novelist, and they took it over to that album, so this is their doing. The beat sounds like a younger version of me, and the chorus bass is a default Ableton 9 preset, but I love that. I think that rawness is what made it fit the album. They took it and added all this other stuff, like the interlude playing Call of Duty, and it’s so good. Yeah, it’s just mad to think how that happened.

NIA SMITH FT. POPCAAN, “PERSONAL”

Dom Valentino: This is a mad one because I first met and did a session with Nia five years ago, when we were much younger and I had a setup in my bedroom – so authentic. She was unsigned, and we were learning the ropes together. So, after all these years, for her to really step into her element and get the attention of an artist like Popcaan to remix the song we made blows my mind – and just shows that hard work pays off.

GREENTEA PENG, “THE END (PEACE)”

Dom Valentino: This track is sick because I got to make it with one of my closest friends and an incredible producer, Earbuds. He plays live with Greentea Peng, and when I saw them perform, my jaw dropped and my heart filled up. Also, she recorded this in one take, which is insane! The only other person I’ve seen do that is Katy B, and she’s a legend in the game – so is Greentea Peng, too.

TARA LILY, SPEAK IN THE DARK 

Dom Valentino: This is the title track off the first full album I fully produced, and I’m super proud of it. It’s full of dreamy synths and features great sax recorded by our friend. I re-amped a snare for it — all sorts of cool stuff happened on this record, and it’s the pinnacle of the time spent working on Tara’s album.

DOM VALENTINO, “MAGAZINE FEATURING CELESTE, JESHI, FREDWAVE AND ELIJAH WATERS”

Dom Valentino: This is what it’s about, really! Jeshi, Fredwave, Elijah Waters, and I became super close while working on Jeshi’s album Airbag Woke Me Up. Following that, Elijah invited me to work on his album Violence, which is set to be released soon, and it was also so nice to work on. They knew Celeste through nights out in London, and I met her through that. She sent over a voice note with the idea for the main hook, and we just flipped it in a late-night session in Brixton. It’s got fast, hard-hitting drums, a big Prophet 6 bass line, and pretty Juno chords – that’s basically it! Everyone ripped up their verses, and Elijah’s was our favourite, so we saved it for last.

Dom Valentino is holding a launch party for “Magazine” tomorrow night (May 29) at The Carpet Shop in Brixton. Full lineup here.