Now, if you've been following Duke's work, you know him for Southern Gothic rock ballads about cursed circles and ghostly brides. You know him for German industrial techno recorded in abandoned factories. You know him for Carolina Outlaw Soul—that dirt road, whiskey-soaked storytelling that's been the foundation of most of what he does.
"Energy Gum" is... none of that.
"Energy Gum" is bright, colorful, unapologetically commercial indie pop. It's 140 BPM of pure sunshine energy. It's electronic synths, layered harmonies, and literal gum-chewing sounds turned into percussion. It's Duke stepping completely outside his comfort zone and diving headfirst into territory he's never explored before.
And you know what? Duke's not gonna apologize for it. He's gonna tell us exactly why he made it, how it came together, and what it taught him about creative fearlessness and artistic integrity.
So let's dive in.
PART ONE: WHY THE SHIFT?
First question everyone asks: Duke, why the hell did you make a pop song about energy gum?
Fair question. Let me share what Duke explained to me.
Duke's spent years building a reputation as someone who doesn't care about commercial expectations. He writes three-hour sci-fi rock operas about killer robots. He records German techno in languages he barely speaks. He dives deep into regional folklore that most people have never heard of. Duke does what interests him creatively, period.
But here's the thing—and this is straight from Duke—creative fearlessness can't just mean "I only do dark, serious, artistic stuff." Real fearlessness means being willing to explore anything, including things that might seem commercial or mainstream or outside your established brand.
When the opportunity came up to work on a project celebrating productivity, focus, and that caffeinated flow state we all chase, Duke could've said no. He could've said, "That's not my brand. I'm the Southern Gothic guy. I don't do commercial pop."
But that would've been creative cowardice disguised as artistic integrity.
Instead, Duke thought: What if I approached this with the same authenticity I bring to everything else? What if I actually leaned into the challenge of creating genuine, infectious pop music without compromising who I am as an artist?
So that's what he did.
Duke started listening to early MGMT, Tame Impala—bands that blend electronic production with organic energy and genuine enthusiasm. He studied what makes pop music work. Not just catchy hooks, but the production techniques, the layering, the way great pop songs make you feel something even when they're ostensibly about simple subjects.
And he realized something important: celebrating focus and productivity isn't shallow. It's actually really relatable. We all know that feeling of waking up foggy, struggling to get our brains online, needing that boost to unlock our potential. There's genuine human experience there.
So Duke wrote "Energy Gum" as an honest celebration of that moment when everything clicks. When the fog clears. When your brain unlocks and suddenly you're in flow state, creating, producing, making things happen.
The fact that it's also celebrating a specific product? Duke says that doesn't make it less authentic. It just means he found a brand partnership that aligned with something he genuinely experiences and values.
PART TWO: THE PRODUCTION - MAKING IT WORK
Now let's talk about how Duke actually made this thing, because the production was a completely different process than anything he'd done before.
First, the tempo. 140 BPM is fast—way faster than most of what Duke does. Southern Gothic ballads live around 70-90 BPM. Even his rock stuff rarely pushes past 120. But pop music thrives on energy, and 140 BPM gives you that driving, can't-sit-still momentum.
Duke built the foundation on electronic synths and programmed drums rather than live instruments. That was a shift for him. He's used to recording live guitars, real percussion, organic sounds. But pop production requires precision, layering, electronic textures that create that polished, commercial sound.
Duke told me the bassline is absolutely critical in this track. It drives everything. It's repetitive, hypnotic, locked into the kick drum pattern. That bass-kick relationship is what makes people move, what creates physical response to the music.
Then they layered synths—bright, shimmering, optimistic sounds. Nothing dark or brooding. These are sounds that evoke sunshine, energy, forward momentum. Each synth line serves a specific purpose in the frequency spectrum, creating fullness without muddiness.
The vocal production was probably the biggest departure for Duke. He's used to raw, gritty vocal delivery with minimal processing. For "Energy Gum," they did extensive vocal layering—lead vocal, harmony stacks, background vocals creating texture and depth. They used pitch correction not to fix mistakes but as a stylistic choice, giving that polished pop sound.
And here's the fun part that Duke was really excited about—the gum-chewing percussion. They actually recorded sounds of chewing gum, then processed them, pitched them, turned them into rhythmic elements. It's subtle—you might not consciously notice it—but it adds this playful texture that reinforces what the song is about.
The bridge features a spoken-sung section over building synth swells. Duke said that was intentional—breaking the pattern, creating a moment of building tension before the final chorus explosion. It's a classic pop structure technique, and it works because it gives listeners that satisfying release when the energy comes back.
Production-wise, Duke aimed for clarity and brightness. Everything is mixed to sparkle, to feel open and energetic rather than dense and heavy. It's the opposite of his German techno production, which emphasizes darkness and weight.
PART THREE: THE MUSIC VIDEO - VISUAL TRANSFORMATION
The music video for "Energy Gum" required Duke to completely rethink his visual approach.
If you've seen his other videos—"Devil's Circle," "The Woman in Black," "Stahlrausch"—they're all about shadows, darkness, moody cinematography, gothic or industrial aesthetics. That visual language has become part of Duke's identity.
For "Energy Gum," Duke threw all of that out and embraced pure color.
Neon pinks. Electric blues. Bright yellows. Explosive oranges. They shot in well-lit spaces—coffee shops with big windows, creative studios with white walls, skateparks in daylight, rooftop performances at golden hour. Everything designed to feel vibrant, alive, optimistic.
The visual narrative follows different characters experiencing that transformation from foggy to focused. A writer staring at a blank screen suddenly finding inspiration. A designer stuck in creative block suddenly sketching furiously. A musician searching for the right melody suddenly nailing it. All triggered by that moment of caffeinated clarity.
And here's what's important—Duke told me they played it straight. No irony. No self-aware winking at the camera. They committed fully to celebrating productivity, hustle culture, creative energy without cynicism.
Because here's the truth Duke shared with me: cynicism is easy. It's easy to mock commercial culture, to treat productivity anthems as inherently shallow, to position yourself as too cool for earnest enthusiasm.
But earnest enthusiasm is actually harder and braver. Genuinely celebrating the things that help us function, create, and thrive—that requires vulnerability....
