Tony Dupé

is a music artist, producer, author and educator. His work is renowned for its celebration of creativity, curiosity and the uniqueness of people, places and times.

News

September 2026…
Firstly welcome! I am excited to share what I have been working on with you and hope that does something good for you. The first thing is that the book is now available and if you click on the above icon you can find out more about it and how to get it. The second thing is that I am going to be talking about the book (and answering questions etc) in person this year and I will post dates and places here. If you are interested in having me come near to where you are then please reach out through the contact link. The third thing is I am interested in getting the book into select stores around the world and if you run or frequent such a store (where musicians and other creatives might hang out) then reach out also.

October 2026…
It’s been very exciting to get some books to people all around the world and there has been such a warm reception for it. We now have a distributor in Australia in Books at Manic and it should be landing in bookstores over the next few weeks. Obviously your local bookstore can order it in from Manic. We also have a library supplier so if you would like to get into your library, please do. There is a Book Launch at North Fitzroy Library on November 4th at 6.30pm where I will be discussing the book and taking questions. I am also planning trips to other cities and towns to do the same.

Contact: mumstonalism@gmail.com
Illustrations by Emily Sweetman

What is the Book About

This book is intended for people who identify more as creative than technical and would like to be able to record themselves. It recasts sound, listening and recording in language and concepts that are relatably human

It’s fun, kind and self revealing using language that is personal and artistically relatable. The book has creative exercises (writing, drawing, sounding, recording) to help you to understand and develop your life-connected and musical relationship with sound.

Starting with phone recording, it ultimately guides you through basic recording with a computer at home. The final project is to create a new folio of artworks, writing and recorded music about your home.

Translations, Conversations and Atmospheres is unique, as are you and your relationship to sound and recording.

Chapters include:
Welcome - Our approach
The Art Spirit - Materials
The Unseen - Sound in your life
White Heather - A unique time and place
Curiosity and Purpose - Recording practicalities
Strange Weather - A guided composition and self recording
Help! - Subjective ideas on recording
Translations, Conversations and Atmospheres - Recording as immersive, embodied and life-connected

Backstory

Hello, I love making music and through my life this has been a central form of expression and identity whilst also creating opportunities for engaging with other humans. It has provided me with a connection to inspiring places and wonderful headspaces. Music recording has been a part of this and when I had the opportunity to think more deeply about this area of music making I recognised how much I felt like an outsider in what was represented as a very technical field. I could see that this focus was limiting engagement from people who were, like me, interested in the other areas but were disinclined by the dominant discourse.

My own experience of music recording was life-connected and creative, it was playful and represented a sonic artwork of people, place and time around ideas and emotions. I wanted to celebrate that approach and encourage a more diverse engagement.

So I made this book that focuses on creative making, recording, listening and reflecting with very minimal tech engagement.

How to Get It

There are a few ways that you can get the book.

Like many people I have digital fatigue and I don’t want to be another person on the internet selling something. So I am only making physical copies of the book (no digital version available) and I do minimal social media blurbs and no advertising. I will be doing in person workshops and talks. I’d love to visit anywhere (big or small, near or far) to meet people, answer questions and share these ideas.

If you know or have a space that might be interested reach out through mumstonalism@gmail.com

I am doing small runs of the book and making it available though direct purchase or in select stores. I’m trying to preserve the value of this labour of love and maximise interpersonal communication.

Option 1

You can order it directly from a friendly human at mumstonalism@gmail.com, all you need to convey is where it will be posted to. If it is within Australia it will be $40 AUD including free postage. If it is elsewhere in the world, postage will be calculated. Either way the friendly human (lets call them Charlie) will write back with bank details for payment and special instructions for international bank transfer (secure and without extra fees). Charlie will also let you know the postage figure if outside Australia.

Option 2

You can also order it directly from the bandcamp site. It will cost a little bit more because of extra fees ($45 including postage within Australia, international $40 plus postage).

Option 3

The book is distributed in Australia by Books at Manic and there is a list of their stockists on the site. You could ask your local bookshop to order it from them regardless of whether they are listed.

Libraries can also order it through ALS Library Services.

I would love to have the book more easily available in other countries, whether that is through select stores or through a distributor. Any suggestions are welcome.

You can visit my bandcamp to hear some of my albums. I have a new one coming out in November

“I can’t quite make it out” is the new album by Tony Dupé. It is available on pre-order here and the entire album will be available on November 1, 2026.

This album was made over a 4 year period alongside writing a book and doing a PhD about creative approaches to self-production. That all sounds very brain connected but I have been making records for myself and others for decades and recorded music for me is emotional and personal. It’s about a time and place connecting with people and instruments tied up ultimately in some magic as it is brought together.

I wanted a range of approaches on this album so there is precomposed, improvised, free time and loop based. There are location recordings from Oslo, London, Wellington and Melbourne. These were all places where I went to talk about music and play music. (and where I live). There are recordings from a church one hour from Melbourne where we part time lived and others from my home studio that I built.

It was a great luxury to make an album over a long duration because it gave me the opportunity to keep fresh by having breaks but also to experiment and extend my abilities, particularly in arranging.

I hope the sense of play and travel (place) come through the work but mostly I hope that you connect to the fallible and sentient human in a time where perhaps we are being overwhelmed by all else.