A New Dawn - Behind the Music
A New Dawn - Behind the Music
Not just music.
A moment to reset.
To breathe. To begin again.
My album A New Dawn will be available July 4th on all streaming platforms.
Limited edition LP coming soon.
Pre-Listen to Daydreams
What if life forces you to stop — and you have to start again, from silence?
That’s what happened to percussionist DOMNIQ when he was diagnosed with melanoma, a form of skin cancer. He went from the world’s biggest stages to months of stillness and uncertainty. It was in that silence that the idea for the album A New Dawn was born — music as a way to process, to reflect, and to imagine a new beginning.
Blending acoustic percussion with electronics, the album moves through emotional states: fragility, resistance, calm, energy. Each piece was shaped during that time, including collaborations with Hanna Benn, Deantoni Parks, and Jelle Verstraten.
DOMNIQ is known for his genre-defying projects that blend classical precision with fearless experimentation. He is the first percussionist to win the Dutch Music Prize, and the recipient of all three top awards at the TROMP Percussion Competition (jury, press, audience).
A New Dawn is more than an album. It’s an invitation. To reset. To breathe. To begin again.
Theatre production
The music of A New Dawn also inspired a full-length theatre production created with director Peter Leung and featuring dancer Redo.
Titled A New Dawn: Part II, the piece translates the stories of DOMNIQ and REDO into movement, light and sound.
One of the key works, Wandering in Moments, was based on a journal entry shared between DOMNIQ and Peter at the start of the process.
“At that time, it felt like I was drowning in a tsunami of emotions. But through composing, I could stay afloat, giving my feelings a place.
Melodies of melancholy, sounds of despair, but also beats that give hope to the still- beating heart. Music drifts through the air, each note a petal of a flower swirling in the wind. When I release control with my whole body and embrace the flow of life.”
— Text from the Theatre Performance A New Dawn: Part II by Guus van der Steen
Upcoming Performances
Jul 5, 2025 — Wonderfeel Festival (A New Dawn Festival Set)
Jul 6, 2025 — Down the Rabbit Hole Festival (A New Dawn Solo Set)
Jul 18, 2025 - Beijing China, Eden festival (A New Dawn Solo Set)
Mar–Apr 2026 — Asia Tour
Previous Performances
2025 | FEB-MAR | Dutch Theatre Tour: A New Dawn: Part II
Goudsche Schouwburg (Gouda), Wilminktheater (Enschede), De Harmonie (Leeuwarden), Theater Bellevue (Amsterdam), Theaters Tilburg, Castellum Hoge Woerd, Schouwburg Hengelo, Stadsschouwburg Nijmegen, TAQA Theater (Alkmaar), Stadsgehoorzaal (Leiden), De Schuur (Haarlem), e.a.
2024 | A New Dawn festival set
Lowlands Festival – Biddinghuizen
Dutch Design Week - Muziekgebouw Eindhoven
2022-2023 | A New Dawn: Part I
Schrittmacher Festival – Heerlen
Urban Dance Days – Eindhoven
Birds of Paradise Festival – Utrecht
Apples & Olives Festival – Zürich
TROMP Percussion Festival – Eindhoven
International Breakdance Event (IBE) – Heerlen
Dutch Dance Days – Maastricht