Dexter Tortoriello

Dexter Miles Tortoriello (born August 5, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He rose to prominence as part of the group Houses and is also known for his work as Dawn Golden, as well as his production for pop and hip-hop artists.

Life and career Early life and career beginnings Tortoriello grew up in Chicago. One of his father's friends owned a recording studio, so Tortoriello and his brother had access to a wide range of analog recording equipment, including eight-track recorders and effects racks, from at least the age of twelve. Houses' style was a significant departure from his previous work, showcasing a blissed out, hypnagogic pop sound. Soon after Tortoriello posted the song "Endless Spring" on his Myspace page, Pitchfork featured the track on their website, and within three days Houses was signed by Lefse Records. At the same time, their single "Soak It Up" was featured as part of a multimedia photography retrospective at the New York Public Library Main Branch. In 2011, the band toured North America and performed at South By Southwest.

Dawn Golden (2011) After releasing All Night, Tortoriello began posting solo material on Bandcamp. The sound was a significant departure from Houses, described by Time Out as "dark, droning and ethereal." He released the Blow EP in early 2011 via Bandcamp. Soon after, Diplo reached out to Tortoriello via Myspace and signed the act to his label, Mad Decent. Tortoriello played the Mad Decent Block Party as Dawn Golden in August 2011. The duo used field recordings from abandoned houses, schools, and cabins in Desert Center, California to build out their ambient electronic soundscapes. Tortoriello turned samples of light switch clicks, stomping feet and sweeping dust into drum kits, and augmented studio instrumentation with impulse responses from inside and outside the buildings. They finished the album at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas, before relocating to Los Angeles. They released A Quiet Darkness on April 16, 2013 via Downtown Records, after pre-streaming the album on The Huffington Post. On May 13, 2014, he released Still Life, via Mad Decent and Downtown Records. Later that year, he released a video for "Still Life" directed by Kyle DePinna and Still Life (Remixes) featuring contributions from Diplo and Manila Killa.

Production and songwriting (since 2015) Since 2015, Tortoriello has worked as a producer and songwriter for numerous electronic, hip-hop and R&B artists. As Dawn Golden, he appeared as a featured artist and co-writer on Ryan Hemsworth's "Snow in Newark" (2014), What So Not's "Arrows" (2015) and Martin Garrix's "Sun Is Never Going Down" (2016), and has co-writing and production credits on Kali Uchis' "Melting" (2015) and Lil Yachty's "Forever Young" (2017).

Drugstore Heaven (since 2017) On August 24, 2018, Tortoriello released the single "Fast Talk" under his Houses moniker and announced a new EP, Drugstore Heaven, which was released on September 28, 2018. A lyric video for "Fast Talk" was released on October 22, 2018, with an official video released on January 28, 2019. The vinyl version of the EP features remixes from Com Truise, Willy Moon, Still Woozy, and Vexxed on the b-side.

Praise for "Fast Talk" and Drugstore Heaven has come from a range of publications including Nylon and Billboard, with the latter calling the single "entrancing." In January 2019, "Fast Talk" began to chart on the Alternative Songs, Rock Airplay, and Hot Rock Songs charts in the US, the first of any Houses single to do so. In 2019, the song "Fast Talk" reached the top 10 on alternative radio charts.

Discography Studio albums As Houses Title Album details Peak chart positions US Heat All Night Released: October 19, 2010 Label: Lefse Formats: CD, LP, digital download — A Quiet Darkness Released: April 16, 2013 Label: Downtown Records Formats: CD, LP, digital download 33 Drugstore Heaven Released: April 2, 2021 Label: Downtown Records Formats: CD, LP, digital download —

As Dawn Golden Title Album details Still Life Released: May 13, 2014 Label: Downtown Records, Mad Decent Formats: LP, digital download

Extended plays As Houses Title Album details Drugstore Heaven Released: September 28, 2018 Label: Downtown Records Formats: LP, digital download Drugstore Heaven (Remixes) Released: November 9, 2018 Label: Downtown Records Format: digital download

As Dawn Golden Title Album details Blow Released: April 12, 2011 Label: Downtown Records, Mad Decent Format: digital download Blow (Remixes) Released: January 1, 2012 Label: Downtown Records, Mad Decent Format: digital download Still Life (Remixes) Released: September 9, 2014 Label: Downtown Records, Mad Decent Format: digital download

Guest appearances Title Year Artist(s) Album "Snow in Newark" 2014 Ryan Hemsworth Alone for the First Time "Arrows" 2015 What So Not, Dillon Francis Gemini EP "Sun Is Never Going Down" 2016 Martin Garrix Seven

Remixes Title Year Artist "Transcendence" (Dawn Golden Remix) 2014 Audiomachine "Sleepwalking" (Dawn Golden Remix) The Chain Gang of 1974 "You Haunt Me" (Dawn Golden Remix) 2015 Sir Sly "All We Need" (Dawn Golden Remix) 2016 Odesza featuring Shy Girls "The Struggle" (Dawn Golden Remix) Grizfolk

Songwriting and production credits Title Year Artist(s) Album Credits Written with Produced with "Snow in Newark" 2014 Ryan Hemsworth Alone for the First Time Co-writer Hemsworth "Melting" 2015 Kali Uchis Por Vida Co-writer/producer Karly-Marina Loaiza, Alex Epton, Thomas Pentz Alex Epton, Diplo "Sun Is Never Going Down" 2016 Martin Garrix Seven Co-writer Justin Broad, Jem Cooke, Martijn Garritsen, Paul Herman, James McCollum "Forever Young" 2017 Lil Yachty Teenage Emotions Co-writer/producer Miles McCollum, Thomas Pentz Diplo "Found" 2023 Crosses Goodnight, God Bless, I Love U, Delete. Co-writer/producer Crosses