Peking Duk is an Australian electronic music duo from Canberra, made up of disc jockeys and record producers Adam Hyde and Reuben Styles. The pair first garnered attention in 2013 with the release of a Passion Pit bootleg remix. Their biggest hit, "High", reached 5 on the ARIA Singles Chart, achieved a triple platinum certification, and won the ARIA Award for Best Dance Release at the ARIA Music Awards of 2014. Notable festivals Peking Duk have performed include Falls Festival, Spilt Milk, Splendour in the Grass, and Big Day Out.
History
2010–2024: Career beginnings and early success
Peking Duk was formed in 2010 in Canberra, Australia, by Adam Hyde and Reuben Styles. The pair had started off in their local city of Canberra. Styles had been the bass guitarist for local indie rock group, Rubycon, from 2007 to 2010. They released their debut single "Bingo Trippin'" in May 2011. Upon the release of their Passion Pit bootleg remix in May 2012, the pair gained attention from music blogs.
In February 2013, Peking Duk released "The Way You Are", their first international single. Peking Duk placed 4th in the Australia wide InTheMix Top 50 competition in 2013. This was their second year in a row in the top 10 of the competition (6th in 2012). 2013 also saw Peking Duk receive strong support from national youth broadcaster Triple J. Along with having their tracks added to rotation, Triple J also gave Peking Duk the opportunity to be a Triple J Mix Up resident which saw them present and host a weekly DJ Mix on Saturday nights for a month. In August 2013, Peking Duk released "Feels Like".
In February 2014, they had their first Top 40 hit on the ARIA Singles Chart with their track "High" featuring Australian vocalist Nicole Millar. In August 2014, Peking Duk signed a worldwide record deal with Sony Music Entertainment in conjunction with RCA Records. In July 2015, Peking Duk released the single called "Say My Name" featuring Benjamin Joseph. Peking Duk released an international EP titled Songs to Sweat To.
In March 2019, the pair embarked on their biggest national tour to date bringing along Kwame and Kira Puru as supports. In April 2020, Australian radio station Triple J premiered a new song by the duo in collaboration with Ben O'Connor called "Stay The F*ck Home", as part of a COVID-19 self-isolation musical challenge nicknamed Quarantune.
The duo collaborated with Australian artists Julia Stone and Dean Brady in March 2023 for their Like a Version of Crowded House's single "Fall at Your Feet". The song was voted in as number 64 on the Triple J Hottest 100 2023, the highest Like of a Version of the year.
2025–present: Paradise
In March 2026, Peking Duk announced their debut studio album, Paradise. The album was preceded by the singles "Thrills", "Forever", "Do Your Best", "Let Go" and "Can't Fit In".
Wikipedia backstage incident
At 12:48 UTC on 2 December 2015, at a show in Melbourne, a fan named David Spargo accessed the backstage area by anonymously editing the band's Wikipedia page and inserting the text "Family David Spargo" at the end of the lead section. Upon showing the article and his ID to the security guards, he was granted access to the band with whom he shared a beer. The band reacted positively to this scheme, stating: "He explained to us his amazing tactic to get past security to hang with us and we immediately cracked him a beer. This dude is the definition of a legend." However, Hyde did add: "It goes to show, never trust Wikipedia".
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| AUS | ||
| Paradise |
|
6 |
Extended plays
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Certifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUS | |||
| Songs to Sweat To |
|
Not released in Australia | |
| Reprisal |
|
12 |
|
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS |
NZ | ||||
| "Bingo Trippin" | 2011 | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Welcome" (featuring Stef K.) |
— | — | |||
| "I Love to Rap" | 2012 | — | — | ||
| "The Way You Are" | 102 | — | |||
| "You Are Like Nobody Else" (with Swanky Tunes featuring James McNally) |
2013 | — | — | ||
| "Feels Like" | 83 | — | |||
| "Mufasa" (with Laidback Luke) |
2014 | — | — | ||
| "High" (featuring Nicole Millar) |
5 | 13 | Songs to Sweat To | ||
| "Take Me Over" (featuring Safia) |
6 | 32 |
| ||
| "Say My Name" (featuring Benjamin Joseph) |
2015 | 29 | — |
| |
| "Stranger" (featuring Elliphant) |
2016 | 5 | 20 |
|
Non-album singles |
| "Fake Magic" (with AlunaGeorge) |
2017 | 34 | — |
| |
| "Let You Down" (featuring Icona Pop) |
37 | — |
| ||
| "Wasted" | 2018 | 66 | — |
| |
| "Fire" (featuring Sarah Aarons) |
— | — |
|
Reprisal | |
| "Distant Arizona" (featuring Cloud Control) |
— | — | |||
| "Sugar" (featuring Jack River) |
2019 | 54 | — |
|
Non-album singles |
| "Ur Eyez" (featuring Al Wright) |
— | — | |||
| "Move" (featuring Alisa Xayalith) |
2020 | — | — | ||
| "Nothing to Love About Love" (with The Wombats) |
— | — | |||
| "Lil Bit" (with Tommy Trash) |
— | — | |||
| "Chemicals" (featuring Sarah Aarons) |
2021 | 135 | — | ||
| "Honest" (featuring Slayyyter) |
2022 | — | — | ||
| "Spend It" (featuring Circa Waves) |
— | — | |||
| "I Want You" (featuring Darren Hayes) |
2023 | — | — | ||
| "Fall at Your Feet" (Like a Version) (featuring Julia Stone) |
— | — | |||
| "Stop the Music" (featuring FEYI) |
2024 | — | — | ||
| "Around U" (with Drax Project and Kita Alexander) |
2025 | — | — | ||
| "Thrills" (featuring Rico Nasty) |
2026 | — | — | Paradise | |
| "Forever" (featuring Phantograml) |
— | — | |||
| "Do Your Best" (featuring Kah-Lo) |
— | — | |||
| "Let Go" (with Matt Corby) |
— | — | |||
| "Can’t Fit In" (with Killer Mike, Nate Husser and Kingstarlight) |
— | — | |||
Other appearances
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Cocaine Killa" (with Daniel Johns) | 2022 | FutureNever |
Remixes
- Liz – "U Over Them" (Peking Duk & CRNKN Remix) [Mad Decent]
- Dem Slackers – "Sclingel" (Peking Duk Remix) [Tuffemup!]
- Rob Pix – "Beng" (Peking Duk Remix) [Downright]
- Steve Aoki & Angger Dimas featuring Iggy Azalea – "Beat Down" (Peking Duk Remix) [Dim Mak]
- DCUP – "I'm Corrupt" (Peking Duk Remix) [Chookie]
- Fitz and the Tantrums – "Out of My League" (Peking Duk Remix) [WMG]
Bootlegs
- Passion Pit – "Take A Walk" (Peking Duk Remix)
- Ben Howard – "Old Pine" (Peking Duk Remix)
Notes
Awards and nominations
AIR Awards
The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | "High" (featuring Nicole Millar) | Best Independent Dance/Electronica or Club Single | Won |
APRA Awards
Since 1982 the APRA Awards are run by Australian Performing Right Association to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | "High" (featuring Nicole Millar) – Adam Hyde, Reuben Styles, Nicole Millar & Sam Littlemore | Song of the Year | Shortlisted | |
| Dance Work of the Year | Nominated | |||
| 2016 | "Take Me Over" (featuring Safia) – Kaelyn Behr, Adam Hyde, Reuben Styles, Ben Woolner-Kirkham | Most Played Australian Work | Won | |
| Dance Work of the Year | Won | |||
| 2018 | "Stranger" (featuring Elliphant) – Adam Hyde, Reuben Styles, Kaelyn Behr, Elliphant, Daniel Goudie, Ashley Milton | Dance Work of the Year | Won | |
| Most Played Australian Work | Won | |||
| "Fake Magic" (featuring AlunaGeorge) – Adam Hyde, Reuben Styles, Sam Littlemore, Laura Lowther, Frances Dewji, George Reid | Dance Work of the Year | Nominated | ||
| 2019 | "Let You Down" (featuring Icona Pop) – Kaelyn Behr Adam Hyde, Reuben Styles, Sam Manville, Robert Tailor | Dance Work of the Year | Nominated | |
| 2020 | "Sugar" (featuring Jack River) – Kaelyn Behr, Adam Hyde, Reuben Styles | Most Performed Dance Work of the Year | Nominated | |
| 2022 | "Nothing to Love About Love" (featuring The Wombats) – Adam Hyde, Reuben Styles, Matthew Murphy, Tyler Spry | Most Performed Dance/Electronic Work | Nominated | |
| 2023 | "Honest" (featuring Slayyyter) – Adam Hyde, Reuben Styles, Kirsty Peters | Most Performed Dance/Electronic Work | Nominated | |
| 2024 | "Spend It!" (featuring Circa Waves) – Adam Hyde, Reuben Styles, Circa Waves, Johan Gustafsson, Kieran Shudhall, Gustav Gallhagan, Jackson Brazier, Sam Littlemore | Most Performed Dance/Electronic Work | Nominated |
ARIA Music Awards
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | "High" (featuring Nicole Millar) | Best Dance Release | Won | |
| 2015 | "Take Me Over" (featuring Safia) | Best Dance Release | Nominated | |
| Song of the Year | Nominated | |||
| 2017 | "Stranger" (featuring Elliphant) | Song of the Year | Won | |
| Best Dance Release | Nominated | |||
| Best Group | Nominated | |||
| Clowntown Tour | Best Australian Live Act | Nominated | ||
| 2018 | "Fire" (featuring Sarah Aarons) | Best Group | Nominated | |
| Best Dance Release | Nominated | |||
| Song of the Year | Nominated | |||
| Ryan Sauer and Peking Duk - "Fire" | Best Video | Nominated | ||
| The Wasted Tour | Best Australian Live Act | Nominated | ||
| 2019 | "Sugar" (featuring Jack River) | Best Dance Release | Nominated | |
| Peking Duk's Biggest Tour Ever... So Far | Best Australian Live Act | Nominated |
MTV Europe Music Awards
The MTV Europe Music Awards is an award presented by Viacom International Media Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | themselves | Best Australian Act | Nominated | |
| 2018 | themselves | Best Australian Act | Nominated |
National Live Music Awards
The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Peking Duk | Live Electronic Act (or DJ) of the Year | Won | |
| 2018 | Peking Duk | International Live Achievement (Band) | Nominated | |
| 2020 | Peking Duk | Musicians Making a Difference | Nominated |
