“Dom brings the whole New Orleans thing to the UK. So good!” - Zigaboo Modeliste - The Meters, and godfather of New Orleans funk

“I can’t hold a candle to this guy. He’s a great piano player” - Jamie Cullum

“One of the worlds’s finest exponents of the music of New Orleans…. a true piano talent” - Blues In Britain magazine

“Quite the revelation! ..Lighting up the British blues and RnB scene at the moment, very very good indeed.  A fine band!”  - Paul Jones (Manfred Mann, The Blues Band), BBC Radio 2

“The finest New Orleans band never to come from Louisiana”  - Rocking Magpie

“I really love your stuff.  I hope we play together again soon!” - (Grammy and W.C Handy award nominated)  Eric Bibb

“Simply amazing”  - London Culture Club  

Watch the full Ikos playlist

One of Europe’s most authentic and spirited  blues and jazz piano players “The soul of New Orleans in the UK” Dom Pipkin is at the forefront of musicians keeping the classic New Orleans sound alive.  His world-travelled band The Ikos have taken New Orleans funk and blues and created from it their own unique sound and songs.

Blues in Britain magazine has called Pipkin“one of the world’s greatest exponents of New Orleans piano,” so sought after the world over that he has taken his band to play for fans as far as New York, San Francisco, Belgium, The Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, Germany, France and Italy.

Pipkin’s unmistakable brand of boogie pays homage to greats such as Dr John, Fats Domino, Professor Longhair, and particularly James Booker, and that rich tapestry shows up in his own compelling songwriting. The Ikos, bring those New Orleans influences to life so vibrantly that they regularly pack out the legendary Ronnie Scott’s Club in London.

The band’s potent and infectious blend of blues, funk, Crescent City Street music and jazz has also won them radio and TV appearances and fans ranging from Eric Bibb, and Hugh Laurie to Jamie Cullum.  Their shows “build to a fever pitch and leave the audience dancing and clapping for more” – Classic Rock Blues. 

The multi-talented Pipkin has also circled the world as long-term keyboard player with trip-hop pioneers Morcheeba, was Musical Director for Paloma Faith, has played for Pee Wee Ellis, Paul Weller, David Byrne and Ray Davies from the Kinks, and has travelled back and forth between his home in London and New Orleans on a regular basis for fifteen years.

He is acknowledged by both public and fellow piano players as one of the very the finest in his genre, with a wildness and fire in his playing that in 2014 saw him invited to perform at the Jazz and Heritage Festival, during the world famous New Orleans “Piano Night”, alongside musical greats such as Allen Toussaint, Ellis Marsalis and Marcia Ball. He has also supported Dr John, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and the Blind Boys of Alabama, and performed for film director Stanley Kubrik. He headlined the UK Boogie Woogie festival in 2019 and in 2020 topped the bill at London’s impressive Steinway Piano Festival. Pipkin has been back on the international stage again in 2023, headlining Festival de Blues et Boogie in Paris.

The Ikos have produced one studio album, a live album, and are now releasing a number of singles with some high profile guests, before releasing their second album at the end of 2024. Stay tuned!