Poetry and literature are DPJ’s principal sources of inspiration. His catalogue features songs, song-cycles, poetry settings and re-imaginings of songs by other artists. Vocal works, which feature his own lyrics, include Something There (2002) — his first commercial recording release on Linn Records, inspired by the poetry of Samuel Beckett and featuring the DPJ Ensemble; the sea-faring song-cycle Palmstar Poppy (2008), which he is currently revising for a future studio recording; and the forthcoming song trilogy, The Unravelled Heart. Larger-scale vocal works include Mr K’s Talk Without Words (2002) — a choral work for National Youth Choir Of Scotland, inspired by the writings of J. Krishnamurti; and a series of choral pieces for the NYCoS Songbooks collection. In Triptych (2023), commissioned by Push The Boat Out Poetry Festival, he fused music, sound and the spoken word for a live, cinematic soundtrack, featuring new writing by three contemporary authors — Harry Josephine Giles, Iona Lee and Ever Dundas. The 4-track EP, The Sky’s Harbour (2014), features a song-setting of the well known aviation poem, High Flight (1941) by John Gillespie Magee Jr. His soundtrack to the gig-theatre production Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me (2024), featured a series of re-imagined songs by seminal 1980s artists including This Mortal Coil, Tears For Fears and Madonna, performed live by DPJ.

He presents intimate, live performances of his concert work, often with small string ensembles. His latest song-cycle, Lone Tree (2024), from the poetry of Kathleen Jamie, premiered at the Edinburgh International Book Festival ‘24, performed by DPJ (vocals, electronics) with Justyna Jablonska (cello), Fay Guiffo (violin) and sound designer Gabriel Kemp. A studio album and further live performances of Lone Tree are currently in development.