Dorian Concept: Revised Formulas, Joined Ends

The story of Dorian Concept is a simple, yet refreshing one – an Austrian multi-instrumentalist buoyed by jazz’s inventiveness and hip-hop’s sampling moulds his own take on those very influences.

Early on those experimentations came straight from the bedroom. Although not classically trained, Dorian Concept – real name Oliver Thomas Johnson – is a self-taught maestro on the black and white keys. Primitive projects like Maximized Minimalization on Austrian upstart, Affine Records, channelled the bombastic efforts of Hudson Mohawke and Flying Lotus into its DNA – no surprise given that Johnson was

It wasn’t long before BBC radio juggernauts like Gilles Peterson and Mary Anne Hobbs were on his case though. In between international tour dates and becoming a RBMA pupil, he made When Planets Explode – a meandering exercise in technical jazz flair with insane programming skills, astrofunk and bumping electronica of the abstract kind. “The Fucking Formula” was anthemic in particular and found its way onto Benji B’s Deviation sessions of broken beats and future jazz.

Joined Ends slashed away at his usual methods of beatmaking, coming five years after his first album and via left-field eggheads, Ninja Tune. Gone was the microKORG (momentarily, at least), in came the Wurlitzer. Out went the blueprint of sculpting instrumental hip-hop, and in its place sprouted a more transparent celebration of the keyboard. Refreshing half sums it up, but more precisely than that it was a billboard-sized demonstration of his natural brilliance. An air of playful assuredness seems to breathe throughout the album, with “Draft Culture” – in all its sputtering, grime-reminiscing glory – the standout of the bunch. Elsewhere, songs like “Nest Nest” and “Mint”, showcase Dorian Concept’s trusty grip on vocals – another feature that separates Joined Ends from his previous dabbles.

And so we arrive at Dorian’s second appearance on a Boiler Room stream. Again there is new music to herald, this time in the shape of the Joined Ends Remixes project featuring reimagined versions from the likes of Bibio and Tim Hecker. This entry is a slightly different beast – an In Stereo session that’ll allow us to really hone in on his pianist wizadry. He’s not alone on stage either. He’ll be joined by long time musical friends Cid Rim and The Clonious who provide ample back up for this close-up soiree. Both the recording and the below catch-up are intimate peeks into how his mind ticks.

SOFIE FATOURETCHI: Are there any learnings you’ve taken from the last release that play into the new EP?
DORIAN CONCEPT: I’m very happy with how the Joined Ends Remix EP turned out. Outside of good friends from Vienna, I’ve never really had other producers mess with my material so that alone was exciting to me. As I somehow expected it turned out to be a very eclectic mix with none of the tracks (with maybe the exception of Bibio’s remix) sounding too much like the originals.

You have a very good relationship with Cid Rim and The Clonious, who play in your band. Can you give us an insight into your dynamic when working together and to what makes each of them stand out separately as a player for you?
Due to the fact that we’ve known each other for 15-20 years now, it would be impossible to find players that I’d feel so comfortable sharing the stage with. Not just because of the familiarity, but we’ve basically listened to the same music ever since our early teens and all started producing around the same time. So now there’s an irreplaceable bond that revolves around nonverbal communication – that I definitely wouldn’t want to replace.

You amalgamate many musical worlds from jazz to beats to club-based music – do you ever think about the separate audiences when you’re composing and performing?
You know I never actually do. I always somehow assume that everyone takes joy in listening to as much different music as possible. Only that way can I feel free to do whatever I want to do really. I also think that over the last couple of years people have opened up when it comes to genre-shifting and tempo-changing.

You’ve now played two very different Boiler Room shows.What were the biggest differences for you?
With the new live show being more organic it’s also prone to error, so somehow that makes it more interesting to play at the moment. I’m very routined with the solo show, but at the moment I really enjoy the dynamics you get when playing with other people. Of course the music is different as well, as we really try to recreate my latest album Joined Ends in the trio formation whereas I just shred in the solo show. It’s nice to cover both spectra and have them archived on your channel!

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Dorian Concept’s Joined Ends Remixes project will be released on 6 April 2015 via Ninja Tune. The Dorian Concept album Joined Ends is now available to buy:

iTunes: smarturl.it/joinedendsit
Amazon: smarturl.it/joinedendsaz
Ninjashop: smarturl.it/joinedends

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