The long awaited, highly anticipated and much talked about second album of Dorian Concept is finally here. The Austrian producer and musician Oliver Johnson, aka Dorian Concept, is one of the most exciting acts of the Austrian music scene and has carved an enviable international reputation playing in the hottest clubs and festivals around the world. His unique and inimtable musical style is now on display on his new album “Joined Ends” (Ninja Tune/Hoanzl).
His distinctive musical approach, his intricate and extremely detailed sound work, and the musical paths he delineates in his tracks – this all adds up to something exceptionally unique and special. Yes, it’s electronic club music, but it is also something strangely jazzy with some danceable pop moments. It depends on the direction from which you approach the matter. Clearly the musical language of the 30-year-old Viennese artist can not be classified into only one category.
THE BAR IS SET HIGH
Instead of revealing everything right from the start and relying on simple club sound effects, Dorian Concept teases our ears with ascending and descending tension that builds towards an ultimate sound climax. It is quite impressive how he uses his synthesizers, effect machines, tons of buttons and knobs and his own samples to create such smooth transitions, asserting melodic fragments and harmonies, and switching from loud to quiet tones and vice versa. On his new album the sound tinkerer and multi-instrumentalist wraps us listeners in a warm sound blanket and shares gripping musical stories of another place with sounds that are dreamy, gentle and restrained, but then again minimalistic and experimental, or featured on a large scale with vast sound scapes and the like.
When listening to his new tracks, it feels as if you are drawn into his personal sound world that has a soothing, almost hypnotic effect and only releases you once the last tone has ended. The new album “Joined Ends” is a testament to Dorian Concept’s exceptional talent and the answer to why he is the artist everyone is talking about. In short: Dorian Concept has given us a fascinating and addictive masterpiece that is momentarily unparalleled and hard to beat.
Text: Michael Ternai (translated from German)
Upcoming Events:
Check artist website for international concerts.
Links:
Dorian Concept (Soundcloud) | https://soundcloud.com/dorian-concept
Dorian Concept (Facebook) | https://www.facebook.com/dorianconcept
Ninja Tune | http://ninjatune.net