Evan Williamson
This album is the pinnacle of creativity. I can't get enough of your novel use of vocal mantras that are not quite intelligible, allowing for multiple interpretations. Absolutely brilliant!
Jayden Davis-Tope
Such a brilliant album that experiments with an awesome variety of sounds. While the album is short, the density of music will keep you invested and wanting for more long after you've finished listening.
Favorite track: E13.
Heavyweight 180g black LP in a black paper inner and housed in 3mm spined outer sleeve with debossed circle detail on front and reverse. Artwork by Manuel Radde. Includes MP3 download code.
Please Note: LP release date is September 14th, 2018.
Includes unlimited streaming of The Nature of Imitation
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
ships out within 3 days
Purchasable with gift card
$21.50USDor more
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
CD digipack with artwork by Manuel Radde.
Please Note: CD release date is August 17th, 2018.
Includes unlimited streaming of The Nature of Imitation
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
ships out within 3 days
Purchasable with gift card
$12USDor more
Streaming + Download
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Brainfeeder unveils “The Nature of Imitation” by the label’s newest signing: Dorian Concept.
Following the release of “Joined Ends” in 2014 - a deeply intimate and textured project he describes as his “chamber music” record - Dorian Concept performed everywhere from Glastonbury to Sonar to MoMA PS1’s Warm Up and then deliberately took himself off the radar. The time since has been spent meticulously un-learning his prodigious production process and developing a brand new sound that even the most clued-up won’t be expecting - showcased on ‘Promises’, in the most prominent use of his voice to date. The recording and processing of his vocals represent not only a more human expression of his highly technical sound, but also an inclination toward recursion - the challenge, ephemerality, and demand for attention of “unequal repetition” which shapes the build and deconstruction of energy throughout the record.
Taking inspiration from multi-generational eclecticism (‘60s jazz, ‘70s fusion, ‘80s neo prog-rock, ‘90s electronica), Dorian Concept sought to replicate “modern” music elements with old-fashioned methods, live-playing and hand-recording deceptively digital sounds in service of a tongue-in-cheek “parody of nostalgia”. Having produced the record largely in the years 2016 and 2017 - widely characterized as periods of a cultural reckoning throughout the democratic world - he ambitiously took timely themes of cumulative error, shortening attention spans and subjective experience and transposed them into his making. As is to be expected from him by now, for all the considered, high-concept musing, the result is refreshingly unpretentious: dizzying swells, cacophonous breakdowns and formidable rhythms are both expert and childlike, hyperactive and hyper-focused.
Left to freely associate, Dorian Concept describes the record as follows:
Using a different vocabulary.
“Lively, Chaotic and Loud”
Sloppy Virtuosity.
Deconstructed with Love.
Audible Uncertainty.
Visceral.
Crowded.
Somewhat of a Study.
Fast-paced.
Pointless ... Meaning there’s no dot at the end.
Born Oliver Thomas Johnson, the self-taught keyboardist and producer should be no stranger to those in the Brainfeeder orbit. He first caught the attention of the crew in its infancy, when head honcho Flying Lotus discovered Dorian Concept’s MySpace profile and swiftly included a remix in his lauded debut Essential Mix (2008). Dorian Concept went on to tour with FlyLo’s live band, appeared at some of Brainfeeder’s earliest international label nights in 2009 (Off-Sonar in Barcelona and the infamous Hearn Street Car Park session in London), and released a string of celebrated EPs and albums for Kindred Spirits imprint Nod Navigators, Affine and Ninja Tune - as well as remixing Taylor McFerrin, contributing production to Thundercat’s “The Golden Age of Apocalypse” and playing keys on Flying Lotus’ seminal “Cosmogramma”. The announcement of his signing comes alongside the reveal of a brand new live show, which he is set to debut at Brainfeeder’s takeover of Sonicmania in Tokyo on 17 August.
There is a certain element of playfulness and wonder that can be heard in the music of the Viennese-born, self-taught multi-instrumentalist and producer Oliver Thomas Johnson, aka Dorian Concept.
supported by 26 fans who also own “The Nature of Imitation”
There is something ineffably beautiful about this album; the characteristic Buchla, the cover art, the more quiet tunes which seem not sad but instead cute and smart. Great for picking up again and again. tmpr
supported by 25 fans who also own “The Nature of Imitation”
saw Thundercat for the first time recently - truly a GOAT of live performers. this album is him in his most honest, focused, and emotional state, and it beautifully intertwines his silly artistic voice with his stories of struggle and loss. the album is short and sweet - BUT, if you want to see him and his friends jam a little longer on these ideas, definitely see him live. the dude literally practices like Coltrane and it shows. zilla
supported by 23 fans who also own “The Nature of Imitation”
An instant classic! The moment I put this music into my headphones, I knew this was something special. After that, I just had to dig into Pharoah Sanders discogrpahy. Sanders was already a giant of Jazz. But this last release, 18 months before his death can just elevate his reputation even higher. Rest in peace Pharoah! Alex Deschênes
Snappy breakbeats, acid-drenched samples, and ’90s techno textures abound on this five-track knockout from the South Korean DJ and producer. Bandcamp New & Notable Sep 13, 2023