Dorian Concept

Oliver Johnson, born in Vienna, Austria, records as Dorian Concept and surfaced in the late 2000s within a cluster of home-studio experimental producers. Early recognition came through his command of the microKORG, evident on the debut album When Planets Explode (2009); each follow-up project reflected a deliberate shift in method, as displayed on Joined Ends (2014), The Nature of Imitation (2018), and the comparatively subdued What We Do for Others (2022). Across these differing processes, nearly all of Johnson’s work retains a spasmodic, kinetic character. Far from remaining isolated, he moved swiftly from solitary production into live collaboration with the Cinematic Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall and has also appeared onstage or on record alongside Flying Lotus and Thundercat.

As a teenager Johnson studied piano and saxophone before exploring production software, only later turning to hardware synthesizers. While enrolled in multimedia art at Salzburg University of Applied Sciences he began circulating the first Dorian Concept material online and posted a widely viewed clip of himself improvising on the microKORG. Unreleased tracks passed through friend Paul Movahedi (aka the Clonious) to Benji B, who promoted them on radio, in clubs, and among fellow BBC presenters Gilles Peterson and Mary Anne Hobbs, both of whom lent early support. By late 2009 Johnson had paused his studies and assembled an extensive catalog that included several short vinyl releases and the full-length When Planets Explode on Nod Navigators, an imprint of Kindred Spirits. Additional appearances on compilations followed, notably Rush Hour’s Beat Dimensions, Vol. 2, where he shared space with Samiyam, Mono/Poly, and Devonwho; admirer Flying Lotus subsequently invited him into his touring band.

Further opportunities arose in 2010, when Johnson contributed to Flying Lotus’ “Satelllliiiiiiiteee” from Cosmogramma, placed “Her Tears Taste Like Pears” on the Ninja Tune XX anthology, and performed with the Cinematic Orchestra at Ninja Tune’s twentieth-anniversary concert at the Royal Albert Hall. The latter track served as the foundation for a 2011 Ninja Tune EP of the same name. After additional sessions and shows with Flying Lotus, Thundercat, and the Cinematic Orchestra, Johnson finished his second album, Joined Ends, issued by Ninja Tune in 2014; it departed from the debut by relying on an array of analog synthesizers and an electric Wurlitzer piano.

Following the completion of touring obligations, Johnson stepped back for several years and assembled a third album that adopted a more conventional approach to contemporary electronic production. The Nature of Imitation, distinguished by his heavily treated vocals and issued on Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder label, ended a four-year hiatus in 2018. A comparable interval preceded the arrival of What We Do for Others in 2022, on which Johnson set aside perfectionist habits to shape some of his most relaxed and understated music.