In March [2020, when everything was] shut down, knowing that I wouldn’t be going anywhere for a very long time, I took a month off to be sad and frustrated. When the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor set off a series of massive nationwide actions led by Black Lives Matter, I turned my feelings of anger and helplessness into motivation, which inspired me to work simultaneously on ARDOR and REACTOR. I created these two works to serve as love letters to activists, medical workers, and service workers everywhere—music to encourage acts of resistance, and to soothe at the end of the day…
[In June 2020] I was generously offered a week-long residency at Human Resources Los Angeles to do whatever I wanted. After months of being at home [in quarantine], I was so happy to have the opportunity to let loose inside a big, empty space, and one that has hosted so many of my past performances. I invited my dear friend and longtime guitarist Michael Corwin to come down and record a mix of original and cover songs we’d performed together over the years. We were masked and distant throughout the recording session. After the first hour of setting gear up, we immediately fell into our own special chemistry. Thus, most of the songs you hear on ARDOR are single recorded takes. — Dorian Wood
ARDOR—the first of two upcoming albums by Dorian Wood—will be released on Friday, September 4. The album includes three original compositions by Wood, as well as songs by Prince, Juan Gabriel, Malvina Reynolds, Violeta Parra, and Chavela Vargas.
On the weekend of ARDOR’s launch, the Institute of Contemporary Art Los Angeles presents a livestream album release concert.
See links below for details.
Pre-order now.
DORIAN WOOD—ARDOR LIVESTREAM CONCERT
ICA / LA
Sunday, September 6.
Noon on the West Coast; 3 pm East Coast; 8 pm London; 9 pm Paris.
Dorian Wood, photographs by Gonzo Bojorquez (2); Wood, photograph by Max Fleury; Dorian Wood, Ardor (2020) cover; Wood, photograph by Fleury; Wood, photograph by Bojorquez. Images courtesy and © the artist and the photographers.
