Dorian Wood

Dorian Wood (born in 1975) is an American singer, composer, performance artist, visual artist and writer.[1]

Dorian Wood at the Moers Festival 2017

Early history

Wood was born in Los Angeles, California to Costa Rican parents. They began their musical education at a very early age, under the tutelage of their grandfather, the pianist Calasanz Alvarez.[2] In their early teens, Wood’s parents divorced, and Wood’s mother moved them and their sisters to Costa Rica. They continued their studies at the Conservatorio de Castella, and after graduating, they made their way back to Los Angeles. They studied film at Los Angeles City College for two years but then dropped out to concentrate on music.[3] Wood first gained exposure performing on the gay bar circuit.[4]

Career

Wood released their debut album, BOLKA, independently in 2006. Produced by Rebecca Stout, BOLKA received wide critical acclaim for its impeccable merging of folk, soul, Bulgarian choral music and experimental music.[2] They quickly followed up BOLKA with the EP, Black Pig Suite.[5] In 2010, they released the album Brutus, which featured only Wood on vocal and piano, and was recorded live at the church St. Giles in the Fields in London, in the midst of their European tour.[6]

Wood was a member of the Los Angeles-based experimental orchestra Killsonic for three years.[7] Wood received critical praise for their performance and "picture perfect" art direction (Los Angeles Times) in the Killsonic opera, Tongues Bloody Tongues, presented at the REDCAT in Los Angeles in 2010.[8] Wood performed at the REDCAT again in 2011 in the opera Zoophilic Follies, along with Timur and The Dime Museum.[9]

In 2011, Wood was commissioned by LACE (Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions) to present a new work for the performance series Los Angeles Goes Live, part of Pacific Standard Time. Wood's performance installation, Athco, Or The Renaissance of Faggot Tree, incorporated over 30 performers, and was presented at Barnsdall Art Park.[10] That same year, Wood performed with acclaimed artist Marina Abramovic in her piece An Artist's Life Manifesto, presented at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.[1]

Wood released the album Rattle Rattle in 2013. An epic collection of original doomsday-themed songs that form one strong, continuous piece, Rattle Rattle incorporated over 60 musicians, including a 45-member choir assembled by Wood themself, The Difficult Women, as well as duets with Angela Correa (Correatown, Les Shelleys) and Nina Savary.[11] Wood directed the controversial video for the first single "La Cara Infinita" (a duet with Eddika Organista), which featured a guest appearance by Margaret Cho.[12] Wood's following video for their single "O" featured performance artist Rafa Esparza and model/make-up artist Taryn Piana.[13]

In October 2014, Wood toured Europe in support of the release of their EP, Down, The Dirty Roof, via Atonal Industries.[14] In 2015, Wood released a digital EP, "Hymn to Freedom", also via Atonal Industries.[15]

In May 2017, Wood released the album XALÁ. Recorded at the Auditori Municipal in Vila-Real, Spain, "XALÁ" is their first full-length release recorded completely in Spanish. Described by Wood as an exploration and simultaneous devaluing of hyper masculinity, they are accompanied on the recording by bassist Xavi Muñoz and percussionist Marcos Junquera.[16]

Discography
  • BOLKA (2006)
  • Black Pig Suite EP (2009)
  • Brutus (2010)
  • Glassellalia EP (2012)
  • Pearline EP (2012)
  • Rattle Rattle (2013)
  • La Cara Infinita EP (2013)
  • Down, The Dirty Roof EP (2014)
  • Hymn to Freedom EP (2015)
  • XALÁ (2017)[17]
gollark: Well, no, you'd probably need a turing machine.
gollark: I'm fairly sure you can simulate basically all CAs in Game of Life.
gollark: Er, stuff, not ones.
gollark: So, relatively gameoflifey ones, then?
gollark: Ah.

References
  1. Dorian Wood and the Art of Performance, KCET Artbound.
  2. Dorian Wood: Beautiful Losing, LA Weekly.
  3. SoCal Musician Mends Heartbreak on Debut, Signal Tribune.
  4. LA's Dorian Wood is Something Else, Hear in Colors.
  5. Interview Dorian Wood: Pianos, Frances Bacon and Peter Seeger, Net Emergence.
  6. God Bless This Army So Close to the Ground (how the Brutus) Archived 2015-02-01 at the Wayback Machine, InDigest Mag.
  7. Killsonic: A 24-Piece L.A. Big Band's "Cloud of Noise", LA Weekly.
  8. Performance review: Killsonic at the NOW Festival at REDCAT, Los Angeles Times.
  9. Don't Quarrel About Species, Times Quotidian.
  10. Los Angeles Goes Live: Performance Art in Southern California 1970–1983, X-TRA.
  11. Album Review: Dorian Wood, "Rattle Rattle", The Deli Magazine.
  12. Watch: Dorian Wood's "La Cara Infinita", OUT Magazine.
  13. Dorian Wood, Queer Artist, Premieres 'O' (VIDEO), The Huffington Post.
  14. Gira Europea y Nuevo EP De Dorian Wood en Otono, Born Music.
  15. DORIAN WOOD: HYMN TO FREEDOM EP, LA Record.
  16. El Matriarcado Es Lo Unico Que Puede Salvar Este Mundo, Mondo Sonoro.
  17. Dorian Wood Bandcamp site, Bandcamp.
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