Dorian Craft is a French DJ / Producer known for his unique sound and his eclectic sets. Mixing ethnic sounds and melodic vibes with a subtle touch of techno, his productions have landed on the likes of like Monaberry, Radiant and Madorasindahousehad and had the seal of approval by some of the scene’s most respected tastemakers including Black Coffee, Behrouz, Chus & Ceballos, Sebastien Leger, Super Flu and more.

We caught up with Dorian ahead of his new EP ‘All Of My Words’.

WWD: Hey Dorian, how are you? What’s good and bad in your world?

Hey, good to talk with you guys, actually working on my south America gigs for the NYE…

WWD: What was it like to get back to partying and DJing again after the pandemic?

To be honest, it felt strange in the early days of the pandemic to be stuck at home without any visibility on the future. But I rapidly crossed the Atlantic ocean to play again in Mexico, so thank god it was a short break for me!

WWD: How do you evolve your own sound while staying true to your roots and own signature and not jumping on new hype bandwagons?

Well, I have always played different styles in my sets giving my crowd an eclectic journey. I would say production-wise, I have kept this organic sounds but now I tend to add more and more melodic stuff into it.  It’s never good to follow the trends, cuz soon or later you’re old-fashioned. I just try to do my thing.

WWD: What inspired the new EP on connected frontline?

I’m so happy to work with Connected. Nick and Rob have done a great job on the release and left me all the control, from the remixers to the cover design and the promo strategy. All of My Words was produced during the summer 2020, and I wanted a hybrid track, listenable in 10 years because it doesn’t really follow the trends. My idea was to combine the acoustic and electronic world, the live and studio recording to get this track you can listen to at home while cooking, or at a beach club watching a sunset… and the folk / underground pop of Jono mixed into the organic / afro drum kit does perfectly the job I think!

WWD: When did you first meet Jono McCleerym, why did you decide to work together?

I loved Jono’s tracks with Maceo Plex ‘Mystery’ and I liked the idea to maybe try his voice on something more designed for clubs. Then I contacted him with a demo and he wrote the track in 3 weeks!

WWD: Did he write the lyrics, did you give him any brief?

Jono was free, I like to give my singers space in their craft.. After the first singed demo, we talk about some words of voice melodies to improve but when the chemistry is right, we don’t need to talk that much afterwards 🙂

WWD: How important are the lyrics, must they have a real message, or is it more about the sounds?

I’d say everything’s important. The quality of the message, the way you tell it and how you tell it make the difference, especially if you want to make a song for every moment of the day.

WWD: What else have you got coming up/are you working on?

Well in a short time, I will have my track « Stuck In My Head », released earlier this year that has been shortlisted by Black Coffee for his 2021 compilation, and I’m working now on a new EP for 2021. I’m taking my time on this one cuz i want to release something unusual again, i want to got out of my confort zone so this ep is 80 % done, but the last 20 % takes the most time..

WWD: What hopes and dreams do you have for 2022?

I’m really looking forward 2022. So many surprises with my team from London Nowhere Events for the year.
I also just got my O1 visa, which means i will be allowed to tour USA really soon among many other countries.