Dorian Wood

Dorian Wood is a Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter who – quite frankly – deserves much wider recognition.Looking like the bastard-love child of Tom Waits, Scott Walker and a Marc and the Mambas-era Marc Almond, he first picked up a cult following with 2007’s self-released album, Bolka – an intoxicating and accomplished collection that combined everything from demented and soulful honkytonk to Bulgarian choral music.

Rattle Rattle, which has been three years in the making, is another eclectic and bold collection that takes his sound to a whole new, richer level – helped by the inclusion of over 60 musicians and a 45-member choir. Labelled by Wood himself as ‘doomsday-themed songs’, this collection is by turns cacophonic, sinister, brooding, ambitious, bewitching and bold. - Out in the City

Dorian Wood creates epic yet intimate music that would be the perfect soundtrack to a fire and brimstone love story. His powerful music is uniquely his. - Sessions From the Box (Portland, OR)

One listen to Dorian Wood and you'll be musically scarred for life and this is a good thing...he is an enigma. A genius. Possibly a soothsayer. But, really, just a man that will move you with his words and his music unlike most any other artist you'll ever encounter.
- la-underground

Think Dorian Wood is a rude boy or a punk rocker? Not quite. The soundscapes of this avant-garde L.A. artist find beauty in the delicate balance between dark and light, pain and joy. His eccentric synthesis of folk, soul and experimentalism is DIY enough to make him a rebel to anyone’s ears, all while recalling the intensity of Tom Waits and Nick Cave. If you haven’t heard of his highly regarded debut, “BOLKA,” an album fusing together all the previously mentioned musical elements with Bulgarian choral music, you’ve probably seen him leading the marching gang Killsonic around town, or you’ve probably seen him performing in and directing operas and exhibits at REDCAT. If there’s an unconventional artist space somewhere, Wood has already unleashed his virtuoso talent there. For the last three years, he’s been working on his forthcoming magnum opus, “Rattle Rattle,” which is slated for a release later this year. His “Glassellalia” EP is a nice teaser; the title track featuring Correatown’s Angela Correa is gorgeous as it is long. - Buzzbands LA

The androgynous emotionality of Wood’s singing voice lends itself to the demanding theatricality of [his] lyrics, arrangements and production. The nakedness of a lover’s need and the wide-eyed madness that ensues when that need is not met twine around one another. - LA Weekly

The androgynous emotionality of Wood’s singing voice lends itself to the demanding theatricality of [his] lyrics, arrangements and production. The nakedness of a lover’s need and the wide-eyed madness that ensues when that need is not met twine around one another. - LA Weekly

Just in case you thought that Sufjan Stevens was the only arty, ambitious folkie out there, there's also the sweet-voiced Los Angeles singer/songwriter Mr. Wood. - Village Voice

Just in case you thought that Sufjan Stevens was the only arty, ambitious folkie out there, there's also the sweet-voiced Los Angeles singer/songwriter Mr. Wood. - Village Voice

A fearless artist and performer whose voice inhabits a room like a choir of ghosts, this Echo Park native cuts an unexpected swath through the respective oeuvres of Tom Waits and Nina Simone. Many will have witnessed Dorian Wood as the accordion-toting soul of L.A.'s finest left-field street orchestra, Killsonic, while others may know him from his commissioned theater works for arts organizations like Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, but even in an intimate venue such as this, the man's work is imbued with both bleeding rawness and dramatic flair. His most recent release is the haunting Glassellalia, whose eight-minute title track is a tautly beautiful contemplation of hardship featuring an unforgettable turn by local songstress Angela Correa. Wood will be accompanied at this show, but his warm vibrato and mastery over anything keyed (pianos, accordions) would be more than enough. - LA Weekly

Lording over the keys, the living ghost of deep delta bluesmen, Wood's rapturous songs marry the fevered spirituality of Southern gospel to the virtuosity of golden era Tin Pan Alley composers. Stories swirling in apocalyptic imagery waltz through the looking glass, confronting Alice's hallucinatory wonderland. It's the blood and gore of Brothers Grimm undercut with Bertolt Brecht's savage social criticisms, tightly wound and careening around the corners without losing control. - VINGT Paris

Lording over the keys, the living ghost of deep delta bluesmen, Wood's rapturous songs marry the fevered spirituality of Southern gospel to the virtuosity of golden era Tin Pan Alley composers. Stories swirling in apocalyptic imagery waltz through the looking glass, confronting Alice's hallucinatory wonderland. It's the blood and gore of Brothers Grimm undercut with Bertolt Brecht's savage social criticisms, tightly wound and careening around the corners without losing control. - VINGT Paris

Wood unleashes gospel-infused wails and testimony that bring the audience…to a frenzy. - The Advocate

Artist and musician Dorian Wood makes mercurial pop that demands and deserves attention. - Culture WNYC

Artist and musician Dorian Wood makes mercurial pop that demands and deserves attention. - Culture WNYC