Douglas Dare

In the organizer's words:

Since 2013, Douglas Dare has been fusing classical, chamber pop, folk and avant-garde in an astonishing way - with an astonishing voice that takes your breath away. For this reason, he has played with the likes of Nils Frahm, Perfume Genius and Ólafur Arnalds and has been selected by David Lynch and Robert Smith of The Cure for their respective cultural festivals in Manchester (MIF) and London (Meltdown).
But Douglas' fourth album Omni is a bold rebirth. At the suggestion of Erased Tapes founder Robert Raths, he decided to move away from acoustic instruments, particularly the piano, which he had grown up with, and replace them with synthesizers and drum machines. Label colleague Daniel Brandt (of Brandt Brauer Frick) is responsible for the production and the beat on 'Mouth to Mouth' comes from Rival Consoles. The exceptional 'Teach Me' was recorded with Fabian Prynn, a long-time collaborator and in-house producer at 4AD. Douglas' vision was one of ecstasy and euphoria. "I wanted it to be f****** loud and forceful," he explains.
His new music has much in common with Arca and the late SOPHIE, two artists for whom self-expression meant liberation. "I was in the studio with her," Douglas says of the latter musician, "the way she made music made a big impression on me." And yet Omni is imbued with the kind of deft storytelling, sweeping strings, elegant contrasts and fairytale atmosphere that marks Douglas out as a crucial and unique voice.It's not often you hear a strutting electro banger that could have come straight out of 90s Soho, with vocal loops inspired by US experimentalist Meredith Monk.

Price information:

VVK: 22€ plus fees