Dorian: “The music industry has become a chicken farm laying eggs non-stop”

‘Impossible Futures’ is an album that leaves aside the experimentation with other musical genres that Dorian cultivated in his previous studio album, ‘Ritual’ (2022), to return to what Gili calls “the trademark of the house: giant synthesizers , sharp guitars, huge drums, pre-recorded bases and melancholic lyrics.” A “back to the essence” which turns ‘Impossible Futures’ into something like the third part of a trilogy that began with ‘The underground city’ (2009) and continued with ‘Universal justice’ (2018), perhaps the two titles that have best defined the ‘Dorian sound’ so far.

The most personal letters

Also the orientation of the lyrics, much more personal, distinguishes this new album from ‘Ritual’, where the social discourse had much more weight. “That album was composed in the middle of a pandemic, a time in which we all came out of our individualistic self-absorption a little and began to look at ourselves as a collective. But in these last three years, both on a band and personal level, many powerful things have happened to ushell that life gives you, and that’s why this time I wanted to go back to myself the deepest life experience”. The result, says Gili, is “Dorian’s most autobiographical album.”

Among those “powerful things” that have happened to them, the one that has marked the group the most is the sentimental breakup of Marc Gili and Belly Hernándezthe other visible side of Dorian (where he is in charge of the synthesizers, arrangements and vocal harmonies), after almost two decades of relationship. It was a separation that “was about to blow the band up into the air” and whose expansive wave has reached the lyrics of at least three of the songs on ‘Futures impossible’: ‘Something special’, ‘Por ti’ and ‘Elegía’.

overcome grief

“If I had to summarize what the album is about, I would say that the importance of knowing how to ask for forgiveness and knowing how to forgive -explains the singer-. Without forgiveness you cannot start over, it is war. He also talks about the positive overcoming of griefabout how important it is to be able to focus on the good memories, on everything you have learned and shared, and, at the same time, to have the courage to detach yourself from that person emotionally. Being able to continue moving forward without carrying a backpack of resentment and reproaches is essential for mental health.”

“There is no pain if you forgive / there is no resentment if you let go,” says the chorus of ‘For you’the first song in Dorian’s history in which Belly Hernández takes on lead vocals. Said like that it seems easy. The reality, with the uncertainty about the future of the band involved, was not so much. “Dorian is the project of our life and we had to overcome this no matter what,” says Hernández. But it is true that in the heat of battle you see everything very dark and you don’t know if you can handle it. It has been necessary to do very strong personal work, which can now be explained simply but which at that time was very difficult. We had to go through that process and we achieved it, thanks in large part to the help of our group mates.” Good time to mention their names: Bart Sanz (low) and Lisandro Montes (keyboards, guitars and programming).

‘Futures impossible’ is an album crossed by loss that ends up becoming an ode to survival. It is a story also applicable to Dorian’s own history, a group that was born just at the moment when record sales began to decline, eventually leading to the collapse of the sector. “We have lived in a record crisis all our lives. I no longer know how to live without crisis” Gili laughs. On the other hand, the dismantling of the industry has allowed the band access markets such as Latin America (where they have a large base of followers) without losing their independence. “At first we did not have the capacity to reach many people if there was not a great structure behind that would allow it, there were many filters,” says Hernández. Now, by working hard, you can reach your potential audience in a very direct way and that gives us a lot of autonomy.”

A “monstrous” dynamic

The less friendly side of this process is the almost obligation that is imposed on the current groups of produce songs at an insane rate to feed social networks and platform playlists. “We have decided that we are not going to enter into that dynamic,” says Gili. The music industry has become a chicken farm laying eggs non-stopand that is monstrous. You can’t be chasing the carrot all the time because you end up exhausted. What you have to do is good music and trust that it will attract the public. We now have a brilliant album and we will defend it to the death.”

And to defend it (hopefully not to the death), Dorian will embark on November 7 in a long tour which will begin in theaters in Spanish cities (on December 12 it will stop at Razzmatazz in Barcelona), will jump to America in spring, return to Spain to do the festival circuit in summer and will cross the Atlantic again at the end of 2025. A year and a half on the road. “We have enormous desire. We are direct animals. We love it.”