When approaching Dornika, one must realise how the Berlin-based talent is not just a musical artist; rather, she’s a committed creative, often using her art as a tool for activism. Her work is informed by the contemporary. In turn, the contemporary is informed by her work. Championing a fierce Queer aesthetic, Dornika now unveils her latest effort, a glorious, eclectic EP with a universal sound and an experimental outlook.
‘Revolution’ builds on modern electronica’s many avenues, from minimalism to grittiness, passing through mainstream stylings and dance-powered energy. What matters though, is the empowering and reflective message that stems from it. Themes of body autonomy, racism and female independence flow copiously, highlighting Dornika’s Iranian heritage and the current female-led revolution in Iran.
A majestic offering from Dornika, packing ‘Revolution’ with valuable sonic and lyrical content. Intrigued by the project, we caught up with the Berlin creative to find out more about her artistry and future goals… interview below!
Hey Dornika, thanks for chatting with us. Hope things are all good with you – I have been navigating through your music, and your eclectic approach to genres and styles seems to be driven by strong and fierce activism. What does music represent for you, on a general level?
Music has always been in some way an integral part of human society. Whether in celebration, mourning, rituals or even work, like fishermen using songs to pull heavy fishing nets out of the water at the same pace. Still, today music is such a big part of modern culture and I feel it’s a powerful tool in our everyday lives. To me, music is the epitome of human existence and being alive.
If you had to trace a historical journey of your dealings with the art of music making, where would you say that journey started (from, and where)?
I think I was 5 when I made this tune on the piano at my mom’s friend’s place. It was just a few notes, but I still remember the melody. I’d say my formative steps in music making were when I was about 15-16 when I started composing little Bach-inspired mini fugues on the piano. I experimented a lot with classical-inspired composition on the piano or guitar but there was always something weird and new about what I made.
My skills were not that advanced as an instrumentalist so there were always limitations that made me get more creative with minimalism. I think I started singing around 16 but I was really shy about my voice, it did not come naturally to me. I then started writing songs in my bedroom and created my own little pop world.
You are just about to release a stunning EP, ‘Revolution’. It’s relevant, rebellious and empowering stuff. How did the record come along?
At the core of the EP lies the sentence “Revolution is as political as it is personal”. Recognizing the traumas inflicted by the systems we live in and tying them together in a way that goes beyond regions and takes into account the global dynamics behind our oppression. In this body of work, I propose a new path forward. I reveal a lot of myself and get very vulnerable as well as show strength and power as these two things come hand in hand. Healing is not possible until we address our wounds and true strength comes with vulnerability.
The songs are inspired by my own journey of dealing with the harsh realities of the world and then finding purpose in them to be the change I wish to see. It’s been a very introspective process and I hope people can connect to it in some way and acknowledge both my struggles and theirs. Healing is a group process and we need to come together to make changes. None of us can grow on our own and we need connection and love, despite what the hyperindividualist capitalist systems have us believe. We can learn so much by listening to the ways we are all affected by the world and truly be able to make effective changes towards equity. Our liberation is tied to one another as much as our oppression is.
From a sonic standpoint, is there a particular genre or style you prefer? Great vocals btw!
Thank you! I got to say I love experimenting with different genres and sounds and sometimes music for me becomes like performance art and I feel very fluid in it. But I think my heart will always gravitate towards downtempo electronic on the experimental side. I guess cause it really inspires me to dance and feel just really possessed and connected to my inner GODx/monster.
Musically, I love the contrast between bright and uplifting material such as ‘All Eyes On The Revolution’ and darker and complex tracks such as ‘Chase Me’. How does your songwriting process work? Do you collaborate a lot with others?
That’s an interesting question cause the process for each track was completely different. I worked with a different producer on each of the tracks, except ‘Chase Me’ which was made by myself. It was actually the first song I ever produced about 5 years ago and had the hook in my head for a while. The verse was basically improvised in the studio last year. For ‘KoOkOo’ I basically wrote in the studio session with Julian (Qlan) where we started everything together. I was in a bit of a depressed place having gone through Berlin winter and a break-up, on top of all the other things.
For ‘All Eyes’ I just came up with the hook and sent a rough voice note to Anthony (Blood Williams) and they spun out a beautiful production on it before we recorded it in my bedroom, at the time in Leipzig. This was the most recent song and it came as a response to feeling very emotional over the events in Iran last October.
‘Meditate’, on the other hand, was not as easy to write. It’s the heaviest track in terms of lyrics on the EP, it’s literally 5 minutes of lyrics. I wrote so much for this track and anyone I showed was telling me to shorten it, but I really couldn’t cause it felt like that’s what the song was about, having so much to say and so much on your mind that it’s hard to focus. So in the end I was like fuck it, if it needs to be a 5 minute journey that’s what it needs to be.
I’m grateful to be working with people that are open to the process and supporting my vision. On Meditate Ed (Longo) basically produced 4 completely different genres, it was a really nice process in the studio though sometimes it would get frustrating because our style of work is different.
I’ve definitely learned to find my approach to collaborating. I see it as a blind date, sometimes things work out and sometimes they don’t and that’s not something you can force. I love to work with others and it inspires a lot of creativity but I think for successful collaboration both people need to feel like their creativity is honoured so there needs to be space for playfulness. Things can get tough when there’s a strict vision that you are not on the same page about. That’s why I really love going to the session without any preparation and just creating from scratch.
You are now settled in Berlin – does the German capital influence your musical output? If so, is there anything in particular that inspires you in being an artist?
In terms of conversations I’m a part of and the communities I am in for sure. I would be lying if I said Berlin club culture and queer culture has not inspired me. In terms of sounds, I would say it’s a bit more difficult because there’s a humongous techno scene here and not a big pop and live music scene in comparison, but things are growing and it feels like we are creating the thing together. It’s kind of exciting, although sometimes I wonder if Berlin’s the best place for my music, but I definitely think there are aspects of the city that make it great for creating and experimenting.
I guess what inspired me the most was the support of the queer scene here and the amazing audiences at drag shows. I started performing as a dancer and drag artist before getting the confidence to finally bring my own music into the mix, I could not have found it without the amazing queer performance community that exists here. It’s a city where you can decide to be something tomorrow and everyone’s like ok cool, you’re that. But then the quality of the work is up to you to keep up, which I try my best to do.
Your Iranian roots greatly influence your kaleidoscopic artistry. Was it painful to be an outside observer of the recent turmoil in Teheran?
It was extremely painful, but it felt like pain that was always there that suddenly erupted. I also experienced life under this regime and the violence and fears in my body, and still do 6 years after moving away. Iranian women, minorities and people that stand up against the dictatorship are threatened every day with violence, and the events since the uprisings over Mahsa Jina Amini’s murder have been some of the biggest mass violence actions since decades. I would say we are all still connected though some of us have the privilege to move away and be in a safer space (not completely safe but safer).
The part that is the most painful aside from all the horrible violence that people have gone through (including the murder and poisoning of children, mass rape as a tool for suppression and hundreds of executions just this year) is the way we feel powerless against such a huge institution, especially when it is backed and supported by the same western countries we are trying to ask to help put a stop to them. It’s very heavy, and everyone in the world should be outraged that there’s a government doing these things and still gets a chair in the UN. It should reveal the depth of corruption to people that were ignorant about what kind of world we are living in. That’s why the revolution needs to be global, we are all affected by these systems because they are all connected.
What are the next steps for your project? Anything exciting on the horizon?
This summer I have a hectic touring schedule. I have 20 shows in June and July alone and am excited to be playing in Switzerland, Austria and Greece for the first time this year, as well as in some of my favourite festivals in Germany. It’s giving up and coming artist and I’m here for the ride. I have a ton of unreleased music and cute collaborations coming up that I can’t wait to share. I’m particularly excited about Nexus, which is the title track for my upcoming album and is one of my favourite pieces I’ve ever done. Got a gorgeous music video for it too made by Marcel Sygula, who also did the cover art for Revolution. It’s a very personal and epic track and I just can’t wait!
