What inspired you to first start making music? And how did you come to be in your current incarnation? Or if you prefer, a brief bio about you.

I am a French electronic synthpop musician mixing guitar and electronic. My influences : Tangerine dream, Ashra, Ronny Jordan, Mahavishnu , Soft Machine, the first Pink Floyd, Scandinavian jazz.And others i will discover in the future. I have been signed to the label Pink Dolphin Music (Birmingham, UK). Cloudy church have been played on Soho Radio London, Radio1 Prague, Nam Radio, Radio Kaos caribou, Radio du bord de l’eau. Other tunes on Catorweb radio. Cloudy Church is also in « French mix 1 » a mixtape from Julien Naït bouda ( Longueur d’Ondes). And the song space dance 2 in « French mix 2 ».Three tunes have been include in playlists jazz mood, psychedelic ), and Planet electro from Pascal Deslauriers ( boulimiquedemusique). And two songs are in the playlist « instrus » by Sophie Rabreau (Sauce blanche).

Provide us with some info about your latest release…

Berlin night was released after a trip in the german capital city. It was deserted because of the bad weather. So it was rather fantomatic. All the parcs and monuments were empty. I tried to figure this strange atmosphere in this electro jazz pop tune.

Which ones would you consider your main influences both music-wise & non-music-wise?

I think my main influences are from the 70 s. Pink Floyd, Santana, Steely Dan, and more esoteric groups as Ashra, Mahavishnu, Soft Machine.. I also like to listen to trip hop like Morcheeba or Massive attack. Jazz influences are also very important to me , with musicians like Grant green, Ronny Jordan…And Blues like Clapton or JJ Cale. My most important criterium is that you are immerged in music, in a psychedelic way.

In what way does your sound differ from the rest genre-related artists/bands and why should we listen to your music? In other words, how would you describe your sound?

I would describe my sound as ambient- jazzy- psychedelic- electro- pop. I like to mix all theses influeces into a style which I hope is personnal. I also only do instrumentals, cause that’s what I prefer to listen to. And I use distorsion guitar soundS floating on naps of synthetizer to have this psychedelic atmosphere , lightly stuffed, very different of the current production, looking like some productions of the 70 s.

Please name your 3 desert islands albums, movies & books…

-Wish you were here from Pink Floyd
-Aja from Steely Dan
-Khmer from Nils peter Molvaer

-Marathon man by John Schlesinger
-Three days of the condor by Sydney Pollack
-The Godfather by Francis Ford Coppola

-Tender is the Night by Francis Scott Fizgerald
-The sun also rises by Ernest Hemingway
-The catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger

Do you prefer studio or performing live and why?

I prefer studio because I am the unique composer and player of my music. Also because I throw a lot of what I produce to keep only the best. In third, because my music is based on guitar improvisation on a synthetizer theme , it would be hard to reproduce identically in the scene. Or it would be possible but it would not be improvisation and not the same spirit. But if I can do some concerts one day, why not ? Nobody has ever asked me to do it whatever. 

Is there any funny-unique story you would like to share with us, always in relation to your music ‘career’?

I considered my self like a kitchen musician, a complete amateur, until the leader of a elctro pop groupe “ Stereo”, well known in the 80’ s told me : “ an amateur no no you are a home studio musician like me withe a musical universe of your own”. It changed my point of view a little.

Which track of your own would you point out as the most unique and why?

My favorite is my most successful track “Space Gossip”. It s very spatial theme with hovering ambiance and the guitar has a sound looking like a little to a saxophone.

Would you like to share with our readers your future plans?

I will soon release an EP called Space Rumours on the label Pink Dolphin Music, which will contain five tunes. I think they will be very psychedelic , with hovering ambiance full of different sounds of synthetizer and guitar.

Free question!!! (Ask yourself a question) you wish to answer and haven’t been given the opportunity…

Curated by: Christos Doukakis

Recommended listening:

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Connect with Alain Dorra:

Spotify  artist link  :

https://open.spotify.com/artist/5WTca18JSauqKP9WGH5CVg?si=VJ1kq3mmTfmmAupbsIOaYw

Youtube channel  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_8i6yc5BA7xZvz-CONctaw/about

Twitter : @DorraAlain

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