ABOUT

It is a rare gift for an artist to possess unequivocal confidence in their own creative spirit, the freedom to allow themselves to explore their muse at will, and the ability to bring these evocative and provocative journeys together in a form of music that is both revelatory for the artist and enlightening for the listener. 

The life and career of Belgian-born, Toronto-residing, and citizen of the world Dorian Voos, although still tender in years, is one that has already been filled with an overflowing of remarkable experiences, insights gleaned, and wisdom encountered. And to the benefit of all of us, he is generous with sharing these lessons with a wider vision of the world and its varied cultures through his original compositions, which are based on his own self-devised, and instantly memorable form of synth-based electronica. 

Voos, who is writing, recording, producing and releasing his current musical expositions under the name aiwake, revels in solitude as he creates what he has termed ‘indie-electronic’ music, a form that would not be unfamiliar to pop fans of the last 40 years, but which does not conform to the modern, hyper-produced formula dominating radio. It is unusual to be so contrary to the prevailing trends, and yet equally as compelling.  

Curiously, it is a form of music that did not come naturally to Voos. Early on, he was influenced by multiple genres growing up in Belgium, later even embarking on a short career as part of an alternative rock band. Lacking in stimulation and satisfactory results, Voos realized that isolating himself surrounded by a host of keyboards, synths and computer interfaces, with no oversight, no one else’s priorities or schedules impeding his flow of ideas, that magic could result. It was a remarkably courageous move to essentially deviate from one’s original stylistic path to another for the sake of a more fulfilling creative experience. But those who come to know Voos, and his music realize this unabated artistic integrity is at the core of his personality. Being authentic is more important to him, than being trendy. 

“The appeal was not as exciting as what I am doing now. Even though I like indie rock more than anything else, I decided to work in electronic music because I could do so much more on my own and didn’t have to depend on other musicians. I have no distractions, I set my own timelines and have all the instruments I need at my fingertips,” he said. 

With influences such as indie legend Jeff Buckley, who is known for the depth of emotion and authenticity in his compositions, the moody orchestrations of Coldplay and unpredictable funkiness of Jamiroquai, Voos combined these inspirational impetuses with his predilection for creating on keyboards and synths to come up with the signature sound for aiwake, which is particularly evident on the thoughtful, immersive and transcendental track Transparence. 

“I never leaned on any one influence more than the others, but it still comes back to the synthesizers as the foundation. I always start a song with textures and synth. I used samplers and my own textures to make my music. You could also call it garage-electronic because I do bring this grittiness to it.

“The big problem in the digital realm is perfection. There are no imperfections because it all comes from codes. It’s cold because there’s no emotion in those codes, so I always add what I call noise. I always add some sort of imperfection, like you would have with the analog synths of the 1980s, which sometimes went out of pitch. A lot of electronica acts want that perfect sound. For me, the goal is quite the opposite.”  

Throughout his early teens and 20s, Voos traveled the world to not only hone his music making craft, but also to experience a wider existence, spending time in Budapest, Melbourne and London before moving to Canada six years ago. As with the rest of his particularly non-conformist lifestyle, he would stay at an institution of musical higher learning only long enough to learn what he needed, before moving on. 

“I play a number of instruments, but I never dedicated myself to perfecting them. I still don’t consider myself to be a musician, which is funny because I do make music, in my own fashion. I do so many other things with music than just play: I produce, engineer, mix and create original sounds. I do consider myself a recording artist. But back then all I knew was I was touched by the things I was hearing, like the first Coldplay album, and Jeff Buckley’s work.” 

Listening to the music of aiwake, there is also a definite cinematic and dramatic quality to it. Transparence, for example, is as much a soundscape as it is a song, evoking time, place and mood in a way that the best composers can. It is a hope that at some point in his life and career, Voos will create soundtracks for films.

He is already adept at bringing his musical touch to visuals in a theatrical way, as for several years, he has composed original music to accompany his partner, Amanda Pye, a professional contemporary dancer and choreographer. It appears there are few things in Voos’ life that don’t inspire music to issue forth from his fertile imagination. 

“I just work on things as I am exposed to them. I don’t go looking for these different projects or forms of inspiration. Music for dance, it’s just one of the opportunities that came down the line of me just living and experiencing life. I know I have put myself in situations where I knew that I will be stimulated by something, but not sure how or why or by what ” Voos said. 

With an openness to absorb, process and incorporate a world of artistic sustenance, and the determination and talent to use this to craft highly original, exceptionally compelling and thought-provoking music across many styles, for many purposes and with many ways to move audiences, there is little doubt that Dorian Voos, aiwake and whatever other creative personae he employs, will be a voice to be heard for many years to come.