Name: Demian Dorelli
Occupation: Composer, pianist
Nationality: British
Current release: Demian Dorelli's My Window is out via Ponderosa.
Recommendations: David Hockney’s collection of 120 iPhone & iPad drawings called “My Window” (published by Taschen) is where my latest album all began!

Pain: The Ultimate Mentor by Kevin Hunt.
A Sport Physio that I was lucky enough to find when I really needed it, who helped me understand my body and the pain I was experiencing in a way that changed how I lived after that. If that sounds a familiar situation … this is the book he published on the subject.

If you enjoyed this Demian Dorelli interview and would like to stay up to date with his music, visit him on Instagram, Facebook, and twitter.



When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

It’s fascinating to discover how music effects individuals differently. For me, when I’m listening to something that connects, I’ll most often experience it at an emotional level. The response is more of a feeling within my body but at the same time my mind is noticeably engaged and focused, like a synchronising of the layers.

The visual aspect comes more into play at the start of the process for me, where visual stimuli can trigger internal feelings that push me to create music at the piano.

I’m not usually focused on anything visually while I’m playing and so moving between eyes open and closed has an unplanned natural flow to it.

What were your very first steps in music like - and how do you rate gains made through experience versus the naiveté of those first steps?

My first musical steps where at the piano we had at home and I remember it as  a mix between exploration and frustration of not being able to play what I heard.

It’s amazing how advanced our ears are even in our younger years, we’ll know exactly when something sounds right or not, and yet that doesn’t seem to match with the physicality and understanding of playing an instrument. I guess that’s the challenge a musician has, bringing these two elements closer and closer together. Growing the network of pathways in one’s brain and body can only happen through doing it, so all the experiences you have are so important.

What’s been interesting is finding out how that works best and what makes a difference. One example is how sleep allows the brain to assimilate and kind of ‘save’ things you’re working on in the day, to the point that whatever it is you’re working through only seems to, by magic, come together one or two sleeps later.

According to scientific studies, we make our deepest and most incisive musical experiences between the ages of 13-16. What did music meant to you at that age and what’s changed since then?

I think at that age music is not such a conscious thing. It’s more instinctive but also a lot about personal identity. I was on a search for music I loved, which quite often would involve going to record shops to discover new music … something I would find quite overwhelming with the amount of choice and where to begin.

Now, although there is so much more music to choose from, the landscape is quite different and, in a way, it’s easier to discover new sounds through the digital world of streaming platforms and social media.

I was in my first bands at that age and through playing with others finding out what I could add. I experienced the first beautiful moments and sounds that can only happen within a group context, at times something that helped me to get out of my own worried teenage head. Playing in a group at that time made music mean something and gave me a sense of identity.

Over the course of your development, what have been your most important instruments and tools and how have they shaped your perspective on music?

One would definitely be that the ability to record my music, from the tape machine to the computer, has been a vital element in growing my understanding of music and playing it. A bit like that moment when you first hear back a recording of your own speaking voice and think … “is that what I really sound like!?”  

The more you do it the more it helps you narrow the gap between what you think you’re playing to what you’re actually playing.

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music and what motivates you to create?

For me it’s a way of communicating, where, playing the piano gives me that chance to express something that I would normally find hard if not impossible to do through words alone.

More often than not, I look to tell a story with my compositions. So when it comes to a new project, finding an overall concept really helps to give a focus and framework that helps me discover those stories and go deeper into the search.

Thinking about improvisation, it’s often said that having restrictions helps you to be freer than if you had none and everything was on the table all at once. Sometimes you need to feel relaxed in your mind to allow creativity to happen and having less options at the outset can help the freedom that a focus can give.

Paul Simon said “the way that I listen to my own records is not for the chords or the lyrics - my first impression is of the overall sound.” What's your own take on that and how would you define your personal sound?

I actually agree with the idea that the overall sound is ultimately what’s important. The challenge from a musician’s point of view is to be able to step back and listen with a producer’s ears. We do have to worry about the details and choices in our playing, but a producer’s point of view can be invaluable, whether that’s you or another person.

Some people aren’t good at both, which is fine if and important to understand if that’s the case, but I think Paul Simon probably is one of those that can write, perform, produce and knows how to dance between the elements.

It's not so easy to define my sound totally as it’s evolving the more I do, but I hope there is a sense of warmth and a personal touch to it.

Sound, song, and rhythm are all around us, from animal noises to the waves of the ocean. What, if any, are some of the most moving experiences you've had with these non-human-made sounds? In how far would you describe them as “musical”?

My garden birds have become musical companions over time. I have a garden studio where I play my piano and it seems they’re always singing and calling each other but I’ve noticed while I’m playing that they get louder and even closer. I always wonder if they are listening and singing back to me, I love the idea that they might be!

They really are musical and although you can recognise the different types of bird, they always seem to have endless variations of their songs. Maybe they’re not always calling but sometimes simply enjoying the huge choir of nature that they’re part of.

From very deep/high/loud/quiet sounds to very long/short/simple/complex compositions - are there extremes in music you feel drawn to and what response do they elicit?

Any extreme sounds that you weren’t anticipating can have instant reactions. I don’t mean only shocking loud sounds but even a quiet and short sound could bring out a surprising reaction or emotion. These are part of the pallet we have available as musicians/composers.

Even the relationship between different extremes can be what’s interesting too, as you move a listener from one to another.

From symphonies and traditional verse/chorus-songs to linear techno tracks and free jazz, there are myriads ways to structure a piece of music. Which approaches work best for you – and why?

I often begin from free improvisation but then use elements I discover there to build a more structured piece. I don’t generally stick to a set format when composing but one thing I do feel important is coming back to a theme at least once.

There is something about being reminded of a melody a second time that creates a connection with it, it’s like coming home every now and then.

Could you describe your creative process on the basis of one of your pieces, live performances or albums that's particularly dear to you, please?

There is one piece I particularly love from my new album, My Window, titled “The Letter.”



The theme for the new record was writing pieces based on an artwork or scene where a window had an important role. This one began while I was looking at an evocative work from artist Jan Vermeer, called ‘Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window’ (1658). I wanted to tell the story of what I saw through my piano.

I used elements from within the painting to guide me, like the gentle light coming through the window highlighting her face and letter she’s reading. Coupled with stories my mother-in-law recounted about receiving and collecting letters over the years from loved ones far away, at a time when that was the only means of reasonable communication. This was enough to inspire the melodies and form of this composition.

Try listening to this track while looking at Vermeer’s work and see what you think!

Sometimes, science and art converge in unexpected ways. Do you conduct “experiments” or make use of scientific insights when you're making music?

Well interestingly, after a fascinating trip to the hadron collider at CERN, Switzerland, I discovered a book exploring different dimensions. It became the inspiration of my next project that I’m currently working on so I can’t tell you much more about that … not yet !

How does the way you make music reflect the way you live your life? Can we learn lessons about life by understanding music on a deeper level?

Just the fact that we react to music and that it affects us, tells us a lot about what and who we are. We have times when we think of ourselves as one- or two-dimensional beings. But the way music communicates to our bodies, minds and spirit tells you otherwise.

Music has a way of bringing us closer together, even people that you don’t know or due to social or cultural complexities find it difficult to connect. I remember being in a taxi in India once and because of the language barrier on this occasion it was pretty silent, until I started playing a track on my phone which the driver excitedly recognised as being an Indian classic from a popular movie.  

Safe to say the rest of the journey was no longer in silence and a reminder that we might not be so different after all.

Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

To a half Italian person, making the right cup of coffee is not to be underestimated, it’s an art in itself!!

Compared to other mundane tasks though, music is all involving. In the midst of a creative flow there is a total absorption that also engages a different side of one’s brain. Conversely, you might actually need a mundane task every now and then to be able to take a meaningful break, all in order to get back refreshed for more.

Every time I listen to "Albedo 0.39" by Vangelis, I choke up. But the lyrics are made up of nothing but numbers and values. Do you, too, have a song or piece of music that affects you in a way that you can't explain?

I have a few of those … but a less obvious one might be Fratres by Arvo Pärt played by Gideon Kremer & Keith Jarrett. I think it’s the intensity that gets me, but I’m always surprised every time I hear it.



If you could make a wish for the future – what are developments in music you would like to see and hear?

Committing to a life in music is not the safest or easiest thing to handle. I’d  like to see a landscape where everyone involved in making music and making it happen get the recognition & reward they need.

More risk taking in finding new artists, supporting the ones that aren’t able to “do it all in the business” themselves but should be out there playing their music for the world to hear.

At school level, more importance on the arts and explanations as to why that is, including a more transdisciplinary approach to learning. How useful other subjects outside of music can help in a musical caree r… project planning, writing, organising, finances etc etc.