Dorian Concept - What We Do For Others (LP)

Released on 9 September 2022 via Brainfeeder, What We Do For Others feels like a turning point for Dorian Concept, the Austrian producer and keyboard savant born Oliver Thomas Johnson. He built a reputation on lightning fast MicroKORG runs and knotty beats, the kind of virtuosity that went viral in the late 2000s, then honed it across full length statements like Joined Ends on Ninja Tune and The Nature of Imitation on Brainfeeder. This one moves differently. It floats rather than flexes, patiently building rooms you can sit with for a while, then quietly rearranging the furniture.

Part of the appeal is how self contained it is. Johnson has long been a one person ecosystem, and here he leans into that, folding synth textures, gently staggering drum programming, and careful harmony work into something that feels generous and unforced. In interviews around the release he talked about stepping away from showmanship and thinking about how his music lands for other people, which ties neatly to the title. The result is an album that keeps his signature curiosity intact while dialing back the razzle dazzle. You still hear the restless musician who can make a simple arpeggio feel alive, but he resists the urge to sprint. The pacing is confident, almost conversational.

It also sits nicely in the Brainfeeder universe without mimicking anyone else on the roster. There are passing shades of label mates who favor atmosphere and color, but Johnson’s harmonic choices remain very much his, those rounded chords and sneaky modulations that tug at the ear without telegraphing where they are headed. Beats lope and shuffle with a human tilt, never grid locked, which gives the synth lines space to breathe. When a low end pulse rises, it does so like a tide, not an air raid siren. When a melody repeats, it finds new light each time around, a small adjustment to tone here, a ghostly counter line there.

The sequencing helps. Early stretches cast a soft glow, a welcome mat rather than an opening salvo, then the record tightens its focus and lets the drums speak up. Later, the noise floor lifts and you hear tiny details catch in the mix, a reminder that he records like a player, in performance, not an engineer searching for clinical perfection. It is a record that rewards attention but does not punish you for letting your mind wander. Put it on while you cook and you will hum along without noticing. Sit down with good headphones and you will pick out the painstaking choices in envelope and filter that make these sounds feel tactile.

Critics heard the shift too. Major outlets that have followed him for years singled out the warmth and restraint, the sense that he found a way to be expressive without sprinting to the finish line. Fans who came in through the whirlwind of his early keyboard videos might be surprised at first, but the DNA is still there, only reframed. You can draw a line from the sly rhythmic hiccups on The Nature of Imitation to the knotted little rhythms here, except now the camera is pulled back a few feet. It reads as growth, not retreat.

If you collect Dorian Concept vinyl, this one belongs near the top of the stack. The music suits the format, long tails on the synths, bass that blooms, percussion with enough headroom to feel unhurried. What We Do For Others vinyl has been easy to recommend to shoppers who ask for something modern that still feels warm and human. If you like to buy Dorian Concept records online, keep an eye out, since Brainfeeder pressings tend to vanish then reappear. Browsing a Melbourne record store recently, I watched a staffer put it on in the late afternoon and the room got calmer, people lingered at the listening stations. That is the record working as intended. And if you are building a row of Dorian Concept albums on vinyl, it makes a beautiful bridge between the glistening melancholy of Joined Ends and the rhythmic puzzles of The Nature of Imitation.

There is care in every corner here, but not the kind that begs for attention. Johnson trusts simple ideas, then nurtures them until they feel inevitable. That confidence makes What We Do For Others one of his most inviting releases, a late night friend rather than a show of force. For anyone searching beyond algorithmic playlists, for anyone who still loves the ritual of lowering the needle and letting a side play through, this is a quiet keeper. And yes, it is the kind of album that will nudge you to explore more Dorian Concept vinyl, or to slip it into a stack the next time you’re hunting through new arrivals, whether you are in Vienna, LA, or flipping through crates of vinyl records Australia side.