1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
Adriaan (guitars): Well, we started out in 2008 with just me and Wolf (drummer) after drinking quite a bit of beer. We used to just do insanely long noise jams but we’ve moved from that to a more structured writing process. Erik (guitars) joined us in I think 2012 or 13 but we’ve only been really productive, in the sense of writing music and actively playing shows, since 2015. We took our time and it’s paying off, both musically and with the dynamics of the band.
Erik (guitars): I can't exactly remember when I first heard about Dorre. But I do remember them asking me to join them for a gig and after that asking me to stay which I was more than happy to do, because I liked the concept of jamming really heavy and noisy music. But I do like the fact that we decided on a more structured approached, and the song writing has been very productive since!
2.How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recordings?
Adriaan: It’s a bit of a mixed bag I’d say, doom leaning towards stoner, a bit of post-metal influences in there. It’s slow, atmospheric and dark but can suddenly burst out and grab you by the throat.
Erik: I think it's about creating the right atmosphere and a hypnotizing experience for the listener, and we were fortunate to record in a great studio as to capture the right sound. I feel it's kind of a nod to the past and the future of the band's venturing into music making.
3.So far all of the music has been instrumental, are there any plans to use any vocals in the future?
Adriaan: We might consider guest vocals, though not as a full-time band member. We’ll have to take a lot of factors into account if we do this though. Will the guest vocalist(s) be coming along on tour, how are we releasing those tracks, etc. Let’s just say that we’re thinking about it but there’s no plans so far.
Erik: Guest vocals are surely an option, and I think maybe female vocals would be a nice addition to our sound. I don't think we need a full time vocalist though, the music can speak for itself.
4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Dorre'?
Adriaan: This one’s pretty clean cut, Dorre is a Belgian beer. We were drinking it when we just started out and decided to call the band Dorre. That’s what 10,5% beer does to the mind I guess. We still bring along bottles of Dorre to give to the people that give us a stage and a place to sleep, we should get an endorsement or something from the brewery, hehe.
5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
Adriaan: That’s a tough question, you know, are the best shows the ones with the most crowd or the most fun? Personally I think we had a massive amount of fun with those first shows where we just played 3 hour jam sessions, getting everybody drunk and having a party. But playing shows through the UK and especially London will always be special to me.
Erik: It depends from venue to venue and from crowd to crowd, and it's hard to say which were the 'best'. I love playing live so every gig is a good one in my opinion. For our stage performance I would like to cite a review of our show at the Black Heart from Kerrang! magazine: "Dorre create a colossally heavy doom abyss into which they try to suck everything - your ears, daylight, reality - to hypnotizing effect."
6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
Adriaan: Yeah we do, we’ll be playing some shows in the UK in November. We’ll share the stage with Serpent Venom in London on 25/11 and we’re headlining Somatic Festival in Wakefield on 27/11. We’re also looking into touring with Bethmoora in February next year
7.You have a split coming out with 'Bethmoora', what are your thoughts on the other band that had participated on the recording?
Adriaan: I personally really dig what Bethmoora is doing. The atmosphere is excellent, the vocals, which are usually a difficult thing for me to get into if they are screaming, are very emotive. It also helps that Morten (guitars for Bethmoora) is a friend of mine, we met at Roadburn through a mutual friend a couple years back. He’s a great guy and we kind of just started talking about doing a split together and you know, we just followed through and did it.
Erik: The Dorre/Bethmoora split is a great combo, and I really like their side of the LP. They create a dark, intense mood with great musicianship and know-how! I'm looking forward to hitting the road with them.
8.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
Adriaan: We aren’t actively looking for a label, but if the right offer comes along we won’t ignore it either. There are some great hard-working labels out there but right now we are focusing on just doing what we need to do.
9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of doom metal and other forms of underground music?
Adriaan: I think we’ve gotten some good feedback, especially from the UK thanks to our gigs there in January. We’ve been picked up on blogs in other countries as well and I’d like to think people dig our music. I’m not really too occupied by it, of course I’d really like for people across the world to know us and dig what we do but it’s not like I’m on google every night seeing if somebody said anything about us. We’re a small band from a small country, we just like to play and record and we hope that works out as best as possible.
Erik: People seem to be digging what we do, and I hope the split will confirm that sentiment. Crowds have been really nice to us and the feedback very positive!
10.Are any of the band members also involved with any other bands or musical projects?
Adriaan: Erik is in a ton of bands, I’m sure he can drop some names, haha. The rest of us are currently only active in Dorre but we’ve all had other projects in the past.
Erik: I am currently active in Wheel of Smoke, Gloed, Rivercrest, Ivolve&Etherik and Barntree. I also operate solo and am also helping out other musicians and friends with recording their music.
11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Adriaan: No idea, we just keep writing tracks. Our music will evolve gradually I guess, we’re of course hoping for big stages, festivals and a full album in the coming years.
Erik: A full album in 2017 would be quite nice, and a lot of gigs of course!
12.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Adriaan: Our taste in music is… eclectic. I listen to a lot of heavy music like noise, drone and doom in the car, but I find myself putting on more big band, jazz and psychedelic rock at home. If I’d have to pick my favorite record to put on right now it’d probably be Kamasi Washington – The Epic.
Erik: I've been influenced by a very diverse range of bands and music, from Sun Ra to Nick Drake, High On Fire, Mahavishnu Orchestra,... These days I've been listening a lot to the El Paraiso Records bands like Causa Sui and Papir, great stuff!
13.What are some of your non musical interests?
Adriaan: Reading and video games, though there isn’t much time for that in between the band, my girlfriend and of course my job. I’m a big graphic novel fan, things like Hellboy, Transmetropolitan, the Walking dead, stuff like that, I try to get a couple of those in every month at least.
Erik: I'm a bit into old timer mopeds, love reading biographies of bands and artists and also do some basic guitar-maintenance for friends.
14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Adriaan: Well, first of all, thanks for taking an interest in Dorre, we appreciate it greatly! And then I guess we also hope that people will go check out our music, come to our shows, get in touch through social media or our website, maybe even pre-order an LP or something.
Erik: Thank you for reading this interview and I hope to see you all at one of our future gigs!
