We interviewed Angel Deradoorian, who will be headlining Friday Nights at NGV on 15 April 2016.
Describe your sound in 5 words or less?
Mountain cave mystic women choir
If your music was an artwork what would it look like?
Early A.D. century frescoes middle east, greece, rome, egypt
Do you have a favourite artist/artwork?
Many. El Greco as a child, Egon Schiele as a teen/early adult, now Gerhard Richter, James Ensor, Matthew Barney, Brian DeGraw, Lionel Maunz, Peter Birkhauser, Marina Abramovic, Yayoi Kusama,
What’s your favourite gig you have played to date?
Hard to say. each show is very different for different reasons. I liked playing Le Guess Who Festival in Utrecht in 2015, also the Moth Club in London, The Fonda in LA, Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn.
What inspires/influences your music the most?
Introspection. Sonic textures and tones that color music.
What song do you wish you wrote?
Sun Ra – The Night of the Purple Moon
What part of making music excites you the most?
Improvising and looping at home
What can someone expect from your live show?
Diversity in arrangement, different from album performance. Focus on singing. Mixture of live (mostly) and electronic.
Tell us about the last song or album you created?
The album “The Expanding Flower Planet” based on existential crises/ideas and trying to push beyond what we are shown societally. Feeling comfortable entering the void.
What is your favourite part of being involved in Friday Nights at NGV?
This is my first time and am honored to be a part of this event. Thank you.
Andy Warhol | Ai Weiwei showcases over 300 artworks that explore the parallels and intersections between the practices of these two exemplary artists. Are you excited about the exhibition?
Yes, I’m very excited and curious.
A large portion of the works included in the Andy Warhol | Ai Weiwei exhibition include political or social commentary. Have you been inspired to do this through your music
Yes, the majority of my songs are political/socially oriented. I have a more abstract way of presenting those feelings because of my personal feelings on politics and social issues. They are left for questioning and interpreting, but the underlying dissatisfaction of the the way the world is run is felt throughout in my songs.
Andy Warhol famously said: ‘Art is what you can get away with.’ How would you respond?
Hard to say. I see that as an aspect of art. I feel that the audience decides what you can get away with, so I’m not sure who is creating, the artist or the audience. Art to me is your personal creation and connection with the world. A way to interpret your philosophies and the remind others that they are not alone in their existential search for understanding what this all means.
Ai Weiwei once said: ‘A small act is worth a million thoughts.’ How would you respond?
I think this is incredibly relevant today in the technological era. This goes beyond art in the creative sense. This is communication and connection with the world. Technological communication platforms offer this idea as a reality. You can say one small thing that triggers man responses and opens up the floor to exploring what may have once been scary to communicate about.
What else are you working on now? Or where are you next touring?
Tours in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Europe. Writing more music.