BD 2023 Q3 REVIEW
Well, the leaves have come to turning, and the goose has gone to fly...
- James Taylor, "Walking Man"
It’s the latter end of Autumn, a good time to reflect and take stock on the months passed. It’s been a very eventful year at #BlueDorian, though you might be hard-pressed to see why going purely by output. We’ll take you through the changes, seen and unseen.
The biggest project was our first “live” event since before COVID (live meaning “performed live” as opposed to multi-track and extensively overdubbed), and it took some work brushing off cobwebs and remembering how to organize not only an ensemble that was non-virtual, but a repertoire, a studio, and videography elements, to make sure all was adequately represented in a way that would turn out well. Thankfully, all ran smoothly with minimal hoghauling, and we now have ourselves a veritable trove of recorded takes (both audio and visual) through which we’ll sift and put together what will hopefully be an enjoyable watch and listen for you our fans and supporters (we’ll talk in more detail about AFO 2023 in a dedicated blog post).
At the end of 2022 we began talks with Moonbow Animation, a boutique animation studio based out of Portugal. Since then, we’ve begun working with them on an ambitious project that takes BlueDorian into as-yet uncharted territory: an animated short featuring music and story written by BlueDorian creator Adam Farouk and centered around the Faerworld Daughters of Time franchise. Their work thus far has been stunning, and seeing these characters - Gwen, Cameron, Roya, and Anneka - brought to life in such fashion only increases our impetus to complete these stories so that we can share them with you. In similar fashion as with AFO, we’ll share more details about this project in a dedicated blog post.
We’re fast approaching 2025, which will mark the 25th anniversary of the debut performance of BlueDorian creator Adam Farouk’s “States of Matter.” States of Matter is a musical revue exploring mental health, spiritual metaphysics, and reincarnation, and was first performed on April 6th 2000, directed by Fiona Santos and featuring performances by Bill Meakem, Steven J. Engelbrecht, Jennifer MacDonald, and Elizabeth Geuss. To mark the occasion, BlueDorian will be releasing, in 2025, a 25th Anniversary Commemorative Album of Selections from States of Matter, featuring performances by acclaimed musicians from around the world, as well as new arrangements, and one brand new song, by Farouk.
Meanwhile, other projects continue to chug along: 1) The full-length album “Songs from Continuity” officially moves into post-production at year’s end; 2) The “Daughters of Time” fantasy novel series starts to transition from beta to alpha mode as a rigorous period of editing and rewrites continues; 3) and “Ray of Sunshine” goes through its paces with revisions and dramaturgy, to take its first steps from concept album to fully-fledged rock opera.
AFO 2023 "Highlight" @ Northgate Studio, Bedford MA
Release-wise, please accept our apologies for the delay in release of EP “AFO 2017 Live @ The Nines Art Gallery” (slated for last November); the record is now scheduled to be released in early 2024 (or, if we can manage it, in time for this Christmas). Also, be informed that Daughters of Time Season One Episodes 11 and 12 will not be released in beta format; the go-ahead has been given for them to be composed in alpha mode from the get go. In addition to these, we anticipate releases of “Beautiful Adventure” (single version) as well as a rough-cuts version of “The Sun Also Rises,” both by Adam Farouk. Finally, the Breakers Vocal Band 2024 EP project has been deferred following the group’s absorption into BlueDorian’s greater Vox Globale vocal music initiative.
AFO 2023 from left to right: David Scott (Bass guitar, Vocals), Vlade Guigni (Drums), Colleen Kelly (Vocals), Dave Lieb (Guitars, Vocals), Elizabeth Lorrey (Guitars, Keyboards, Vocals), Adam Farouk (Keyboards, Vocals)
Thanks for reading and all the best to you. Please spread the word joyfully for this season’s upcoming BlueDorian happenings!
Travel safe,
-TeamBD