My Name is Adam Dorn. Mostly I watch old comedies and I’m the east coast chapter president of the Larry David Fan Club. In my spare time I make music under the name Mocean Worker ( its pronounced “motion” , I figure if people can say “bjork” they can finally figure out how to say “mocean” 11 years after I came up with the name! ).

I write music that’s mostly inspired by 30′s and 40′s jazz mixed with 60′s soul grooves and lots of bips and baps of found audio. The rest of the time I am a degenerate Football and Baseball fan.

Eat any good food lately?

Yes, I just had an amazing birthday meal at a restaurant in Philadelphia called Amada , it’s part of the Garces restaurant group and the head chef is Jose Garces. It is an amazing tapas restaurant.

What are some of your favorite pieces of gear?

Recycle by Propellerheads Software, Reason by Propellerheads Software, Record by Propellerheads Software, Pro Tools and my Nord Lead 1. I like to keep its simple.

Every artist has a process in one form or another, what is yours?

I listen to tons of records and earmark things to sample and eventually recycle beyond recognition. I recently got my entire vinyl collection back after having in storage for 4 years. Almost 3,500 albums of sweet unknown sounds , beats , blips , baps and textures. I think I will be very busy digging digging digging for sounds for a while before the new album is finished.

I tend to listen and search and then once I find something that moves me, I sample and then recycle. I then open up Reason and create a REX2 player and see what I have. Between my library of beats and samples off of CD’s I’ve gone nuts for the last two albums ( of course coupling that with live recording and playing). Now that my vinyl is back in the fold and I have not had a chance to make a MOWO! record based on really sampling my vinyl. I think my process should change greatly and the overall sound should change as well. I envision a truly low-fi but insanely hi-fo album in the works.

If you could collaborate with another artist (doesn’t need to be a musician) who would it be? What would you want to do?

Not too long ago I wrote a tune with Cindi Lauper. It was for an album she was making that was mostly a dance music album but we wrote a tune together for it that ended up not making it. I’d like to continue working on that tune and get it out on the right type of album. Mostly because its a great track, just totally not a dance track. Having said that the one singer on earth I’d like to really really really work with, without a doubt, is Annie Lennox. I think she is one of the most soulful, amazing singers of the last 25 years. She can really do anything.

So, let’s see if Peter Gabriel, Salif Keita, and Annie Lennox would all agree to sing on tunes on my next album. Everybody all cross your fingers now. Maybe we can make this happen! With Annie Lennox I’d like to make an actual neo-soul record that is actually both Soulful and Neo and just show off how she is the queen of any of these girls coming out of England.

With Peter Gabriel I’d love to do something really minimal and haunting with all sound design and ambience. He’s done so much of that I’D probably do a shitty version of it, but I’d like to try.

With Salif Keita, I’d love to just finally NOT TRY TO MAKE A WESTERN sounding album. I hate how African Artists like to try to sound western and have beats and synths and a “pop” sound. There was a remix on his last album I bought where you could tell they were going for like European radio play and it sucked. I’d like to make a song or two with him that was as organic as possible AND THEN mess around with additional production and sounds. His voice is so soaring and amazing. I’d hate to have synths in the way and loops and a 4 on the floor beat. He should never border on sounding like a bad Pet Shop Boys album!

Your thoughts on silence?

Man, to know me, is to know that in my presence things are rarely if ever silent. There is always something going on. Someone riffing, or interrupting or laughing. I grew up the youngest of 4 boys so – silence didn’t exist. Silence is NOT normal for me.

Regarding music, silence is where all the magic happens. The magic happens between the notes. Listen to almost any Miles Davis solo. It’s more about how he doesn’t play and rests that’s magical ( not to say that the notes played aren’t usually insanely lyrical ). In summation, a little more silence might be good. I just don’t always trust the silence. I always think something is going wrong when things are a little too quiet.

I believe music heals – your thoughts?

I know it does. When I need a lift Peter Gabriel, Salif Keita, Old Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Donny Hathaway, and Sam Cooke never fail to break me out of the funk I’m in. It’s like listening to the solution every time.

Your father, Joel Dorn, was a historic figure in the music industry, providing major producing contributions to some timeless creative works, from Roberta Flack to Lou Rawls – to being recognized by the Smithsonian Institute . How did he play a role in your life musically?

Well, its hard to really where to start on this one. He influenced me in every way really. We were best friends. We worked together extensively – he constantly turned me on to amazing music I didn’t know about and he was always the first person I played any new music I’d written first. It went through his filter first. It’s probably why since his passing I haven’t released any new music. Its still been tough to write and stay focused, it’s not that I don’t trust myself, I just don’t have my editor anymore.

I’m starting a new album though when I finish building this new studio and its gonna be dedicated to him and basically an homage to his body of work and influences on me. Some will be obvious but many will be inside and very personal. In your question you mention Lou Rawls and Roberta Flack, amazing artists but the thing about my old man is he also worked with The Allman Brothers, Leon Redbone, Charles Mingus, Jow Zawinul, Bette Midler, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Les McCann, Eddie Harris, Buddy Rich, The Neville Brothers, Aaron Neville. Just on and on and on and on the body of work is mind numbing. He once won a Grammy for Best Country Music Instrumental with Asleep at The Wheel. Just a ridiculous body of work when you think about it.

Producers with a grasp of knowledge like that don’t exist anymore. Nor have they for years and years. His main influence on me musically though was my window into the changing music business. He hipped me to the fact ( along with his best friend and legendary song writer Doc Pomus ) owning everything you do and taking the road less traveled of doing as little business with major labels as possible and owning your own masters was the future. He was dead on. He exposed me to major label projects when I was in my very early 20′s in the mid 90′s and showed me by example what it was like to work for “the man”. After being around that and seeing that that wasn’t for me with the exception of 2 of my 5 Mocean Worker albums I’ve self released and done everything on my own. It’s been really tough and its been hard to get access to certain audiences as a result because budgets just aren’t there – but I think I’m taking the marathon approach to my career. Maybe after 5 more albums folks will catch up? I don’t know I do know that it’s far more fun to do this myself and have creative control and scheduling control over releasing music and licensing. My old man is hard to talk about in one question. His influence went far beyond music with me. We shared so much together, especially laughter. He was such a great fucking guy. Imagine having George Carlin as a father mixed with Larry David and Lenny Bruce. That was my old man. How could that not be awesome?

What are artists / bands are you currently stoked on right now?

Adele is an amazing singer. I think she just sings her ass off, I watch her sing live and I think to myself singers like this don’t come around very often. She looks like she is literally using NO energy when she sings and yet all this soul and emotion comes out of her. She is amazing.

I’m also really digging Lady Gaga. I know that might seem like a “HUH!?!” kind of artist to mention but I like the major pop icon type artists that throw a lot of quality in there. Her tune BAD ROMANCE is a little symphony. She is just really on top of her game, no stone is left unturned.

I just finished a record with a great new artist named Cochemea Gastelum. He is in The Dap Kings and also tours with Antibales and numerous other artists. It’s really a sick album.

On another note, a producer named Sunny Levine has my ear, he is just making great records and is also a really hip solo artist. He is someone I think that is also gonna over the long haul hopefully get some major love for just putting some serious thought and soul into his work. He produced that Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson album and the last two Happy Mondays albums. Just a really good talent.

On a final note, If you could have a mythical creature as a buddy, who would you roll with?

Well who says I don’t already roll with some mythical creatures? I dont’ know about you but a Dragon can get you in and out of a lot of trouble. Nobody fucks with anybody that’s hanging out with a dragon. I’m thinking dragon on this one. ya feel me?

___________________________________________________________________________________

Many Thanks to MoWo for his time and candid replies!

Check out these Mocean Worker titles and add ‘em into your iTunes for some added groove to your day and night:

You can also visit MoceanWorker.com to get the latest sounds, words, images, and all around adventures of MoWo, safe travels!

Unblessing the Purity album art by Dusty Peterson

I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Dusty Peterson over the past few months after he agreed to do the artwork for my band’s latest album (Behold! The Monolith). He is one of the nicest people you could ever interact with and is supremely talented and one of the fasted up and coming artists in his fields of album cover art and video game art design. His artwork has graced the cover of two Bloodbath records, the aforementioned B!TM record and many video games. He agreed to be interviewed a few weeks ago and this is what followed:

Kevin McDade: When did you get heavily into drawing?

Dusty Peterson: When I was about 15. I’ve drawn my whole life, but I think that was the year that I really started to push myself beyond just being a hobby. Other than a little part time job at a Pizza Hut, I basically spent every hour of the day drawing.

KM: What were/are your influences?

DP: Michael Whelan is probably the artist I was most influenced by. When I was around 13 or so, I loved to go to the book store and sit in the art book section and just flip through art books. One that caught my eye was his book, “The Art of Michael Whelan”, and it totally changed my life. From that point on, art books were constantly on my Christmas and birthday lists. My dad bought me that book and many others, he was very supportive of me…those books are really expensive! Other artists around that time frame that helped forge my style are Wayne Douglas Barlowe and of course H.R. Giger. Then of course there are a ton of other metal album artists that I get inspired by daily.

KM: Did you go to any schools or academies for art?

DP: As far as illustration goes, I am self-taught. I do have a degree in Industrial Design Technology that I received from the Art Institute of Seattle, however. A little different than illustration, but at the time I had a fascination with Stan Winston and other similar creature shops and was still looking for a way to realize my dream of drawing monsters all day. Industrial Design Technology seemed like a decent degree to get me well-rounded and knowledgeable in the ways of model-making and prop building. Unfortunately, I found that industry to be quite difficult to break into after graduating and so I had to adapt to find work, which ended up being video game art. But really that degree had nothing to do with drawing at all. I think I might have had a perspective class in the first quarter that was mandatory for everyone, but that was it. Everything related to illustration has been on my own research and willpower to learn more.

KM: I know you do a lot of artwork with computers, what other mediums do you use/what is your favorite?

DP: I do primarily do my work in photoshop and other programs, but it’s all based around knowledge of fundamental painting techniques and I usually paint on 1 layer. I haven’t painted in traditional media in years, but when I was, I preferred acrylic and sometimes watercolor. These days unless it’s digital or pencil I don’t even mess with it. I miss it a little, but I just don’t have the space to set up an easel and stuff like that.

KM: I understand you do video game artwork for a living, what company do you work for, what games have you done, and what are you working on now?

DP: I’ve been in the video game industry for almost 10 years, so I’ve been at a few developers. The most noteworthy titles I have worked on are Spiderman: The Movie Game when I worked at Treyarch and F.E.A.R. and F.E.A.R. 2 when I worked at Monolith. Right now, I am working at a small developer called Cat Daddy Games and it’s great because we make casual Wii titles. Still very much a serious job, but the crunch and workload is far less demanding than at more “high profile” developers, so I am able to pursue my album cover side-career much more easily. When I was working at past developers, I could never have had the momentum I am having right now due to the 4-6 month long crunchs that would completely take over my life 2 times a year.

KM: You’ve done album covers for Bloodbath and my band, have you done any others and are you working on any album covers at the moment?

DP: Definitely, 2009 has been a great year for me. I just finished working on Six Feet Under’s cover for their next Graveyard Classics album and currently I am working on Whitechapel’s next. I also have another one coming up that I am really excited about, but the ink isn’t dry on it yet. I’m just so honored to be asked to do these things. From a band’s standpoint they are just looking for a cool cover for their new album, but from my standpoint I’m just constantly excited to be an artist and to have the opportunity to be able to work with such talented musicians to help realize their visions. It really is a dream come true.

KM: What are you working on (as a freelance artist) at the moment?

DP: The album cover thing is pretty much all I am doing right now beyond my day job. Both are completely different, but important parts of my life at the moment. When I am not doing either one of those, I just try to spend time with my wife, relax, and catch up on video games as I am quite a hardcore gamer (It’s “research”!).

Visit Dusty at his website www.dustypeterson.net and check him out at any art expo he might be attending near you!