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Ivan Dorn releases new single ‘Love Could Be’

Ukrainian alt-pop star unearths transfixing, melodic new cut

MTV Music Award winner Ivan Dorn has released a new single: ‘Love Could Be’. Or is it new? Well, mostly it is brand new, but Ivan cheekily paraphrases his own platinum hit from 2011, ‘северное сияние’ ('Northern Lights'). This is what defines environmentally friendly, sustainable recycling. Paying homage to his old song with sprinkles of melody and chunks of chords, but indeed creating a new listening experience where fans will be bewildered and think: “I know this from somewhere”, and then suddenly… oh yeah!

To perfect the production, the track was mastered by Mark B Christensen (50 Cent, Trey Songz, Raekwon) who’s cranked it up to an uncompromisingly good, intoxicating musical dimension. As for the lyrics, Dorn may have started his career solely in Russian and developed a huge following in the process -- epitomized, perhaps, by him being courted to be a judge on The Voice and X Factor, Ukraine. But him rhythmically twisting his tongue to English is a new treat for the fans. Last year he crafted the irresistible tune ‘Right Wrong’ with Victor Solf (formerly of the French electronic group Her), and most recently released the EP ‘Numbers’, a collaboration with Seven Davis Jr. ‘Numbers’ saw the likes of Clash, Louder Than War, and Under The Radar shower it with praise.

Every release is further cementing his ability to be an eloquent songwriter in both English and Russian. The lyrics of this song will hit most listeners in the heart and trigger reflections of lost love that could have been. Everybody has “one that got away”, Ivan reflects.

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Praise for Ivan Dorn: Dorn’s visual impact and hit-making experiments in synth-funk, dance-pop, deep house and alt-R&B has seen him grace magazines from Vogue to Billboard; here’s some highlights:

"'Afrika' is a vibrant beat that sinks deep into your soul from the moment it hits." BILLBOARD
"The collaboration is a superb union of creative voices, almost jazz-leaning in its embrace of new ideas, with a deft rhythmic bounce." CLASH
"Dorn should be on your radar, courtesy of some thumping records and specifically his pioneering label, Masterskaya, which mainly promotes new Ukrainian artists" LOUDER THAN WAR
"Truly exhilarating" UNDER THE RADAR

Ivan Dorn shares new music video 'Wasted'

If you were impressed by Christopher Walken flying around a hotel foyer in Fatboy Slim’s ‘Weapon Of Choice’ video, buckle up, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Witness a CGI representation of Ukrainian singer, DJ and TV star Ivan Dorn strut around his apartment to the uptown funk of live favourite ‘Wasted’ firing lasers and lightning bolts from his hands, dancing in a fireball and teleporting in blasts of plasma as he’s overtaken by uncontrollable superhuman abilities. The film marks a new revolution in animated music videos as CGI visuals worthy of any triple-A video game or Peter Jackson blockbuster finally reach the arena of electrifying funk pop.

Created by visual effects specialist Denys Shchukin (Fantastic Beasts, Logan, Final Fantasy XV) and premiered on 2 June at the online edition of the Vienna Shorts Film Festival, the video is the culmination of Shchukin’s 20-plus year career in VFX. “I realised that it was time to create my own masterpiece," the Ukrainian-born artist says and, as a long-time fan of Dorn, he set about devising an eye-popping accompaniment to one of the most popular tracks from Dorn’s 2017 third solo album OTD.

As Dorn’s star has risen since the release of his debut album Co'N'Dorn to a successful, award-winning solo career, he has built a reputation as the self-styled “storefront for the country and its culture”, and delivered eye-catching music videos to match. The lead single from OTD, “Collaba”, saw the increasingly flamboyant Dorn playing a purple-wigged, fishnet-clad sex worker – he even dared to don the outfit at shows in Russia, where flouting gender norms is a dangerous business. Then, to highlight his renowned philanthropy (his label Masterskaya, for example, is a fully-equipped music community hub for rising electronic artists in Kiev) the video for “Afrika” comprised of footage of Dorn setting up a music school and youth orphanage in Uganda.

Dorn’s visual impact and hit-making experiments in synth-funk, dance-pop, deep house and alt-R&B has seen him grace magazines from Vogue to Billboard, so such a ground-breaking collaboration on ‘Wasted’ felt totally natural. "Denys told me what films he was working on in the past and I was really impressed,” he says. “And he told me that he was a choreographer for 15 years, so I was sure that the way he sees me moving and the sequences he would put together would be right."

The video was shot over two days at the Digital Cinema Ukraine Motion Capture studio with the help of animators and camera operators Slava Lisovsky and Igor Velichko (Render Farm was provided by FORRENDER and FX was done by ABRAKADABRA studio with additional FX by Alexander Kratinov), and the results are truly staggering. Capturing and emphasising the James Brown-meets-Jamiroquai groove that he heard in the track, Shchukin has his CGI SuperDorn zapping, spinning and fingerbolting across his digital loft pad like only the greatest future funk hero could, and engulfed in flames and electricity during the song’s explosive funk rock meltdowns. “The present is so bright,” Dorn sings and he’s right – it’s downright dazzling.