Todd Dorigo is a one of a kind type of guy, with his successful modelling career and his musical lyrics and passion he certainly should be on all of your radars. He’s featured on the likes of Vogue with Suki Waterhouse, GQ Style Magazine, Vanity Fair Italia, Matches Fashion, Notion and performed on Burberry Acoustic and Bicester Village among many other credible accolades. Todd was raised in Middlewich, a town rich of culture and this shaped him into the dreamer and nature loving soul we know him as and perhaps the reason why he attracted the attention of Mr. Joshua Kane and became one of his muses. To catch a glimpse into who this mogul is look into the Q&A below.
How does the new EP speak to where you’re at as an artist right now, and how is it a reflection of this new musical chapter?
This is the first time I’m releasing music recorded and produced by myself so this is quite a big step in terms of my production. I also think a couple of the songs on this EP are the most personal and close-to-home songs I’ve ever released. When these very personal songs fall out of me, I don’t seem to have any intention of releasing them. I see it solely as a cathartic process. But with this next chapter, I’m really pushing myself to also release these types of songs. If they’re cathartic for me, maybe they could be the same for someone else.
Have you been into music since you were young Todd? How did it come about that you decided to make your own music?
When I was 8 years old, I walked into my uncles bedroom and he was singing ’She’s Electric’ with his acoustic guitar. It blew my mind. It was the first time I realised that these songs I heard on the radio could actually be played by us and it gave me a whole new context for music. I then got a guitar for my birthday and I was away. Once I was in my teens, I lost interest in trying to learn big guitar solos and became much more interested in how songs were put together. Before I even tried to sing, I was writing songs on my guitar and singing under my breath. I only later began to find my voice because I had written all these songs which needed a vocalist.
The music video for “One Of My Kind” has great visuals, can you tell us more about the inspiration behind them?
I was trying to shoot a video for this in London right before lockdown last year but when lock down was announced, I quickly escaped to Sweden. I got put in touch with Olle Knutson who is an extremely talented director. His only requirement was that we shoot the whole thing on film.
I was really excited about that and he came with a small team and the plan was to shoot it in one day. They ended up staying for 3 days. We had very little sleep and the ideas became crazier by the second. The concept was to have this character who escapes in isolation to this country house where he slowly loses his mind. Shooting the video felt as if the concept for the video was actually happening in real life.
What would you say has been the most surprising thing for you about your career or the music industry as a whole so far?
The most surprising thing about my career is that everything is a surprise. Everything that happens is so unexpected. I never expected to support Marilyn Manson. I fell into the fashion world because I happened to be having a pint before soundcheck whilst a Vogue shoot was happening outside and they tapped me on the shoulder. Even the song which I set out to write rarely appears how I imagined it at the beginning. I knew a music career wasn’t going to be straight forward but it’s been impossible to predict how it would unravel.
If you were to choose one person to collaborate with, who would it be Todd and why?
This year I’ve been listening to Weyes Blood a lot. She uses really interesting chord progressions and her backing vocal harmonies are so angelic and haunting at the same time. I’d love to collaborate with someone who is a pianist too. Her last album Titanic Rising is a masterpiece.
When not focusing on music, how do you like to spend your free time?
Since moving into the woods in Sweden, I really try to get out into nature as much as possible. Hiking in the forest, cold dips in the lake, cross country skiing now we have snow. Nature really brings you into the present moment and I’m really making the most of that while I’m out here in the sticks.
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Connor Mantle
Young entrepreneur and freelance model. Founder of the AW20 Hope & Glory Fashion show, with interests in mythology, spiritualism and astrology among many others. One can be contacted via Instagram @Connormantle