Dorothy Gale is an interesting act playing the 2024 Dour Festival. As a new artist, Dorothy Gale brings a lot of promise and energy. Cement Magazine chatted briefly to get to know what goes on behind the scenes.
The land of Oz awaits
Brussels-based Dorothy Gale has only been on the scene for one year, but is making quick moves. She had an EP release at VOLTA on 6 June for “T0t0” and is already playing her first Dour Festival. This all followed her Concours Circuit award in 2023, which allowed Dorthy Gale to secure a residence in Liege. The end result is a journey availing itself to a unique style.
Dorothy Gale is noted for her suave pop voice with a poignant punk cry. Her main goal is to bring listeners into a dreamlike world. Influences include Bjork, Kate Bush, Soko, Princess Chelsea, and the Nightmare Before Christmas movie soundtrack. As a self-taught artist, her creativity comes from theater and cinema. This brings a mysterious quality into her music. On this note, much songwriting comes from within, which is found throughout the EP.
“I was keen to do things alone, at least writing. I’ve done a lot of theater and I’ve always worked in groups: I’ve always helped, I’ve always worked on other people’s projects, I’ve always put myself at the service of others. There, I needed to connect with myself, to identify what I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it…This introspection, mixed with brilliant composition work, has rather borne fruit: on T0t0.” – RTBF That said, she works with Jordan le Galeze and Alwis on production.
Of course, the name Dorothy Gale is a direct nod to the Wizard of Oz. This is part of her fantasy reality she’s creating. She even responds to messages as Judy, living the full fantasy. In this sense, Dorothy Gale embodies what it means to take one’s artistry and make it a living performance. There’s space in this world for all realities, and Dorothy conveys this with hope and joy.
