Where it started
I am Dominik Lehner, a musician, producer and the person behind Zolahr Sounds. I was born in Linz, Upper Austria, on 24 April 1984.
ZOLAHR and the first stages
I started the band ZOLAHR with my brother when we were young. The band still exists, although family and everyday life leave us less time for it now. We played at the Posthof Linz, band competitions, exhibition openings, local venues and bars. One night that still stands out was supporting Bobby Singer.
There was a lot of music from the hippie era at home: Frank Zappa, Jimi Hendrix and The Who. Reggae, dub, jungle, drum and bass, psytrance and electronic music followed later. The openness I found in the psytrance scene reminded me of what had fascinated me about those early musical influences.
After organising a few parties, I started the decoration crew Zolahr Strings. The band, the decorations and other projects eventually came together under the name Zolahr Projects.
From rehearsal room to studio
Producing ZOLAHR's first album, zapped, made me want to understand production properly. Research turned into practice, and the improvised setup gradually became a studio of my own.
The equipment grew with the work: studio monitors, an audio interface, MIDI controllers and plenty more. I built a lot myself, including my studio desk, absorbers and bass traps. The room is still not truly finished. It changes with every project.
That is where I make my own tracks and work with other musicians. A piece may start with a loop, a spontaneous jam or an experiment that was only meant to be a sound check. Quite often, I pick up the guitar and follow the idea from there.
The sound of Zolahr Sounds
My music moves between driving psytrance and the calmer side of psychedelic chillout. Live instruments shape the arrangement from the beginning. I am less interested in spelling out a message than in creating a particular mood. Some tracks belong to a quiet evening; others belong on a dancefloor.
Working with other musicians
In ZOLAHR I worked with singers Dinah Feuchtner and Kira Schinko, flautist Eva Egger and my brother David Lehner. Other studio projects included GAZAL, Dinah Feuchtner, Valentin Feuchtner, Bob Zabek and others.
Morteza Naderi, Sia Panah and Milad Saburi introduced me to Persian music in the studio and on stage. I currently also play percussion in the Michael Kriftner Band.
What comes next
I want to bring Zolahr Sounds to the stage as a live project and keep developing the music. Making a living from it would, of course, be the dream.
Outside music, I work as a graphic designer. I am also a father and husband.