Joey Dosik

A singer/songwriter and keyboardist/saxophonist, Joey Dosik had recorded with artists spanning jazz, funk, indie rock, techno, and alt-R&B before releasing his first solo material in the mid-2010s. Suiting his buttery, sweet-tempered vocal quality, he committed to a smooth soul indebted to ’70s R&B ballads, Carole King, and Marvin Gaye on his debut LP, 2018′s Inside Voice. He is also known as a frequent collaborator of instrumental R&B/funk outfit Vulfpeck. A Los Angeles native, Dosik played in the Henry Grimes Group in 2003 and 2004 alongside Nels Cline, Alex Cline, and Vinny Golia, among others, while still in high school. He left to pursue a degree in Jazz and Contemplative Studies at the University of Michigan. During his time in Ann Arbor, Dosik played saxophone on a track for Build an Ark’s 2007 LP Dawn and joined Afro-beat fusion group NOMO for their 2008 release Ghost Rock. Around that time, he also became a member of Ann Arbor electro-pop/funk group My Dear Disco, aka Ella Riot, as keyboardist. He appeared on their 2008 Dancethink LP, which included a cover of Stevie Wonder’s “All I Do.” Among the group’s other members were Dosik’s roommate, multi-instrumentalist Theo Katzman, and bass player Joe Dart. Dosik completed his B.F.A. in 2008. In 2009, he relocated to L.A., while Katzman and Dart went on to form Vulfpeck with two other music majors, Jack Stratton and Woody Goss. Dosik released his first solo EP, a diverse set of singer/songwriter pop called Where Do They Come From?, in 2012. That same year, he appeared on the Vulfpeck EP Vollmilch and played piano and keyboards on Into the Wild: Live at Eastwest Studios for alternative singer/songwriter LP. The following year, he wrote a track for Vulfpeck’s My First Car EP and performed on it, and in 2014, he contributed to LP’s album Forever for Now. He then rejoined Vulfpeck for their 2015 full-length debut, Thrill of the Arts, and co-wrote, sang, and played piano on lounge-inspired musician Mocky’s Key Change album. As these recording projects saw release in 2015, Dosik also spent time at home recording some of his own music while recovering from reconstructive ACL surgery. Settling into a piano-based smooth soul, the resulting love-and-basketball-themed Game Winner EP was self-released in 2016. Mocky and members of Vulfpeck were among the guests on the record. Later the same year, Dosik provided another song and saxophone performance for Vulfpeck’s The Beautiful Game album, and he and Stratton were among the production team for Jack Garratt’s 2016 debut, Phase. Dosik collaborated with Vulfpeck again for their third LP, 2017′s Mr. Finish Line. That album included a re-recording of Dosik’s song “Running Away” from his second EP, this time with Vulfpeck and such elite studio musicians as guitarist David T. Walker and drummer James Gadson backing Dosik. He toured with the band for Mr. Finish Line, opening shows as well as joining them on-stage for some of their set. He made his network television debut in February 2018 on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, performing “Running Away” with a backing band that included Katzman and Dart. In the meantime, Secretly Canadian added Dosik to its roster. The label issued an expanded edition of Game Winner in June of 2018 before releasing his full-length solo debut, Inside Voice, that August. Sticking with a warm retro-soul sound, its guest musicians included Katzman, Mocky, and Moses Sumney. ~ Marcy Donelson