Derek Piotr is a

folklorist Folklore studies, less often known as folkloristics, and occasionally tradition studies or folk life studies in the United Kingdom, is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currenc ...

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...

, and composer.

Career

Piotr released the album ''Agora'' in 2011. In 2012 his work was nominated for

Prix Ars Electronica The Prix Ars Electronica is one of the best known and longest running yearly prizes in the field of electronic and interactive art, computer animation, digital culture and music. It has been awarded since 1987 by Ars Electronica (Linz, Austria). ...

. In 2016, Piotr released the

glitch A glitch is a short-lived fault in a system, such as a transient fault that corrects itself, making it difficult to troubleshoot. The term is particularly common in the computing and electronics industries, in circuit bending, as well as amon ...

album ''Drono''. ''Forest People Pop'' was released in 2017. His 2018 album ''Grunt'' was completed in collaboration with

Kevin Drumm Kevin Drumm (born 1970) is an experimental musician based in Chicago, United States. Biography Emerging from the city's improvised music scene, in the 1990s he became one of the world's pre-eminent prepared guitar players. Since then his work ...

. "Grunt" is the Polish word for "earth" or "dirt". The album received mostly positive reviews, with ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, f ...

'' describing the material as being "equipped with all of the hypnotic powers of its contemporaries" and ''Cyclic Defros''t calling it "intricately constructed and frequently jarring". He released the remix EPs ''Earth Edit'' and ''Underlined'' in 2018, followed by ''Repeating Bloom'' in January 2019. He released the album ''Avia'' in July 2019. At the end of 2019, Piotr began researching

Appalachian folk music Appalachian music is the music of the region of Appalachia in the Eastern United States. Traditional Appalachian music is derived from various influences, including the ballads, hymns and fiddle music of the British Isles (particularly Scotland) ...

for a new solo album. Through these folklore studies he discovered singer

Lena Bare Turbyfill Lena or LENA may refer to: Places * Léna Department, a department of Houet Province in Burkina Faso * Lena, Manitoba, an unincorporated community located in Killarney-Turtle Mountain municipality in Manitoba, Canada * Lena, Norway, a village in ...

, whose last living daughter he tracked down and recorded in July 2020. He released his first

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

single "Invisible Map" on January 1, 2021. "Invisible Map"'s

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

is a rendition of the folk tune " Barbry Allen". In 2021, Piotr released ''Making and Then Unmaking'', his tenth studio album, which was heavily influenced by his time spent in

Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, ...

Personal life

Piotr sang in John Read Middle School’s choir and studied music theory and music appreciation at

Joel Barlow High School Joel Barlow High School is a public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades in Redding, Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The school serves Easton and Redding students. The school is the sole institution in the ...

. Growing up in the woods of

Redding, Connecticut Redding is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,765 at the 2020 census. History Early settlement and establishment At the time colonials began receiving grants for land within the boundaries of present- ...

, Piotr is a longtime outdoor enthusiast and draws inspiration from nature. Piotr is openly queer, stating, "I don’t want to rest on the

privilege Privilege may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Privilege'' (film), a 1967 film directed by Peter Watkins * ''Privilege'' (Ivor Cutler album), 1983 * ''Privilege'' (Television Personalities album), 1990 * ''Privilege (Abridged)'', an alb ...

of assumption that I am a straight white male. I want to be truthful to where I’m coming from so I don’t get a free pass."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Piotr, Derek 1991 births Living people Polish emigrants to the United States Polish LGBT singers People from Redding, Connecticut Musicians from Connecticut 21st-century LGBT people Queer singers