10 kysymystä: Dungen
Hapokas ruotsalaisbändi Dungen ilahduttaa suomalaisia musadiggareita saapumalla Tavastialle erikoiskeikalle tiistaina 4.4. Yhtye esittää elokuvakonsertin, jossa kuullaan tuoreen Häxan-levyn materiaalia Lotte Reinigerin vuonna 1926 ohjaaman animaation The Adventures of Prince Achmed yhteydessä. Sen lisäksi kuullaan peruskeikka, joka sisältää Dungen-klassikoita vuosien varrelta. Kerrassaan mainiota!
Kuulokuvia tavoitti Dungen-kitaristi Reine Fisken tien päältä Helsigin-keikan alla. Tämä haastattelu sisältää myös Dungenin kootut musavinkit, joita voit kuunnella soittolistamuodossa täältä (yhdessä Häxan-levyn kanssa, totta kai). Psykedeelinen suomiproge muuten on hienosti edustettuna Fisken omissa suosituksissa.
1. Where are you right now and how are you feeling?
We’re on tour for the “Häxan” album/film in the U.S.
2. Can you tell me something about the concept of “Häxan”?
We were more or less ”given” the project, or the producer of the Cinemateket/Filmhuset in Stockholm, Anders Annikas, wanted us to participate so I met him one stressful afternoon in the subway signing the contract to do this thing. Everything was running late as we were invited late too; it was something about him getting a grant for getting it all together. I know we had little time to finish the project when we finally accepted, but I had a gut feeling about it all – we just had to do this.
3. How different was it to compose new music for the soundtrack in comparison to a new Dungen album as such?
Totally different. Gustav [Ejstes] writes all of the music for Dungen, even thought we are all highly involved and connected to it within the process. He usually mostly also arranges it. Recently he has let us all in a bit more during our latest album, ”Allas Sak”, but ”Häxan” was more of a group effort.
4. “The Adventures of Prince Achmed” dates back to 1926. What kind of contrast does the time difference between then (the film) and now (your soundtrack) create in your opinion?
You certainly feel the time difference, of course, but that’s what the beauty of this project actually is. We are accompanying an artist’s massive piece of work from 1926, and she is a woman, and we are caught somewhere in time, reaching out to each-other and making something together. We didn’t ask her, but I think and hope that she would have been pleased – especially when we play the ”Wak-Wak” part.
5. Do you think it would work the other way around, somebody directing a new film in 90 years’ time to accompany your music?
We are not a ”film”. That person would only have to work with ”open air” and try and build whatever based on whatever; it depends on what he/she wants to capture.
6. How different is it to perform with the film in comparison to a “normal” gig, does it create a different kind of energy among the band?
Doing the “Achmed” score is a completely different thing. I think we somehow feel liberated within the concept of it all. In a way it’s more free but also very structured as in ”normal” Dungen songs. We want and try to create an atmosphere that is another instrument, accompanying the film – that’s it. The film itself is the artist’s vision here, and that’s hugely important.
7. Do you find films and visual arts inspiring for the process of composing music in general?
You always take in whatever influences you have into whatever you’re involved in, but all these idioms are all connected. Mixing them sometimes can be pretty hard. It easily gets out the audience mind and just gets pompous.
8. What other plans does Dungen have besides performing the “Häxan” album & film concept at the moment?
We now have an amazing rehearsal space, at last, and Gustav have some new songs on the way. I think starting a new album or recording process would mean for us to make things very different to what they have been. The music on ”Häxan” is very gloomy, and sort of ”dated” for us at the moment, so maybe we’ll go “out on to the sunlight” on our next project, I don’t know. We will still do the occasional gig here and there, but after our tour on the U.S. West Coast in August, we will probably more or less leave this project behind. It’t been 3 years with that now.
9. Could you recommend a track/album (by another artist) which currently inspires you and which you would hope people would notice more?
Wow. All of us are so committed to the various stuff we listen to. We do playlists all the time when we’re together, everything from old hip-hop to psych-stuff or obscure 60s singles that eventually end up on compilations because they are so rare that we would never have heard of them otherwise. Johan [Holmegard] listens to Eric Dolphy’s ”Out to Lunch” a lot right now, I know Mattias [Gustavsson] is into C Duncan and his latest album, which is totally amazing by the way. As for Gustav, I don’t know, everything form Q-Bert and Scratchaholics to Swedish folk music, and the Here We Go Magic album “Different Ship”.
I am personally mentally pretty much set on working with Melody’s Echo Chamber, listening to the recordings we have made with her, since I’ve been recording and writing songs with her for the past year. I’m also constantly listening to the stuff that gives me the strength to carry on; Mandrake Memorial, Robert Lelievre, Circus 2000, Ill Baletto Di Bronzo, King Crimson, the first Supertamp album, early-EARLY Genesis during the ”Trespass” and ”Nursery Cryme” era, Kalevala ”People No Names”, Charlies ”Buttocks”, Haikara, and so on..
10. Any greetings to the Helsinki people attending the show at Tavastia?
I love coming to Finland. Tavastia is one of our favourite venues. Please come by!
Soittolista: Dungenin musasuositukset ja Häxan-albumi
Dungen (SE)
ti 4.4. klo 19, Tavastia
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