Dungen
2005 Year-End Artist Survey
Jan 01, 2006 Dungen Photography by Shawn Brackbill
Reine Fiske
Dungen
Top Five Albums of 2005
1. Vashti Bunyan: Lookaftering (FatCat) - I first heard about Vashti about 10 years ago, I even saw her debut LP for sale at a record fair for about 100 dollars, not buying it. Gustav and I first heard “Just Another Diamond Day” in 2003 and we both levitated on the stellar beauty of her voice and the whimsical circular songs. “Herebefore” on her latest record is the most beautiful song I’ve ever heard. My friend Brad who’s helping out the Animal Collective in New York and on their tours actually met her in the U.K.
2. The Clientele: Strange Geometry (Pointy/Merge) - I fell in love with their sound in a record store in Stockholm. That was they’re “Suburban Light” period. The shop was totally empty. I’d had a terrible day and the music cleansed my soul in away. I’ve met them in Stockholm twice and they are very nice people.
3. Teenage Fanclub: Man-Made (Merge) - There’s probably a lot of summery and breezy bands from our times that I still haven’t heard, but their occasional soft-rock is something that I really like.
4. The Action: Ultimate Action - As a Mighty Baby admirer I was actually blown away by the heavy swinging sound of their earlier formation. Reg King is one of my favorite singers.
5. Various: Thai-Beat Vol. 3 (Subliminal Sounds) - Wow. Crazy and “sweet” stuff. Perfect for a rainy day or for the party.
What was the highlight of 2005 for either you personally or for the band?
Heading off to the U.S. and doing our first-ever proper tour.
What was the low point of 2005 for you?
Maybe the feeling of stress and the pressure concerning whether to choose between my full-time job or joining Dungen, having a more uncertain income, but certainly a more creative one.
What are your hopes and plans for 2006?
To keep a “semi-healthy” life, keep my creativity up and release the two CD’s with BoAnders Persson and Baby Grandmothers that our record-label/manager Stefan Kéry and I work on, and still be with my girlfriend, Emely.
If you could drop a copy of one album in the mailbox of every American citizen, what album would it be?
Jazz på svenska (Jazz in Swedish) with Jan Johansson and Georg Riedel released in 1963.
Will the iPod, and its ability to combine all genres and its emphasis on individual songs, render the album format irrelevant?
You choose your own way of listening to music. I’m personally into “albums” but also certain “songs” on these “albums.” Having a giant jukebox in your pocket is a good thing, and having 500 albums in it is even better.
With Kate Bush, Gang of Four, Ray Davies, Scott Walker, and others issuing new releases, what icon needs to return and make another album?
Jake Holmes together with his original guitarist and bassist.
With the mainstream success of artists like Modest Mouse, Death Cab for Cutie, Bright Eyes, The White Stripes, and Franz Ferdinand, has the meaning of “indie rock” shifted? Has the term lost all meaning?
Independent stands for a way of doing things. It will always exist, just as independent music always will. Some of it will also rise out of the underground. Some bands choose to stay there too. If an artist has the integrity enough and get enough success to keep doing his or her thing all the way then it’s good.
If you couldn’t be a musician, what other profession do you think that you’d enjoy and why?
I have no idea. But I would probably and hopefully do it very passionately.
If you could travel through time, where and when would you go and why?
The underground movement in England during the late 1960’s actually.
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Comments
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January 20th 2010
3:44pm
Maybe the feeling of stress and the pressure concerning patek philippewhether to choose between my full-time job or joining Dungen, having a more uncertain income, but certainly a more creative one.
June 7th 2010
10:02am
good write perfect archive