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Dungen

Feb 16, 2025 By Irina Shtreis Photography by Ellen Høg Thuesen (Studenterhuset). Web Exclusive

The lyrics of “Nattens Sista Strimma Ljus”, one of the songs from Dungen’s 2022 album En Är För Mycket och Tusen Aldrig Nog, metaphorically address drug and alcohol addiction: “Here is the night’s last streak of light / Do you still feel like taking it one more time?”. In keeping with the lines that conjure up scenes of ecstatic drinking from Thomas Vinterberg’s Another Round, the guitar riffs swell up and drums roller-coaster on. As this sonic tide retreats, Dungen’s singer and multiinstrumentalist Gustav Ejstes carries on playing the keyboard which eventually becomes an intro to “Möbler” (“Furniture”), a prog rumination on moving on and keeping the most essential.

Dungen appear at Studenterhuset, the main venue of Aalborg’s boutique festival Northern Winter Beat, for the second time. “We played here twenty years ago”, recalls Ejstes talking to Under The Radar before the show. “There were three or five people in the audience including the promoter. More people on stage than in the audience”. Reading the room (literally and metaphorically) this time, one can tell they are the most expected act of the festival.

The musical connection within Dungen evokes a long-lasting friendship or partnership that has been fermented over time. The impromptu show at Studenterhuset is the first in months after the tour supporting the En Är För… album. The band stepped in to play at Northern Winter Beat after Norwegian hard rock unit Motorpsycho cancelled their show due to one of the members’ illness. Although this lineup change brought a twist to the festival’s Saturday programme, it wasn’t unexpected. Dungen’s guitarist Reine Fiske is a link between two collectives. “I have been playing with Motorpsycho for ten years now”, Fiske tells Under The Radar. “The Motorpsycho show can stretch out and get very long. We have one song that is basically based on jamming. You don’t know where it’s gonna end. It can be totally out there, get weird and strange. Similarly to Dungen, some songs can transform into long improvisation and get into a territory we didn’t really know we were going. Musically, I think they are more hard rock than we [Dungen] are. They come from the hard rock and metal scene”.

Each Dungen member has a rich and versatile musical background. Apart from Motorpsycho, Fiske has been a member of Träd, Gräs & Stenar, the cult collective associated with Swedish progg, the 1960s left-wing and anti-commercial movement. Two hours before the Dungen show, the guitarist also made a guest appearance with another Northern Winter Beat act Kanaan, a Norwegian project blending sci-fi-esque modular synth experiments and wild stoner with blissful precision of King Crimson. Likewise, Gustav Ejstes explores different territories, particularly those of electronic music. His latest release Otis, which came out on Future Retro London under the name Dungen, is a bold exercise in the jungle genre. “My record collection and music tastes are so diverse”, says Ejstes. “To me, it’s all natural and connected. The aim of making music is how to learn to create these sounds that make me feel the way I feel. Not just consume the music but understand how it is made. As a fan of this genre, I started digging this jungle thing”.

The overall fluidity and transitions between the songs are evidence of this adventurous approach and total immersion in music. While the structure is retained, the whole experience is akin to travelling, with songs bleeding one into the other. “It’s a greatest hits thing”, Gustav Ejstes comments on the setlist before the show. “We haven’t rehearsed much since last spring. To have that kind of live show experience is almost like bliss. You have to be on your toes but it’s good to see where you end up”.

A smooth stroll across the discography captures the pivotal points, whether it’s spiralling “Gör Det Nu” from the 2007 album Tio Bitar or formidably cinematic “Häxan”, composed as part of the original score for Lotte Reiniger’s 1926 The Adventures of Prince Achmed. This instrumental piece reveals Dungen’s musicianship at its best, with each element summoning up the powers of nature: thundering guitar riffs of Reine Fiske, avalanche-like drum patterns from Johan Holmegard, the earthquake-sounding bass of Mattias Gustavsson and graceful waterstream of keyboards by Gustav Ejstes. The final song of the set is “Panda” where the band’s eclectic pedigree varying from jazz to psychedelia, Swedish progg and hard rock is most evident. It sums up the roots of Dungen whose music has been shaped by eclectic tastes, versatility and enthusiasm to learn and share. “What I learnt from Reine is that you have to be authentic in your expression”, says Ejstes. “No matter what music genre it is, if you hear that it’s coming from inside, you can tell it’s genuine”.