Even voorstellen – Sturle Dagsland - New album “Dreams and Conjurations”

Expect the unexpected and lean into a musical odyssey that conjures sounds of the netherworlds and intertwines old primordial knowledge with avant-garde pop music, screaming metal, folk music and immersive electronic soundscapes; From the beautiful and haunting ambient landscapes of “Windharp”, the Norwegian folk dance inspired track “Hallingen , the self-collected ghost stories which inspired “Kwaidan”, the genuine joyfulness of “Whispering Forest, Echoing Mountains” and “The Ritual” - a song inspired by a raw shamanistic ritual that Sturle once found himself engaged in.

Armed with a brigade of instruments the two multiinstrumentalists are utilizing a wide array of different melodic instruments; including Nordic folk instruments like Nyckelharpa and goat horns, to Chinese Guzheng, West-African Kora, Marxophone, Fula flute, Hungarian Cimbalom, Waterphone and dozens of different folk instruments that they have gathered during their travels. The soundscape is pushed further blending them with distorted imperfect sounds, synthesizers and custom made electronics. Although mostly recorded in their hometown of Stavanger, where the brothers have their studio, they put together different segments of the album in different locations across the world absorbing the various landscapes to inspire the record; these ranged from remote cabins in the Norwegian mountaintops to abandoned industrial estates, retired Soviet Navy ships in Eastern Europe, Villages in Uganda and in a desolated clocktower during a snowstorm on the Faroe Islands. These untraditional and often enchanting recording environments breathe into the album’s rich tapestry . The duo’s artistic creations encompass several genres; both the tranquil and intimate “Drifter” as well as the shamanistic performance of “Galdring”, a vehement musical expression fuelled by primal screams, ceremonial Sámi drums, wooden logs, bones, harps and distant cow horns before segueing into an intense blend of world music.

Early 2021 Sturle Dagsland released their first full-length album. Their debut won one of the prestigious Edvard Awards, honouring the best Norwegian albums of the year. Their sophomore album demonstrates the potent symbiosis of the two brothers, threading intricate melodies and sounds through their Norwegian roots, incorporating inspiration of both their indigenous ancestry, primal expressions, dreams, rituals, as well as imaginative and futuristic concepts.

- Wild, expressive, and truly idiosyncratic, the long-awaited sophomore album by one of Norway’s most innovative and experimental talents is out now !

Sturle Dagsland - Sturle Dagsland - Dreams and Conjurations