Dungen
Encyclopedia
Dungen is a Swedish
rock
band based in Stockholm
. Often classified as progg
or psychedelic rock
, Dungen is also influenced by Swedish
(and other) folk music
, classic rock
, progressive rock
, garage rock
and alternative rock
.
The band is fronted by singer/composer Gustav Ejstes
, who writes all music and plays the majority of instruments on the band's records. Despite this, Dungen plays live as a four-piece. Gustav, who in his teens started his songwriting with hip hop, is backed live by Swedish progressive rock
veteran Reine Fiske (Landberk
, Morte Macabre, Paatos
, The Guild) on guitar, bassist Mattias Gustavsson (Life On Earth!), and drummer Johan Holmegard (previously on drums was Fredrik Björling), all of whom have played parts on Dungen's studio albums.
Following two vinyl album releases on Swedish record label Subliminal Sounds
, Dungen briefly signed to Dolores Recordings
(a subset of Virgin Records
) in 2002, on which they released the CD Stadsvandringar
and three singles, including one for Djungelboken 2 (the Swedish version of The Jungle Book 2
). Gustav soon returned to his friend's independent record label Subliminal Sounds
, stating that a major label did not feel right because Dungen is not a pop act.
Although Dungen's songs are sung entirely in Swedish
, 2004's Ta Det Lugnt
received great acclaim within indie rock circles and established the band's international reputation. This resulted in the band headlining two US tours and landing distribution deals in the US and UK. Dungen also performed their song "Panda" on the popular NBC
television talk show Late Night With Conan O'Brien
. In 2006, Dungen played at the famous Bonnaroo Music Festival
and has also toured with Wolfmother
and the Tucker B's
around Australia
.
Dungen released their fourth studio album, Tio Bitar on April 25, 2007 but did not tour in support of it.
The group's latest album, entitled Skit i allt
, was released in 2010. The group played the ATP New York 2010
music festival in Monticello, New York in September 2010.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band based in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
. Often classified as progg
Progg
Progg, a contraction of the Swedish word for "progressive music" was a left-wing and anti-commercial musical movement in Sweden that had its roots in the late 1960s, and its golden age in the 1970s. It should not be confused with the English expression progressive music or progressive rock. Progg...
or psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
, Dungen is also influenced by Swedish
Swedish folk music
Swedish folk music is a genre of music based largely on folkloric collection work that began in the early 19th century in Sweden. The primary instrument of Swedish folk music is the fiddle. Another common instrument, unique to Swedish traditions, is the nyckelharpa...
(and other) folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
, progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
, garage rock
Garage rock
Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...
and alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
.
The band is fronted by singer/composer Gustav Ejstes
Gustav Ejstes
Gustav Ejstes is a Swedish musician. He is the singer and frontman of the Swedish psychedelic rock band Dungen...
, who writes all music and plays the majority of instruments on the band's records. Despite this, Dungen plays live as a four-piece. Gustav, who in his teens started his songwriting with hip hop, is backed live by Swedish progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
veteran Reine Fiske (Landberk
Landberk
Landberk was a Swedish prog/art rock band, characterized by the dark, sombre tone of their music. They were notable for their utilisation of the mellotron, which was equally as important as the guitar in their melodies...
, Morte Macabre, Paatos
Paatos
Paatos is a Swedish rock band that was formed in 1999 by Reine Fiske and Stefan Dimle , Petronella Nettermalm, Ricard Nettermalm and Johan Wallen...
, The Guild) on guitar, bassist Mattias Gustavsson (Life On Earth!), and drummer Johan Holmegard (previously on drums was Fredrik Björling), all of whom have played parts on Dungen's studio albums.
Following two vinyl album releases on Swedish record label Subliminal Sounds
Subliminal Sounds
Subliminal Sounds is a Swedish record label based in Stockholm founded in 1989.-Artists:*Adam*Bo Axelzon & His Exotic Sounds*Baby Grandmothers*Backdoor Men*Dungen*Entheogens*Merrell Fankhauser*Peter Grudzien*D.R. Hooker*Abner Jay*Jade Stone & Luv...
, Dungen briefly signed to Dolores Recordings
Dolores Recordings
Dolores Recordings is a Swedish record label owned by Virgin Records, whose roster includes I'm from Barcelona, Swingfly , Caesars and some releases by The Soundtrack of Our Lives and Dungen....
(a subset of Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
) in 2002, on which they released the CD Stadsvandringar
Stadsvandringar
Stadsvandringar is the CD version of Swedish psychedelic rock group Dungen's second album.It was originally released by Subliminal Sounds in 2002 in a limited vinyl edition of 500 copies under the name Dungen 2. The CD version was released that year on Dolores Recordings and contained some...
and three singles, including one for Djungelboken 2 (the Swedish version of The Jungle Book 2
The Jungle Book 2
The Jungle Book 2 is a 2003 American animated film produced by the DisneyToons studio in Sydney, Australia and released by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution. The theatrical version of the film was released in France on February 5, 2003, and released in the United States on February...
). Gustav soon returned to his friend's independent record label Subliminal Sounds
Subliminal Sounds
Subliminal Sounds is a Swedish record label based in Stockholm founded in 1989.-Artists:*Adam*Bo Axelzon & His Exotic Sounds*Baby Grandmothers*Backdoor Men*Dungen*Entheogens*Merrell Fankhauser*Peter Grudzien*D.R. Hooker*Abner Jay*Jade Stone & Luv...
, stating that a major label did not feel right because Dungen is not a pop act.
Although Dungen's songs are sung entirely in Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
, 2004's Ta Det Lugnt
Ta Det Lugnt
Ta Det Lugnt is Swedish psychedelic rock group Dungen's third album. It was produced by Gustav Ejstes, the lead singer and instrumentalist of the band...
received great acclaim within indie rock circles and established the band's international reputation. This resulted in the band headlining two US tours and landing distribution deals in the US and UK. Dungen also performed their song "Panda" on the popular NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
television talk show Late Night With Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am...
. In 2006, Dungen played at the famous Bonnaroo Music Festival
Bonnaroo Music Festival
The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an annual four day music festival created and produced by Superfly Productions and AC Entertainment, held at Great Stage Park on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee. It hosted its tenth annual event June 9–12, 2011...
and has also toured with Wolfmother
Wolfmother
Wolfmother is an Australian rock band from Erskineville, Sydney. Formed in 2000, the group was originally a trio composed of vocalist and guitarist Andrew Stockdale, bassist and keyboardist Chris Ross and drummer Myles Heskett. Wolfmother released their self-titled debut album in October 2005,...
and the Tucker B's
Tucker B's
Tucker B's are an Australian band originally from Perth but have been based in Sydney since 2005.-History:The Tucker B’s were formed at the end of 1994 by Matt Rudas and Andrew Houston, performing their first gig together at the Harbourside in Fremantle. In 1995, with the addition of Sean Pezzali,...
around Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Dungen released their fourth studio album, Tio Bitar on April 25, 2007 but did not tour in support of it.
The group's latest album, entitled Skit i allt
Skit i allt
Skit i allt is Swedish psychedelic rock group Dungen's sixth album. The title literally means "Fuck it all" in Swedish.It was released as a CD and a limited edition red vinyl on August 30, 2010 by Subliminal Sounds...
, was released in 2010. The group played the ATP New York 2010
All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)
All Tomorrow's Parties is a music festival which takes place at Camber Sands holiday camp in East Sussex and Butlin's holiday camp in Minehead, Somerset, England....
music festival in Monticello, New York in September 2010.
Albums
- DungenDungen (album)Dungen is the self-titled debut album of Swedish psychedelic rock group Dungen.It was originally released in 2001 by Subliminal Sounds on a limited vinyl edition of 500 copies...
(2001) - Dungen 2Dungen 2Dungen 2 is the vinyl version of Swedish psychedelic rock group Dungen's album Stadsvandringar.It was released by Subliminal Sounds in 2002 in a limited edition of 500 copies...
(2002) - StadsvandringarStadsvandringarStadsvandringar is the CD version of Swedish psychedelic rock group Dungen's second album.It was originally released by Subliminal Sounds in 2002 in a limited vinyl edition of 500 copies under the name Dungen 2. The CD version was released that year on Dolores Recordings and contained some...
(2002) - Ta Det LugntTa Det LugntTa Det Lugnt is Swedish psychedelic rock group Dungen's third album. It was produced by Gustav Ejstes, the lead singer and instrumentalist of the band...
(2004) - Tio BitarTio BitarTio Bitar is Swedish psychedelic rock group Dungen's fourth album.It was released as a CD on April 23, 2007 by Subliminal Sounds , with a vinyl version to follow on the same label...
(2007) - 44 (Dungen album)-Personnel:* Gustav Ejstes – flute, organ, percussion, piano, strings, vocals, producer, engineer* Reine Fiske – bass, guitar, percussion* Mattias Gustafsson – bass on 3, 8 and 9* Carl-Michael Herlöfsson – mastering...
(2008) - Skit i alltSkit i alltSkit i allt is Swedish psychedelic rock group Dungen's sixth album. The title literally means "Fuck it all" in Swedish.It was released as a CD and a limited edition red vinyl on August 30, 2010 by Subliminal Sounds...
(2010)
EPs
- Tyst MinutTa Det LugntTa Det Lugnt is Swedish psychedelic rock group Dungen's third album. It was produced by Gustav Ejstes, the lead singer and instrumentalist of the band...
(20052005 in music-Events:*During the year 2005, 12 rock music albums scored number 1 in the USA. This was the first time even ten albums have scored number 1 since 1996.-January:...
, Subliminal SoundsSubliminal SoundsSubliminal Sounds is a Swedish record label based in Stockholm founded in 1989.-Artists:*Adam*Bo Axelzon & His Exotic Sounds*Baby Grandmothers*Backdoor Men*Dungen*Entheogens*Merrell Fankhauser*Peter Grudzien*D.R. Hooker*Abner Jay*Jade Stone & Luv...
) (12" vinyl, also included with 2005 re-release of Ta Det Lugnt) - Samtidigt (20092009 in musicThe following is a list of notable events and releases in 2009 in music. Susan Boyle's album I Dreamed a Dream became the biggest selling album in the world for 2009, selling 8.3 million copies in five weeks; more than any other artist's in the whole year...
, Kemado) (limited-pressing (500) tour-only 12″ vinyl containing an extended 15-minute long version of the song "Samtidigt" from 4)
Singles
- Solen Stiger Upp (20022002 in musicThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2002.-Events:*February 3 – U2 perform during the halftime show for Super Bowl XXXVI...
, Dolores RecordingsDolores RecordingsDolores Recordings is a Swedish record label owned by Virgin Records, whose roster includes I'm from Barcelona, Swingfly , Caesars and some releases by The Soundtrack of Our Lives and Dungen....
) (CD) - Stadsvandringar (20022002 in musicThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2002.-Events:*February 3 – U2 perform during the halftime show for Super Bowl XXXVI...
, Dolores RecordingsDolores RecordingsDolores Recordings is a Swedish record label owned by Virgin Records, whose roster includes I'm from Barcelona, Swingfly , Caesars and some releases by The Soundtrack of Our Lives and Dungen....
) (CD) - Jag vill va' som du / Har du vart' i Stockholm? (20032003 in music-January:* January – following an investigation by The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and London detectives, police raids in England and the Netherlands recover nearly 500 original Beatles studio tapes, recorded during the Let It Be sessions. Five people are arrested...
, Dolores RecordingsDolores RecordingsDolores Recordings is a Swedish record label owned by Virgin Records, whose roster includes I'm from Barcelona, Swingfly , Caesars and some releases by The Soundtrack of Our Lives and Dungen....
) (CD) - Panda (20052005 in music-Events:*During the year 2005, 12 rock music albums scored number 1 in the USA. This was the first time even ten albums have scored number 1 since 1996.-January:...
, Memphis IndustriesMemphis IndustriesMemphis Industries is a British independent record label.Memphis Industries was established as a record label in 1998 by the brothers Ollie and Matt Jacob with the first release being Blue States' Forever EP...
) (CD, 7" vinyl) - Festival (20062006 in musicThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2006.-January:*January 10 – Eric Burdon releases his album Soul of a Man and begins touring with a new band....
, Memphis IndustriesMemphis IndustriesMemphis Industries is a British independent record label.Memphis Industries was established as a record label in 1998 by the brothers Ollie and Matt Jacob with the first release being Blue States' Forever EP...
) (7" vinyl) - Sätt Att Se (20082008 in music2008 was a huge year in music history with the emergence of pop superstars Lady Gaga and Katy Perry into the mainstream. Also, this is the year that is widely agreed upon by critics as the start of the fall of hip hop from the mainstream and the rise of Synthpop into the mainstream due to acts such...
, Mexican SummerMexican SummerFounded by Kemado Records in 2008, Mexican Summer started out by releasing limited-edition, ornately packaged vinyl pieces. Mexican Summer has expanded its catalog to over 100 releases across multiple formats....
) (12" vinyl) - Öga, Näsa, Mun (2011, Third Man RecordsThird Man RecordsThird Man Records is an independent record label founded by Jack White in Detroit, Michigan, in 2001. Third Man established its first physical location — a combination record store, performance venue, and headquarters for the label — in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2009.-History:Jack White founded...
) (7" vinyl)
Compilations
- Who Will Buy These Wonderful Evils (20022002 in musicThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2002.-Events:*February 3 – U2 perform during the halftime show for Super Bowl XXXVI...
, Dolores RecordingsDolores RecordingsDolores Recordings is a Swedish record label owned by Virgin Records, whose roster includes I'm from Barcelona, Swingfly , Caesars and some releases by The Soundtrack of Our Lives and Dungen....
)
External links
- Official website in Swedish and English
- Dungen: Pitchfork Live Review (9/20/05)
- Dungen: Lyrics in Swedish
- October 2008 Interview with L.A. RecordL.A. RecordL.A. Record is an independent music magazine originally published weekly as a broadsheet poster. The poster usually depicts a local Los Angeles musicians and according to the magazine editors is meant to recreate an iconic album cover. In March 2008, it began publishing as a monthly magazine with a...