Here is an alt-folk/post-minimalist album tinged with ambient and a low-fi/DIY aesthetic. Think of Arthur Russell, a claimed source, but also of 80s-90s art-pop nights, more inclined towards slow living than party mania. I had an initial impression, from the first few minutes of listening, of melodies and ideas that were incomplete, left floating in memory and consciousness, but organised into relatively explicit patterns. Then, I read in the program notes that the two artists (Dungan is American and lives in Denmark, Carøe is Danish) sent each other fragments of material to develop together, which perfectly matches my initial impression.
The ten tracks of the program unfold in this way, in an almost perpetual state of narrative flow, contemplative yet awake evanescence, not at all amorphous, in airy textures, gently pulsating with discreet energy.
Dungan calls it Nordic Americana. It’s true that the combination of guitar and electro with the array of eclectic instruments like a 36-string homemade zither, a pump organ, a clarinet, a cello, and a bunch of others (check out the complete list below, it’s impressive), creates atmospheres that evoke both a solitary road in the Bible Belt and a Scandinavian fjord. A lyrical mezzo-soprano brings a very enchanting colour to Reunion, set against an effective cinematic backdrop.
Here is an album for which I had no reason to expect anything special, but which delicately charmed me.
Jason Dungan: Acoustic 6 and 12-string guitars, self-designed 36-string zither, pump organ, small percussion, groovebox, electric bass, melodica, saxophone, cello, flute, clarinet.
Johan Carøe: Cello, violin, acoustic guitar, electric guitar ,electric bass, synthesizers, piano, digital manipulation, reed flute
Carolyn Goodwin: bass clarinet on Routine I
Anna Caroline Olesen: Mezzosoprano on Reunion
