Dim Gray: 'Black Sun' - live video for song included on 'Flown' : 2xLP and CD formats of debut album by Norwegian art rock trio out 11.06.21

Oslo-based art rock trio Dim Gray play melody-driven songs in a post-progressive vein, incorporating elements from folk music into a forward-thinking aesthetic that results in a hauntingly evocative sound. A wide and sophisticated palette of sounds and ideas is rooted in yearning vocals and subtly reverb-ed guitars.

The studio version of ‘Black Sun’ is the final song on ‘Flown’, the group’s debut album that was released digitally in 2020 and is being made available on 2xLP and CD formats (with bonus songs) in June. “It was actually one of the very first songs we wrote together and has stayed with us throughout our journey as a band and been the closing track of every gig we’ve played,” they explain. “Lyrically, it deals with existentialism, loss and depression, applying imagery from philosopher Julia Kristeva, and it concludes with an open-ended final chorus which can be interpreted in a multitude of ways.”

The three group members - Håkon Høiberg, Oskar Holldorff and Tom Ian Klungland - all moved from different parts of Norway to its capital city in 2012 in order to continue their studies. Having found each other, they soon began playing together. The three members have contrasting musical backgrounds in genres as diverse as black metal, progressive rock, blues, folk and film music, but in fusing these together they began to develop something distinctive and unique.

2020 saw the band issue the songs ‘Ráth', ‘Again', 'Light Anew' and ‘Ouroboros' prior to a digital only debut album entitled ‘Flown’ in the summer. A concept record with intertwining songs structured like one continuous story, the album relates a vivid tale of loss and loneliness that constantly twists and turns, with intimate and spatial moments offset with massive and colourful soundscapes. Describing their lyrical approach, the band explain that “rather than tell a linear story, we attempted to structure it as a circular narrative, with the protagonist trapped in a downward spiral, a vicious cycle without a clear beginning or ending. The story can be interpreted in various ways, but the lyrical themes remain centred around loss, longing and loneliness, and the psychological toll these feelings can take on a person.”

Musically, ‘Flown’ weaves a route from strings-infused chamber pop, through dark indie folk and into grandiose art rock. It is an ambitious musical statement that will appeal to fans of artists such as Radiohead, Fleet Foxes, Steven Wilson, Sigur Rós and Susanne Sundfør.

Four songs have been added to the album for its release on 2xLP and CD formats.

FLOWN TRACKLISTING

1 Again

2 The Wave We Thought We’d Ride Forever

3 Closer

4 Ráth

5 Wandering

6 Flown

7 Light Anew

8 Yore

9 Song For E

10 Dreamer’s Disease

11 Ouroboros

12 Black Sun

13 Again - Live*

14 Song For E - Live*

15 Paper Bird - Extended Version*

16 Ice And Sea* (CD ONLY)

16 Wakeless* (LP ONLY)

* bonus songs

live video: youtu.be/iTqtUrSdgpo