Gullstropen talks about the way he takes care of his voice – and about his new album.
It’s Dagsland’s new record release week, and the first since the 2016 album “Røst”. The Bergen resident is in Oslo, doing the press and talking to the BA on the phone. The usual signature sound.
– I take better care of him today. Early in my career, says Dagsland, there was a lot of spitting and partying and I didn’t think much about the responsibility I had.
– The upper level was good, but after a party of smoke, for example… it was not good for the sound.
The new album is called “The Elephant in the Room” and it is produced by Ring Fox, Mike Hartung. It leaves a lot of room in the soundscape of Dagsland’s sound.
– I heard the things he did for Highasakite and I wanted something of the same.
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Alexander technique
The crystal clear voice has set a tone since the ’80s and today he uses acupuncture to keep the splendor of his voice intact.
– When I’m on tour I live healthy, because my voice is at its best. But I had two real prongs. All singers get someone like this during their career.
The first came in the mid-1930s. Dagsland then contacted Bergen-based Stephen Parker and tested the so-called Alexander technique. In short, it’s “a practical way to change the usual reflexes that inhibit posture and movement,” according to encyclopedias. The Alexander technique is named after the actor Frederick Matthias Alexander (1869–1955), who had voice problems at an early age. Stephen Parker in Bergen had the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Norwegian Opera and Gutenberg Opera on his client list.
– The second came last year, under Corona, when I was scheduled to perform my first concert in four months. That was when I started with acupuncture, says Dagsland.
Started in 2018
The process that led to this week’s record, “The Elephant in the Room,” began in fall 2018 — less than a year after talk of the car crash that ended up in January of that year.
Read a Sigvart Dagsland interview from 2019: – Health is much better, in fact.
The last two songs of the album were written in late January of this year. It was only when I realized what the album was missing.
In a small sea with the current songs of the recording, there was a duet called “Love”. Dagsland brought with him Marthe Wang.
– He was written as a duet cut to the same reading of “Dedicated to You,” the Carly Simon and James Taylor version, he says of the song the Everly Brothers also performed.
– I wanted us to sing in unison, like Kings of Convenience or Simon & Garfunkel. I just love her and her voice so much.
Five years have passed since the last record. Tell us a little bit about what has been moving your music world since last time. What were you listening?
My daughter Emma, now 19, has heard a lot as well. The songs of Billie Eilish’s brother, Finnea’s O’Connell, for example. He does a lot of good. Coldplay song “Daddy” from their latest album. It’s cute, it is! Then I listened to Scar and Debresno. Among the slightly older ones, I listened to Rufus Wainwright, for example. There are a lot of good things out there.
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