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LP
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TU 014LP
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"Blue Lake reveals his most ambitious album yet, which finds its visionary creator Jason Dungan harnessing the collective alchemy of his band, with ten spirited tracks that resonate with a powerful directness, evoking an ecological connection to the wider world. On The Animal, Dungan introduces the use of voice as an instrument, as a way of unlocking song-like characteristics. On the gracious album opener 'Circles,' which sees the group embrace in choral unison, like in birdsong, voices echo as a part of the surrounding sonic environment. The band are fore grounded and formidable in their delivery, forming a rich, acoustic accompaniment to Dungan's zither strokes, earthy guitars and percussive patterns. The soundworld is noticeably bolder and livelier, as evidenced on 'Cut Paper,' with now regular mixing collaborator Jeff Zeigler capturing the fullness of the new band sound. Dungan also enlisted the help of Danish producer Aske Zidore who encouraged him toward new working strategies, a liberating intervention which allowed the element of surprise and discovery. The center ground is never fully consumed by Dungan as we find him consciously orchestrating from a respectful distance, giving generous space for the musician's spontaneous performance and improvisation, allowing their musical intuition to give rise to beguiling, holistic synchronicity. 'The Animal' is a form of musical metamorphosis, still acoustic, yet more amplified, elevating it to new dimensions. The Blue Lake project takes on a new lease of life to encompass collaboration with Jason Dungan bound in a universal connectivity, resulting in his most ambitious album to date. A harmonious rejoicing that cements his reputation as a transformative presence in contemporary music."
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TU 014X-LP
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Color vinyl version. "Blue Lake reveals his most ambitious album yet, which finds its visionary creator Jason Dungan harnessing the collective alchemy of his band, with ten spirited tracks that resonate with a powerful directness, evoking an ecological connection to the wider world. On The Animal, Dungan introduces the use of voice as an instrument, as a way of unlocking song-like characteristics. On the gracious album opener 'Circles,' which sees the group embrace in choral unison, like in birdsong, voices echo as a part of the surrounding sonic environment. The band are fore grounded and formidable in their delivery, forming a rich, acoustic accompaniment to Dungan's zither strokes, earthy guitars and percussive patterns. The soundworld is noticeably bolder and livelier, as evidenced on 'Cut Paper,' with now regular mixing collaborator Jeff Zeigler capturing the fullness of the new band sound. Dungan also enlisted the help of Danish producer Aske Zidore who encouraged him toward new working strategies, a liberating intervention which allowed the element of surprise and discovery. The center ground is never fully consumed by Dungan as we find him consciously orchestrating from a respectful distance, giving generous space for the musician's spontaneous performance and improvisation, allowing their musical intuition to give rise to beguiling, holistic synchronicity. 'The Animal' is a form of musical metamorphosis, still acoustic, yet more amplified, elevating it to new dimensions. The Blue Lake project takes on a new lease of life to encompass collaboration with Jason Dungan bound in a universal connectivity, resulting in his most ambitious album to date. A harmonious rejoicing that cements his reputation as a transformative presence in contemporary music."
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TU 002LP
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"Blue Lake is the musical moniker of American born, Copenhagen based multidisciplinary artist and musician Jason Dungan, who signs to the Tonal Union imprint for the release of his new longform album Sun Arcs. It follows 2022's release Stikling, earning a nomination for Album of the Year at the Danish Music Awards plus warm praise from The Hum blog and musicians and DJs alike including Jack Rollo and Carla dal Forno. A self-taught player, Dungan began freely experimenting with self-built multi-string instruments, preferring to build his own hybrid 48-string zither and working in the realms of left-field ambient music, off kilter folk and improvised acoustic minimalism. The starting point of Sun Arcs saw Jason travel for a week alone to Andersabo, a cabin set in the idyllic Swedish woods just outside of Unnaryd, known also as the music project, festival and residency space which has been run by Dungan since 2016, hosting artists like Sofie Birch, Johan Carøe, and Ellen Arkbro. Whilst writing one to two pieces per day, a conscious decision was made to leave behind everyday distractions and shut out the outside world to instead focus on the natural passage of time as Dungan recalls: 'My only sense of time came from these daily walks out in the woods with my dog, and an awareness of the sun's path as it moved across the sky each day.' Musically it portrays a form of double life led by an American-identifying person living in Scandinavia, and a new found presence in Denmark, seeking out underdeveloped marshlands and barren stretches of beach adrift from other rhythms and distractions. Highlighting their individual and potent importance Dungan concludes: 'Both places feel like 'me,' I think on some level the music is always some kind of self-portrait.' Sun Arcs depicts the intricate balance of nature's cycles and the paths outlined by the seasons, from a winter dormancy to a warm sun-drenched scene. The album scales new glorying heights and further defines Dungan's musical narrative, inhabiting a unique space in left- field, improvised and experimental music, boring his most accomplished compositions to date. A singular and visionary expression, drawing on an array of instruments and sound worlds with a renewed sense of joy and discovery."
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