DØDSEGO

“We wanted to make something more than just a musical piece; something you can fall into and stay in for an hour.”

Norwegian septet DØDSEGO have released their immersive debut album, 'Reisen Vol. 1 - Beyond The Void', not as a finished article, but as a representation of a moment in time.

“We never really settle on something as the final product,” says bandleader and bassist Martin Østbye Haugen. The album’s centrepiece, 'SODA', has “three choruses spread across thirteen minutes, but since we tracked the drums almost two years ago, it has evolved into a much longer piece. Live, with the instrumental in the middle, it lasts twenty minutes. On the other hand, some things work better on record, so are removed entirely when played live.”

Broadly, their sound is rooted in the influence of psychedelic proggers like Pink Floyd, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard and fellow Norwegians Motorpsycho, but it is defined by a sense of ever-evolving freedom. The mellow, fiddle-led 'Into The Void…' is an exercise in finding coherence within ambiguity.

“We had a clear vision of this loose and floating piece,” says guitarist Filip Melby Holm. “So we figured out how the underlying chords were going to move and then explained the emotions and movements to Kenneth Lien, who plays hardanger fiddle. His vision and improvisation brought it all together and made it what it is.”

“We think of ourselves as a live band anyway,” he continues, and this desire for creating authentic energy runs to the very core of the album. Almost all of the drums and bass were recorded live, with no click-track to keep the tempo from drifting. “It makes everything breathe. It becomes more pulsating and alive; more personal and human. If the tempo increases slightly, that's just how we play, and if we can capture that essence on the record, we should.”

That’s not to say there’s no structure to DØDSEGO. With seven members – including a live visual jockey – boundaries are essential. Opener 'The Great Escape' is “an almost entirely arranged piece of music, pretty much not improvised at all.” Instead, it’s a tightly-woven composition that builds cinematic tension slowly, before introducing blast beats that hint at black metal and, eventually, a gritty riff that lands them firmly in the psych world. 'Tangerine Dream, Pt. 1' follows directly, wearing its King Gizzard influences on its sleeve as it ebbs and flows between motorik intensity and shimmering ambience.

Housing their improvisational spirit within these tight structures is what allows 'Reisen Vol. 1' to flow as a single, uninterrupted work. It unfolds less like a collection of songs and more like a continuous, shifting environment crafted by musicians fully connected to the work, and open to listeners willing to lose themselves within it. It’s no coincidence that the band’s name loosely translates to ‘ego death’.

“We wanted to make something more than just a musical piece; something you can fall into and stay in for an hour,” says Martin. “We hear a lot at our concerts that people forget that they're there and float away into the music. That’s the best compliment we can get.”

- Phil Weller

PROG FILE

Line-Up: Henrik Høibraaten (vocals, guitar), Martin Østbye Haugen (bass, backing vocals), Filip Melby Holm (guitar), Per Kamfjord (drums, backing vocals), Jonas Ulleland (saxophone), Nicolas Palacios (guitar, synthesiser), Julie Røbekk Hopshaug (visual jockey

Sounds Like: Atmospheric unpredictability bridging the gap between bursts of King Gizzard psychedelia.

Current Release: 'Reisen Vol. 1 - Beyond The Void'

Website: D Ø D S E G O www.dodsego.com