I won't blame you if you've never heard of Nicolai Dunger. He's a Swedish singer/songwriter
who has spent plenty of time soaking up the mystic jazz-rock of Van Morrison's Astral
Weeks and lived a while in the spirit world of Morrison's Woodstock hippie-soul
period. He's recorded with Will Oldham and members of Mercury Rev, creating soulful
albums including 2004's Here's My Song, You Can Have It… I Don't Want It Anymore and
2001's Soul Rush. His work isn't exactly commercial, but then again, I
can certainly imagine some of his songs on the radio. A Taste of Ra appears
to be Dunger's way of making a completely non-commercial album, a mystic jazz-folk
album that is possibly his strongest recording to date. This one won't get on
the radio, unless we're talking Internet and community radio. Dunger's voice,
which will, in addition to Morrison, remind you of the late Jeff Buckley at times,
is a most subtle, emotional instrument. Here he uses it to deliver melodies that
drift through the songs like billowy clouds across muted blue sky. The album
itself is packaged in a consciously lo-fi, handmade manner: the cover is a piece
of thick paper with simple drawings on it; all the text (lyrics, song titles)
is handwritten. The paper cover folds around the CD; it comes in a thin plastic
slipcover. Dunger's name is nowhere to be found anywhere on the package. But
as soon as "Lovearth Song…" begins, there is no mistaking that voice. At times
it sounds like Dunger is caught up in some religious fervor, a vehicle for a
godly sound that will transport you far, far away from the noise and chaos of
urban and suburban life. Imagine a soundtrack to "Siddhartha" composed and recorded
in 1968 at "Big Pink" in Woodstock by Morrison and the Incredible String Band,
and you have a sense of this wonderful 11-song album. Start with A Taste of
Ra, but beware. Dunger is addictive, and you'll be seeking out Soul Rush, Tranquil
Isolation and the others before long.
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