The hauntingly brilliant folk-prog artist Dikajee has revealed her new single ‘Lily Of The Valley’, taken from her unique debut full-length album Forget~Me~Nots, released 13th August.
Featuring Amber Foil‘s João Filipe, you can watch the single-video here: https://youtu.be/jwRfdK_ATfs
Pre-order Forget~Me~Nots here: dikajee.com
The artist comments: “I wrote the first part of that song while just improvising with my piano, being home alone. I imagined a beautiful valley or a meadow and a lady laying on the grass surrounded by all that beauty I am describing in the first couplet. Birds passing by, clouds in the sky… and blooming Lily Of The Valley. So this is probably a bitter romantic song about overcoming feelings. I really felt like this song required a strong instrumental part and I asked my friend João if he wanted to join me there. He liked the song and in few months we were together in Sintra, Portugal, improvising together. and he worked on the middle part. We went to the mountains above the clouds (literally) for some moments of inspiration, so you can definitely say that this song was partly composed above the clouds.”
Forget~Me~Nots is a stunning display from the originally Russian-based musician, which throughout places her incredible voice front and centre. It’s a fitting tribute to an artist who considers herself a globalist. In her words: “I am a citzen of the world. No age, no nationality, no gender, no religion. I know we can’t completely run away from reality, but as R.P. McMurphy said, “At least I tried”.”
Such an esoteric, worldly approach is truly typical of this brilliant artist, and an album recorded throughout Europe, and with a truly international cadre and calibre of musician. Recording and producing in Norway, Portugal, Germany, France, Latvia, Russia, Forget~Me~Nots features guest appearances from Faun’s Fiona Rüggeberg (bagpipes), Klone’s Guillaume Bernard (guitars), Erik Truffaz‘s Artis Orubs (drums) and Amber Foil’s João Filipe (guitars) among others.
The international, collaborative outlook pays dividends across a record that showcases the best of folk, minimalist electronic, neo-baroque, neo-classical and truly inventive progressive rock. Above all else shines through Dikajee’s voice, a once-in-a-generation talent that recalls the best of Bjork and Kate Bush. Musically, shades of Steven Wilson, Nightwish, and Gentle Giant shine through.
Across Forget~Me~Nots Dikajee’s gloriously imaginative ethos is heard again and again. Track Four, ‘River Rite’, is a self-described “pagan ritual” song, which plays on the dual parables of the energy of floral wreaths, and of the wiseman by the river. The closing track, ‘Something Mystique’ is an exploration of the state of loss, and involved the visiting of more than ten abandoned grand estates of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.
An artist who previously toured Germany and Switzerland, opened for Yann Tiersen, Recoil (Depeche Mode’s Alan Wilder), and Nils Petter Molvær; and placed in Prog Magazine’s Top Unsigned Bands, Dikajee will deservedly have a bright and illustrious future.
dikajee.com
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TRACKLISTING:
1: Forest
2: Lily Of The Valley (João Filipe (Amber Foil))
3: Millions Of Flashes
4: River Rite
5: Dead Garden (feat. Guillaume Bernard (Klone))
6: Misery
7: Scriptwriter
8: Glorious Beautiful Magical
9: Gloomy Flowers Blooming (feat. Fiona Rüggeberg (Faun, Tvinna))
10: Something Mystique (feat. Andreas Ulvo)