Album art of their debut. Picture from Bandcamp.

What On Earth Is Sturle Dagsland?

The most interesting album of 2021 yet

Alexander Razin
3 min readFeb 7, 2021

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From looking at the album cover, you’ll expect some Lo-Fi or psychedelic pop or rock, but when pressing play on the first song, you’ll presented with a enchanting ambient instrumental over someone throat singing, screaming, and memorizing singing. This is Sturle Dagsland, a duo comprising brothers Sturle (vocals) and Sjur (production roles) Dagsland from Norway. They started making music in 2016 and released Guaifing; the track has a harmonic and eastern appeal and showcases all Sturle vocal capabilities. His high pitch falsetto, growls, and throat singing. It sounds as if an ancient man came into the recording booth. In 2017 and 2018 they released a few singles displaying a similar style, and creating an atmospheric tone replicating nature.

Three years later, we get their self-titled debut; this is a weird album. As someone who likes experimental and weird music, this overwhelmed me. The album puts Dorian Electra or Clarence Clarity to shame. The duo continue the sound of their single tracks; Sturle’s energetic tenor shines on every track. If it wasn’t for Sturle's voice, this album is like any other atmospheric pop album. For example, the opening track, Kusanagi, Strule’s throat and growls are in full effect and his tone sounds as if doesn’t care what you think. Dreaming showcases his how high…

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Alexander Razin
Alexander Razin

Written by Alexander Razin

Aficionado and connoisseur of obscure and experimental music, movies, and TV. Fictional and nonfictional pieces have their place here, too

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