News
52~ is out!
The third song from our upcoming live EP is 52~! It was recorded live in Stuttgart, rounding off our European stint of the tour tour with Big Big Train in August/September 2023, before heading to the UK.
Vocalist/keyboardist Oskar Holldorff explains that “’52~’ is a lockdown song. I started writing it just as the world had closed down and we were all having to get accustomed to living inside our own bubbles with minimal real contact with other people. The song is about hiding – from the outside world, or from a memory or a feeling – seeking a temporary refuge from reality. Submerged in a lonely ocean, lulling oneself into a state of calm while above the surface everything is coming apart. The title refers to the 52-hertz whale, which is thought of as one of the world’s loneliest animals since it communicates at a frequency too high for other whales to register. I think writing it was a subconscious attempt for me to cope with the pandemic. To play this song live, with my friends in front of a very real audience, meant a lot to me.”
You can listen to the song on your favourite streaming platform!
Single cover photo by Anne-Marie Forker
New live single “Ashes” is out!
The second song from our upcoming live EP is out! “Ashes” was recorded live in Oslo during our tour with Big Big Train in August/September 2023. It also features Milad’s Persian santoor.
Vocalist/keyboardist Oskar Holldorff explains: “‘Ashes' is a dramatic piece that relies more on electronic sounds than many of our other songs, so we had to approach playing it live a little differently." Guitarist Milad Amouzegar adds: "I think we managed to do the song justice live. We played it a few more times on this tour, but the energy on stage in Oslo was amazing. I don't think it sounded any better than on that night.”
You can listen to the song on your favourite streaming platform!
Single cover photo by Anne-Marie Forker
Live EP and music video
We are releasing a live EP! It will consist of 5 songs recorded during our European tour with Big Big Train last August/September 2023. First song up is The Wave We Thought We’d Ride Forever, taken from our debut album Flown. This song was recorded during our final show of the tour, at Cadogan Hall in London. You can listen to this on Spotify and all other streaming platforms.
Single cover photo by Anne-Marie Forker
Accompanying the song is a live music video filmed during that show by Tim Sidwell, and the video is edited by our own Tom Ian.
Murals is out!
Check out the official music video for the song on YouTube!
Our new single Murals is out on all streaming platforms and available for purchase through our Bandcamp!
New Single ‘Murals’ out 15th March
After returning triumphant from their European tour supporting Big Big Train last autumn, Dim Gray went straight to work with their third album. Now that labour is starting to come to fruition, with their first single “Murals” - a song that packs plenty of punch, with Håkon’s recognizable guitars and elements of Norwegian folk music. The song is mixed by The Pineapple Thief’s own Bruce Soord.
Murals was written by guitarist and vocalist Håkon Høiberg, saying “I wanted to dive deeper into the Norwegian folk music heritage, and was inspired by the Norwegian Hardanger fiddle and its uniqe melodic sound. Combining it with a primitive, up-beat soundscape to craft the parts of the song, it resulteded in a sound that you rarely hear played by an electric guitar.” The lyrics center around the idea that wherever you may find yourself in life, there is always someone that has been in your shoes. It’s an important perspective to have, especially if you are running the risk of getting lost in your own head.
Now, with the inclusion of Milad Amouzegar and Kristian Kvaksrud, “Murals” marks Dim Gray’s first release as a quintet, kicking off what should promise to be an exciting year with several singles and finally, the third album.
Artwork by Alizée Piel
T-shirts back in stock
After printing a small run of t-shirts for the European Tour last autumn, and selling out, we are happy to say that a new batch has arrived and are available through Burning Shed. The shirt bears the lovely Ashes single cover-design, made by Linnea Vestre.
And then there were five
Dim Gray have today announced that two musicians who regularly perform with them at live shows – Milad Amouzegar (guitars and keyboards) and Kristian Kvaksrud (bass) – have joined the band on a full time basis. The news comes just ahead of the start of a European tour on which they will be the special guests of progressive rock titans Big Big Train.
Drummer Tom Ian Klungland explains that the core group trio of himself, guitarist Håkon Høiberg and singer/keyboardist Oskar Holldorff “have always been wary of letting anyone else join. We’ve had session musicians for studio recordings and live shows, but it never felt exactly right until now. When we started preparing for live shows, we realised that we needed to add musicians to do our songs justice in a live setting. Milad and Kristian both came in at the same time and their work ethic, musicianship and great personalities have given the band new impetus. It felt only natural to invite them to become a permanent part of Dim Gray.”
“I feel privileged to now be a full member of Dim Gray,” states Amouzegar. “Having already played and travelled with them for over a year has been both fun and musically challenging; everything I could wish for from being part of a band. I’ve known Håkon, Oskar and Tom for quite some time, and they are a wonderful trio of professional and creative musicians. When they released their debut album [2020’s ‘Flown’], I remember thinking to myself: ‘this is the kind of music I would love to play live’. So when they asked if I wanted to share the stage with them supporting Marillion in spring 2022, there was no way I could decline. Since then it has been non-stop excitement, creativity and humour, and I’m hyped for what comes next!”
Kvaksrud concurs, adding that “It has been an absolute pleasure playing with Dim Gray for the last year and a half, and I am honoured to be now be a full-time member. The five of us make a great team and I am really looking forward to what lies ahead – first and foremost, our upcoming tour supporting Big Big Train throughout Europe in August and September!”
Photo by Anne-Marie Forker
Contact
Management: Nick Shilton - Kingmaker Management - nick@kingmakermgmt.com
Booking: Graham Collins - Music Tour Services - gc@musictourservices.co.uk
or drop us a message in the form below!