Words by Justin Turford
I only relatively recently discovered the adult charms of the brilliant Swedish ‘supergrupp’ Dina Ögon. A perfectly balanced quartet of experienced and individual talents who’s combined vision encompasses a myriad of influences that transcend time, country and genre, the music’s sunny reflections of Quarteto Em Cy, deep soul records, Fleetwood Mac and a globally transient library of folkloric and other musical connections distilled to create their dreamy well-crafted soul-pop music. The union led to two instant classic albums - ‘Oas’ from 2023 and the eponymously titled debut ‘Dina Ögon’ in 2021 (both reissued last year via the UK’s Mr Bongo label). With apparent ease, they return with their third album ‘Orion’, the band’s lush and nostalgic sound given a slightly more contemporary edge without losing their superior craft and emotional depth.
Photo by Kenta
Sweden is benefitting from a golden period of extraordinarily talented musicians and producers, and the members of Dina Ögon are part of this fabric of creativity whether as collaborators or as leading figures in the scene. We’ve mentioned guitarist and arranger Daniel Ögren before, the sessions for his ‘Fastingen - 92’ album became a petri dish for what would become Dina Ögon. Bass player Love Örsan and drummer Christopher Cantillo were key contributors to the record and also worked with Daniel on Swedish auteur Sven Wunder’s projects, their own respective careers a similarly restless journey across sprawling genres.
Their not-so-secret weapon is the singular voice of Anna Ahnlund. Warm, seductive, achingly sad at times, her own decade long musical career is an original vision of beautifully constructed songs that float strangely between lowkey torch songs, pastoral folk and celestial indie-pop. Always writing and singing in Swedish, I can’t attest to her literary talents but she was awarded ”Lyricist of the year” at Manifestgalan 2015 for her debut album ‘Omnejd’, so let us assume she has something special going on.
Anna’s contribution to the ‘Fastingen - 92’ LP was the epic drama of ‘Idag’, its success and the feeling that there could be more becoming the birthing pool of this remarkable band.
The upward gaze of ‘Orion’ adds a further cosmic hue to their already rich, earthy sound. Critical success and live shows have honed them into an even slicker outfit, and it is this newfound swagger that comes across with nine soul-drenched ‘pop’ songs that collude to make an album that should break them out into the wider consciousness, the band’s appeal transcending location and environment.
‘Jag vill ha allt’, which translates as ‘I want it all’ in English, is the glorious opener on the record and it bursts wide open, a brightly lit collage of L.A. and Brazilian soul with a huge chorus that despite being sung in Swedish will force you to mumble-sing as it reaches for the stars.
The top down cruising vibe of ‘Håll avstånd’ cloaks a darker lyrical tone, with Anna’s sensually sung threats floating over a prodding rhythm section groove that Willie Mitchell would approve of, cosmic synths and a sitar deftly played like a lead guitar keep it hip and luminous.
The throw-your-coat-and-join-the-dancefloor groover of ‘Det läcker’ (‘It’s leaking’) doubles up Daniel and Anna’s guitars into a wash of chiming funk, a killer vocal melody segueing into another massive chorus as the drums and Love Örsan’s bass keep it rock solid. Pure sunshine.
The surface level simplicity of the well-structured songs deepen with repeated listening, the musicians' restrained virtuoso chops highlighting the space. As anyone who has written (or tried to write) a song knows, the holy grail is simplicity, that sweet spot where no sound is filler, where the spaces and the unplayed are equally essential. Dina Ögon are very very good at keeping it uncluttered and allowing the songs to breathe.
A nice example is the bittersweet spaceship R&B of ‘Glitter’ that combines a tough hip hop-esque drum groove with a wickedly melodic bassline, the sitar returning in harmony with a 60s’ sounding soul guitar while Anna’s unusually warming voice seems to have added bite, a subdued anger even.
Photo by Kenta
The spaced-out country-funk bliss of ‘Firad’ could easily have appeared on their previous two albums. With more than a hint of 70s’ Anatolian rock in Anna’s incredible vocal melodies and in the spooky organ that haunts this song about betrayal and resilience, there’s a lost soundtrack feel to the song, and it is beautiful.
Named after the Brazilian legend Milton Nascimento, ‘Milton’ contains that irresistible ‘saudade’ that ‘Bituca’ mastered. Somehow both melancholic and brimming with happiness, the guitars resemble Milton’s instantly recognisable playing style as Anna soars with positive affirmations.
*translated from the Swedish
Get in your head that you are free and do what you want
ah, what you want
You turn around and see
your luminous tracks
They’re lighting up a dark pit
You turn around again
on staggering feet
and cast your desire in gold
The title track ‘Orion’ pretty much bounces along with bare-footed joy, Anna and the boys enjoying themselves on this brilliantly arranged slice of positivity, lovely multi-tracked vocals interweaving while the skeletal funk of the band struts confidently.
There have been mentions of Khruangbin when talking about Dina Ögon and I suppose the instrumental ‘Mellan de sju fjällen’ fits that bill. I would suggest Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac as a sharper reference although it’s hard to dismiss the ongoing influence of the Texan band. Christopher Cantillo’s ultra-minimal drums and Love’s bass-of-few-notes hold it right down while the bluesy guitars circle in a slow courtship dance.
I’ve always been a sucker for melancholic folk-soul and the short but majestic ‘Tomma lådor’ hits me right in that spot. Heavily strummed guitars and a wistful voice suffering with regret, the ‘empty boxes’ of the title appear cavernous as lush reverbs and distant backing vocals decorate the recording.
The title of ‘Orion’ may suggest that the band’s gaze has moved to the sky but their earthiness remains on their third album. I didn’t get it as instantly as the others but repeated listening has revealed a record as good as anything they have done previously. Impossible to pin down (this wasn’t an easy-to-do review), Dina Ögon’s music has developed into a world of its own. One could imagine some of these tracks on club dancefloors but also listened to in solitary moments. A rare thing which I hope gets them even greater success than they have already deservedly enjoyed. 10/10
Released on 2nd February 2024 on Playground Music!