“Gustav! Gustav! Gustav!”

The energetic, devoted crowd begs for attention from the bashful, blond-locked string bean timidly tuning his guitar at centre stage. They have been waiting for the band to arrive for hours, and the palpable tension has finally erupted into hysterical praise at the first sign of life from the stage. Gustav nods uncomfortably, and humbly shifts focus towards the towering bassist he introduces as Teos.
“Teos! Teos! Teos!”

But Teos too denies the cheers, turning as red as his tightly bound afro before redirecting the crowd’s aggressive accolades towards legendary guitarist Reine Fiske.

“Reine! Reine! Reine!”

Alas, even Reine cannot accept the mob’s blunt, vigorous approval. He bows a few degrees, and gestures for the drummer to be given his share of the acknowledgements as well. Abruptly, the crowd of diehard fans and indie kids pause their chants, desperate to continue with the boisterous role call but coming slowly to an embarrassing universal self-awareness. After a few painful moments, a voice in the front row admits defeat.

“What’s his name?”

The band described is Dungen, a self-proclaimed “Swedish psychedelic folk” group currently touring behind their latest album, 4. Despite constant, well-attended tours and critical acclaim across North America, the band yet remains relatively unknown both here and in Europe. This is due in part to lead singer and composer Gustav Ejstes’ decision to abandon his major label Dolores Recordings – a subsidiary of Virgin Records – to record 4 under the independent label where the band got their start. He prefers to keep Dungen in the underground scene where he can maintain total artistic control. “One producer is behind it all,” he argues, “and in this case, I am that producer.”

Ejstes even admits to prefer touring in North America than Sweden, saying, “I love America. My songs are in Swedish because I don’t speak English so well, and I want my music to be honest and real. I don’t know anything about the music scene in Stockholm.”

Along with positive album reviews from Pitchfork, Rolling Stone and Spin, Dungen functions well as a touring act, performing lengthy, high-energy shows that vividly capture the virtuosic talents of its members. Ejstes (who also provides guitar, piano, tambourine and flute) has been making records under the Dungen moniker since 1999 with Reine Fiske – a mainstay of the Swedish music scene – who lends Dungen his signature blend of progressive jazz and volatile lead guitar work. Bassist Mattias Gustavsson has been a member of the live band lineup since 2004’s Ta Det Lugnt, and Johan Homeward replaced original member Fredrik Bjorling for the latest disc, 4.

These personnel changes have had a profound positive effect on the Dungen sound, amalgamating effortlessly on the latest disc with a sense of cohesion and originality only hinted at on earlier releases. Ta Det Lugnt was saluted for its sharp juxtapositions of screaming lead guitar, unusual rhythms and Ejstes’ soaring vocals. These trends continued on 2007’s solid Tio Bitar. However, with Bjorling’s masterfully controlled fills and syncopated tom rhythms on 4, Dungen have become re-energized, delving deeper into their jazz influences while also maintaining the folk tonality that sets them apart. Their near-throwback sound organizes psychedelic guitars and meandering flute and gypsy piano with rock drums and modern vocal stylings, which is as unique as it is oddly familiar.

“When I was eight years old,” Gustav recalls, “my mother gave me her copy of Are You Experienced? by Jimi Hendrix. That’s where I first discovered and understood what a ‘groove’ was. Since then, whenever I heard that groove, I recognized it, and I liked it. But Dungen is not retro; Dungen is contemporary. Contemporary because it consists of elements from both then and now.”