The Secret Sound of Dreamwalkers release Whirlwind

The Secret Sound of Dreamwalkers are a genre shifting trio moving between country, soul, rock, pop and folk music in a musical expression anchored in Kristine Marie Aasvang's distinctive vocals, songwriting and melodic touch. Their second album, Whirlwind, is a surprise package equipped with probing roots that extend across the world. The record is both typical of our time in the way it plays with genres as well as timeless in how it is rooted in tradition.
Whirlwind is released on Rural Rebel Rock Records, which is a subsidiary of Fysisk Format, a label run from the basement of the record store Tiger in Oslo, Norway.

The band’s vocalist, rhythm guitarist and main songwriter Kristine Marie Aasvang earned a degree in the Fine Arts in Sound Art and has studied folk songs and vocal techniques from the Congo, Mongolia, India and Norway. Lead guitarist Thomas Bergsten also has a degree in the Fine Arts and has worked with performance art and the theater in addition to being a key figure in the psych music scene in Oslo. He is the one responsible for making the trio sound as if it is an orchestra. Drummer Alexander Lindbäck has international experience as a musician playing with St. Thomas, the Jayhawks and Grant-Lee Phillips and is the founder and driving force behind the noteworthy record label Safe & Sound Records. When this label released the band’s debut record in 2017, it received an exceptionally good response from the Norwegian press:

“A tasteful album overflowing with good sounds.”
Øyvind Rønning, Dagbladet, 5 out of 6

“The band’s music is so incredibly wonderful that you don’t know whether you are going to faint or if you should just lay down in front of your speakers, close your eyes and enjoy it…the record is really fantastic.”
Kristin Winsents, Head of Music, NRK P13 radio station

Whirlwind was recorded at the renowned Athletic Sound Studio in Halden, Norway, and mixed by Anders Møller and shows the taking a big step forward from their debut. The band’s first record was recorded in their living room and mixed by Alexander. However, the spontaneous, live feeling and the dynamics present from their live performances were also a part of the recording process of this record.

The songs on Whirlwind express universal themes most people can relate to – love, the near impossibility of communication, destructive lifestyles and relationships and observations of fellow human beings who are going through challenging times. The lyrics are not, however, without a sense of humor. In fact, Kristine Marie has a fondness for dramatics, exaggeration and diving deeply into feelings, which in many cases can be tragicomic.

The trio, who is characterized by a never-ending childlike rebelliousness and skepticism towards authority, which is especially so in the case of Thomas and Kristine Marie with their backgrounds in sound art and personal quarrels with the school system, has clearly created an album that shows that they do not have an allegiance to any one particular genre. Music is a game made to be played with – but it is indeed a serious game!

Whirlwind was produced by Thomas Bergsten, Kristine Marie Aasvang and Alexander Lindbäck, recorded by Dag Erik Johansen at Athletic Sound Studios and at other locations by Thomas, mixed by Anders Møller at Subsonic Society Studio and mastered by Henning Bortne at Oslo Mastering. The Secret Sound of Dreamwalkers is joined on the record by guest musicians Øystein Braut (Electric Eye, Soft Ride) on sitar and Arnfinn Gursli Langesæter on clarinet and saxophone.

The album cover is adorned by Kristine Marie’s paintings and was put together by designer Dag Eirik Clausen (Label).

Buy Whirlwind