Innovating and experimenting to form a cohesive and intriguing style that Dango Rose describes as ‘Steam Pop’, The Forgotten Years: Vol. II brings together elements of pop, folk, roots, and subtle electronic motifs all together in a melting pot that tastes as lively and rich as it sounds. From the onset of ‘Eyes Raised High’, the levels of experimentation are immediately made evident. With a distinct roots influenced acoustic element, a foreboding electronic beat subtly emanating, and a vocal performance more in line with a spoken word piece than anything else, it’s markedly striking.
Dango Rose views creativity through a very interesting lens, one that might shed light on his own process of song-writing. “The art of creation is ofttimes like alchemy, the medieval technique of turning base matter into gold. In the healing context, it is like transforming emotional matter into tangible form.” I find that thought process so innately resonant with how I view and consume music. It’s all about taking something painful or even something beautiful and letting it live a life of its own through song’s that become far more universal than their inspiration. Music done with that intention is not just poetic, it’s therapeutic and healing.
For seventeen years, Dango traveled nationally and internationally in touring bands. In 2006, he co-founded Elephant Revival and spent eleven years performing and recording with this influential outfit that pioneered the genre, “Transcendental Folk.”
On ‘The Forgotten Years: Vol. II”, he’s taken that approach to drastically transform the foundational features of folk into something almost unrecognisable but uniquely endearing in its experimental intrigue. ‘Steam Pop’ indeed.