Blue Lake reveals his most ambitious album yet, which finds its visionary creator Jason Dungan harnessing the collective alchemy of his band, with ten spirited tracks that resonate with a powerful directness, evoking an ecological connection to the wider world.
Growing up in Dallas, Texas, Dungan then moved around for many years, living in both Europe and the USA, before finding a close connection to the Danish capital Copenhagen, where he now resides, a location heavily spotlighted in recent years as fertile creative ground for fellow experimental artists like Astrid Sonne, ML Buch and Clarissa Connelly. This well travelled upbringing would no doubt prove of spiritual significance on Dungan’s emergence as a singular artistic voice, traversing the planes of Ambient, Americana, with hues of Kosmische, uniquely infused with his own Nordic aesthetic.
The solo project (Blue Lake), now on its fifth album, found its name and inspiration via Don Cherry’s 1974 live album, sparking a creative epiphany in Dungan, who set off on a path into his own untapped sonic world, guided by what he cited as the emotional potential found within non-lyrical composition. With a newly inspired ethos aimed toward creating direct and simple instrumental music imbued with a deep sense of feeling, Jason began combining an array of musical elements that gave rise to his highly revered album ‘Sun Arcs’ (2023), with its “ornate, zither-led lattices” (Pitchfork, Best New Music). Conceived in the blissful isolation of a Swedish cabin set in the woods, this was music that soundtracked spring in full bloom. Then, in contrast to the solitary approach of ‘Sun Arcs’, the highly lauded mini-album ‘Weft’ (2025) began to set the tone for a more band-oriented approach to delivering the Blue Lake sound. Jason had by this time experienced a special collective energy with his band during a swathe of live performances, which he then sought to harness and distill on ‘The Animal’, leading him to take the project into a traditional recording studio (The Village) and its limitless potential along with his gifted cohorts.
‘The Animal’ at its core vividly celebrates human collaboration and is deeply rooted in a sense of community and non-hierarchical connectivity. The group's creative alchemy transcends outwards and beyond the musicians performing together, to summon an inclusive, existential and ecological connection to the wider world and its inhabited spaces. The album contemplates the idea of the human as an animal as Dungan explains: “I’m quite fascinated in thinking about humans more as part of the animal environment and not as something that’s so separated into a “human” realm, or sitting on top of a hierarchical pyramid. So the Animal is also me, or us - that we are just living, existing, in the same way as a piece of moss or a sparrow or a cow.
Dungan welcomed an entirely open dialogue, a process that started from early band rehearsals, which saw his demos quickly evolve and amass weight from double bass, cello, clarinet, viola and drums to become refined and audibly decorated. Jason focused on capturing more wide ranging depth in the recording process, dissecting detailed nuances in instruments to convey the intricate, ever changing balance and dynamics that play out in the natural and urban world as the theme too circulates around the idea of The city as an animal or urban being. Speaking of his Copenhagen home town, with its industrial past but close proximity to areas of semi-wilderness, as well as the sea, he explains the overlapping scenario: “I don’t think it’s possible now to think about nature as a pure or isolated thing. Being around animals in this setting, I think about how they communicate with each other, forge relationships, and navigate the city, but all without language. It’s not an experience of nature which is bucolic and uncomplicated - it’s an experience of nature and the animal world which is bound up in human activity.”
On ‘The Animal’, Dungan introduces the use of voice as an instrument, as a way of unlocking song-like characteristics as heard on the gracious album opener ‘Circles’, which sees the group embrace in choral unison, like in birdsong, their voices echo as a part of the surrounding sonic environment. The band are foregrounded and formidable in their delivery, forming a rich, acoustic accompaniment to Dungan’s zither strokes, earthy guitars and percussive patterns. The soundworld is noticeably bolder and livelier as evidenced on ‘Cut Paper’, with now regular mixing collaborator Jeff Zeigler capturing the fullness of the new band sound. Jason also enlisted the help of Danish producer Aske Zidore who encouraged him toward new working strategies, a liberating intervention which allowed the element of surprise and discovery. The centre ground is never fully consumed by Dungan as we find him consciously orchestrating from a respectful distance, giving generous space for the musician's spontaneous performance and improvisation, allowing their musical intuition to give rise to beguiling, holistic synchronicity.
Dungan wrote the cinematic ‘Berlin’ whilst on a tour stop in the German capital, with its lush zither flurries and long reverb decays painting an expansive late night ode to the rolling hill country of Texas. The poignance of Jason’s intimate, evocative writing is heard on ‘Flowers for David’, a heartfelt folk-leaning tribute with lofted fingerpicking guitar, signalling a fond farewell to a friend's passing. The album gains forward momentum on ‘Yarrow’ as the group move in melodic tandem, before the kaleidoscopic ‘Strand’, with its soaring solos and earthy undercurrents propelling toward a euphoric komische crescendo. The title track ‘The Animal’ is a brief melancholic foray into ballad-esque territory, with a drum machine charting a dotted path for emotive horns and a second gathering of wordless, healing atmospheric vocals. As we reach ‘To Read’ Dungan’s quest is encapsulated with wondrous clarity as the group lands entirely together on a resounding chord, a precious moment for Dungan who reels in the existence of the moment as they remain interlocked in sound and space. He concludes: “I’m interested in moments that are fleeting, with a powerful sense of togetherness, shared in the music.”
‘The Animal’ is a form of musical metamorphosis, still acoustic, yet more amplified, elevating it to new dimensions. The Blue Lake project takes on a new lease of life to encompass collaboration with Jason Dungan bound in a universal connectivity, resulting in his most ambitious album to date. A harmonious rejoicing that cements his reputation as a transformative presence in contemporary music.
STAFF COMMENTS
Barry says: A properly lovely selection of rippling, bucolic ambience, slide guitar and zither recalling folk traditions with a heavy nod to Americana and new age improvisation. A thoroughly lovely, hypnotic set of acoustic songwriting.
TRACK LISTING
Side A
Circles
Cut Paper
Berlin
Flowers For David
Seeds
Side B
Yarrow
Strand
The Animal
Vertical Hold
To Read
![Cover of Mi Congo Te Llama (Yoruba Chant) - Sacred Rhythm Remixes [2025 Blue Vinyl Edition] by Eddie Palmieri.](https://www.piccadillyrecords.com/imgrec/slm-81717.jpg)
