Our third album “Shards is out now!
Single artwork by Grady McFerrin
We are proud and excited that our third album is now out in the world! It has been a labour of sweat and love, and we truly hope you enjoy it!
Shards has been described by Prog magazine as “captivating” and “A record that lingers long after the final note fades” by Jade Music Media. Dim Gray’s sound merges folk influences with a forward-thinking aesthetic, evoking a blend of Radiohead’s experimental edge and Fleet Foxes’ pastoral warmth. A wide and ever-changing palette of sounds and ideas is rooted in the constants of aching vocals and echoing guitar melodies. The quintet explores themes of nature, isolation, and self-reflection through richly layered instrumentation and vivid storytelling.
Oskar adds, “Seven of the songs on Shards are about change, upheaval, severance; something shattering to pieces. Although most of these songs are sad or dramatic, some have a tinge of hopefulness to them, as sometimes the pieces of something shattered can be rearranged in different and better ways. These seven songs are bookended by two songs that deal with the opposite; a constant stasis, an unending struggle of two opposing kinds that are reflections of our personalities.”
With the breadth and ambition of the Shards album, Dim Gray are making good on not only what has come before but also setting their sights on, despite their name, a very bright future.
You can buy the album on CD and black/coloured vinyl, and listen to on all streaming platforms or by the song from our Bandcamp here:
Photo by Anne-Marie Forker
Play Myopia - The Game!
Myopia featuring Vaarin is out!
Single artwork by Grady McFerrin
Myopia, the final single from our upcoming album, is out! It features the wonderfull singer Vaarin!
Oskar Holldorff says, “We are thrilled to feature Vaarin on ‘Myopia’. She’s an incredibly talented and interesting artist, and took ownership of the song from the first note. Her voice is full of suspense, which really underlines the drama and emotion in ‘Myopia’. It’s a song about echo chambers and tunnel vision; about tearing down something that belongs to someone else in order to build something in one's own image.”
Vaarin added, “The first time I heard ‘Myopia’ I felt as if drawn into a mystical spell. The string arrangement, drums and melody made me think of infinity and a battle scene between man and nature. Being allowed to sing on this song is a great honour for me and I felt at home with the song from the very beginning. The mystery and emotion of the song touched my heart and my voice felt like a natural part of the spirit of the song. I hope the listener hears it the same way I do. Dim Gray is a group of inspiring musical chefs who create unique things. I am lucky to be a part of their world.”
You can listen to Myopia on all streaming platforms or by the song from our Bandcamp here:
Photo by Anne-Marie Forker
Listen to “Feathers” now!
Single artwork by Grady McFerrin
‘Feathers’ builds from sparse, vulnerable beginnings into a cathartic chorus of enormous size and emotion. With creative input from superproducer Lars Horntveth (Susanne Sundfør, a-ha, Kimbra, Thomas Dybdahl), ‘Feathers’ combines dirty synths and lush strings with an organic rock band. Aching vocals and melodic fingerpicked guitar lines ensure the Dim Gray signature sound is prominent in this bittersweet, warm song about loneliness.
Lead vocalist / keyboardist Oskar Holldorff said, “I wrote Feathers when I was 20. Back then I thought it was the best song I had written, but it didn’t match with what we were trying to do with Dim Gray. However, I revisited the song a couple years ago and tried to rework it into a more streamlined track, while preserving its original spirit. The band really brought the song to life; and the size of the choruses and bridge really shows the punch we now pack as a five-piece. I also had the great honour of working on this song with one of my favourite producers, Lars Horntveth, who inspired reharmonisation of parts of the song which helps keep the listener on their toes.”
You can listen to Feathers on all streaming platforms or by the song from our Bandcamp here:
New single “Peril” out now!
Single artwork by Grady McFerrin
Our energetic new single ‘Peril’ is out now!
Håkon says of ‘Peril’, “This song has a long, long history of rewrites and sketches. We are very happy that it has finally reached the finish line, and we are excited to show a more direct and upbeat side from Dim Gray! The guitar part has always been a key element, but I must admit that it started as a mandolin song and even a piano song before slowly retreating back to the guitar again. ‘Peril’ is about breaking norms, and sometimes a bit of naivety is an important recipe for succeeding in that journey.”
You can listen to Peril on all streaming platforms or by the song from our Bandcamp here:
Album artwork by Grady McFerrin
New album “Shards” to be released on February 28th
We are releasing our third studio album, Shards, on 28 February 2025 on our own Grim Day Records. Shards will be available as a CD, and on black and limited edition coloured vinyl, Bandcamp download, and to stream.
Oskar says, “Seven of the songs on Shards are about change, upheaval, severance; something shattering to pieces. Although most of these songs are sad or dramatic, some have a tinge of hopefulness to them, as sometimes the pieces of something shattered can be rearranged in different and better ways. These seven songs are bookended by two songs that deal with the opposite; a constant stasis, an unending struggle of two opposing kinds that are reflections of our personalities.”
Pre-order the album here:
Burning Shed
The Band Wagon USA
Dim Gray - Live in Europe 2023 out now!
In August and September 2023, we toured the UK and Europe for the first time, playing 15 dates across nine countries as special guests of Big Big Train. We recorded each show and have issued four songs from these performances as singles in recent months. These have now been joined by two more to form the six track ‘Live In Europe 2023' EP that is released today.
The EP contains versions of songs from both Dim Gray albums to date, plus our single ‘Murals’ released in March 2024. Each live performance was recorded by front of house engineer Rob Aubrey at shows in England, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Norway and have been mixed by him to create a live document that captures the band’s live sound in authentic fashion.
“It has been a great experience revisiting the recordings from what has been the band’s biggest tour so far,” states guitarist/keyboard player Milad Amouzegar. "These tracks are filled with memories, and I’m excited to hit the road again with new material and reconnect with the friends we have made along the way."
Drummer Tom Ian Klungland adds: “We are excited to release our first collection of live recordings on streaming platforms. We believe this EP highlights the range of our music, showcasing the different elements that shape our live sound.”
The EP can be streamed on all streaming platforms, and is also availabkle for purchase from our Bandcamp.
Check out the two live videos from the tour - Abalus | In Time and The Wave We Thought We’d Ride Forever from our show at Cadogan Hall in London. Video shot by Tim Sidwell, edited by Milad and Tom Ian respectively.
New live video for Abalus | In Time
The final song before the EP is out! This is Abalus | In Time from our album Firmament, recorded at Cadogan Hall in London.
Guitarist/vocalist Håkon Høiberg explains that it "was an exciting but tricky song to record because we tried to base a big part of it on a repeating guitar melody to create a hypnotic atmosphere while still maintaining an interesting journey throughout. We were very happy with the result!
Bassist Kristian Kvaksrud adds: "To me, this song shows the more pop-oriented side of Dim Gray. We really enjoyed opening the show at Cadogan Hall with it, and we're pleased that the live recording is now available for streaming."
Single cover photo by Anne-Marie Forker
Accompanying the song is a live music video filmed during that show by Tim Sidwell, and the video is edited by our own Milad.
52~ is out!
The third song from our upcoming live EP is 52~! It was recorded live in Stuttgart, rounding off our European stint of the tour tour with Big Big Train in August/September 2023, before heading to the UK.
Vocalist/keyboardist Oskar Holldorff explains that “’52~’ is a lockdown song. I started writing it just as the world had closed down and we were all having to get accustomed to living inside our own bubbles with minimal real contact with other people. The song is about hiding – from the outside world, or from a memory or a feeling – seeking a temporary refuge from reality. Submerged in a lonely ocean, lulling oneself into a state of calm while above the surface everything is coming apart. The title refers to the 52-hertz whale, which is thought of as one of the world’s loneliest animals since it communicates at a frequency too high for other whales to register. I think writing it was a subconscious attempt for me to cope with the pandemic. To play this song live, with my friends in front of a very real audience, meant a lot to me.”
You can listen to the song on your favourite streaming platform!
Single cover photo by Anne-Marie Forker
New live single “Ashes” is out!
The second song from our upcoming live EP is out! “Ashes” was recorded live in Oslo during our tour with Big Big Train in August/September 2023. It also features Milad’s Persian santoor.
Vocalist/keyboardist Oskar Holldorff explains: “‘Ashes' is a dramatic piece that relies more on electronic sounds than many of our other songs, so we had to approach playing it live a little differently." Guitarist Milad Amouzegar adds: "I think we managed to do the song justice live. We played it a few more times on this tour, but the energy on stage in Oslo was amazing. I don't think it sounded any better than on that night.”
You can listen to the song on your favourite streaming platform!
Single cover photo by Anne-Marie Forker
Live EP and music video
We are releasing a live EP! It will consist of 5 songs recorded during our European tour with Big Big Train last August/September 2023. First song up is The Wave We Thought We’d Ride Forever, taken from our debut album Flown. This song was recorded during our final show of the tour, at Cadogan Hall in London. You can listen to this on Spotify and all other streaming platforms.
Single cover photo by Anne-Marie Forker
Accompanying the song is a live music video filmed during that show by Tim Sidwell, and the video is edited by our own Tom Ian.
Murals is out!
Check out the official music video for the song on YouTube!
Our new single Murals is out on all streaming platforms and available for purchase through our Bandcamp!
New Single ‘Murals’ out 15th March
After returning triumphant from their European tour supporting Big Big Train last autumn, Dim Gray went straight to work with their third album. Now that labour is starting to come to fruition, with their first single “Murals” - a song that packs plenty of punch, with Håkon’s recognizable guitars and elements of Norwegian folk music. The song is mixed by The Pineapple Thief’s own Bruce Soord.
Murals was written by guitarist and vocalist Håkon Høiberg, saying “I wanted to dive deeper into the Norwegian folk music heritage, and was inspired by the Norwegian Hardanger fiddle and its uniqe melodic sound. Combining it with a primitive, up-beat soundscape to craft the parts of the song, it resulteded in a sound that you rarely hear played by an electric guitar.” The lyrics center around the idea that wherever you may find yourself in life, there is always someone that has been in your shoes. It’s an important perspective to have, especially if you are running the risk of getting lost in your own head.
Now, with the inclusion of Milad Amouzegar and Kristian Kvaksrud, “Murals” marks Dim Gray’s first release as a quintet, kicking off what should promise to be an exciting year with several singles and finally, the third album.
Artwork by Alizée Piel
T-shirts back in stock
After printing a small run of t-shirts for the European Tour last autumn, and selling out, we are happy to say that a new batch has arrived and are available through Burning Shed. The shirt bears the lovely Ashes single cover-design, made by Linnea Vestre.
And then there were five
Dim Gray have today announced that two musicians who regularly perform with them at live shows – Milad Amouzegar (guitars and keyboards) and Kristian Kvaksrud (bass) – have joined the band on a full time basis. The news comes just ahead of the start of a European tour on which they will be the special guests of progressive rock titans Big Big Train.
Drummer Tom Ian Klungland explains that the core group trio of himself, guitarist Håkon Høiberg and singer/keyboardist Oskar Holldorff “have always been wary of letting anyone else join. We’ve had session musicians for studio recordings and live shows, but it never felt exactly right until now. When we started preparing for live shows, we realised that we needed to add musicians to do our songs justice in a live setting. Milad and Kristian both came in at the same time and their work ethic, musicianship and great personalities have given the band new impetus. It felt only natural to invite them to become a permanent part of Dim Gray.”
“I feel privileged to now be a full member of Dim Gray,” states Amouzegar. “Having already played and travelled with them for over a year has been both fun and musically challenging; everything I could wish for from being part of a band. I’ve known Håkon, Oskar and Tom for quite some time, and they are a wonderful trio of professional and creative musicians. When they released their debut album [2020’s ‘Flown’], I remember thinking to myself: ‘this is the kind of music I would love to play live’. So when they asked if I wanted to share the stage with them supporting Marillion in spring 2022, there was no way I could decline. Since then it has been non-stop excitement, creativity and humour, and I’m hyped for what comes next!”
Kvaksrud concurs, adding that “It has been an absolute pleasure playing with Dim Gray for the last year and a half, and I am honoured to be now be a full-time member. The five of us make a great team and I am really looking forward to what lies ahead – first and foremost, our upcoming tour supporting Big Big Train throughout Europe in August and September!”
Photo by Anne-Marie Forker