Filip Dahl, who is a Norwegian composer and multi-instrumentalist, is on a constant and very exiting musical journey. “Can You See the World” is his latest single release on this journey and this track is definitively showing more of his prog rock side than some of the previous, more blues rock inspired releases. The song starts of rather quietly with just a clean chorused guitar and an electric piano before it gradually builds up in both intensity and power. It finally ends up in a rather heavy mode, after a rather drastic tempo shift midways through the song.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Kamil) Hey Filip Dahl, super nice to have the chance to chat with you. What first got you into music?
Hey there and thanks a lot for having me! I have loved listening to music and followed favourite artists since I was just a kid, and this did also trigger the urge in me to be able to play an instrument myself. My parents did buy me an acoustic nylon string guitar when I was 12, after I had been fussing about it for a very a long time. So finally, I had a guitar, but then again, I also had to learn how to play it in order to be able to make music. There was luckily for me a guitar course for beginners that started showing on national TV right after I got it, so I guess this was the starting point of what has turned out to be a very long musical journey.
Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of music?
Yeah, for sure! I am very interested in good food and wine and I guess many of my friends would call me a real food and wine geek. I love spending lots of time cooking in the kitchen at weekends and try out new dishes and flavour combinations. But I guess my wife will tell you that I'm not as active and interested when it comes to everyday food, so I probably need to improve there. I do also collect wines and one of my great joys and passion is to try to find perfect combinations between food and wine.
Your latest song is 'Can You See the World'. Can you tell us more about the making of it and if there were any unusual things happening during the process?
We are currently living in such a crazy and uncertain time with so many disturbing and sad news hitting us each day, and I guess that we all are very influenced by this fact. The music and lyrics to “Can You See the World” were written as an observation and statement about how unpredictable the future of the world we live in has proven to be, due to the crazy egos of leading politicians. We could all start to wonder what our children and grandchildren will grow up to inherit.
Can you reveal the recipe for a musical hit?
Wow, that is indeed a tricky question which every musician and producer would like to have the perfect answer to. I guess that you really must try to hit the heart and soul to the listener to get them engaged in your music and thereby wanting to listen to it. Music taste is indeed very individual and it is difficult to give a certain formula to a hit. However, I do believe that melody lines and lyrics which feels engaging, appealing and somewhat familiar, but at the same time has some twists which makes them exiting and fresh are important ingredients in a hit recipe.
What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop as an artist?
I feel that I am still on a constant musical journey which manage to bring me to new exiting places. Writing and recording music is so rewarding and it certainly helps me to constantly develop and grow as an artist. It is quite interesting for me to go back in time to my previous releases and listen to what I was doing then and try to figure out what inspired me at that point. You can sometimes feel that you have come to the end of the journey, but then you have moved away from that point before you know it and travelled further into unknown musical territories which opens up new creative possibilities and ideas.
What inspires you as an artist? Could it be the sea, the weather or something else?
My inspiration is often based on feelings, situations and experiences which have made a deep impression on me. It can clearly be both sad and joyful impressions. Trying to express those feelings through my music and thereby making the listener take part of it is quite difficult, but also very rewarding and inspiring when it works.
How do you spend your free time? What makes you feel relaxed?
I am so lucky to be living in Norway, which of many are regarding as being one of the most beautiful countries in the world. I love spending time at our summer house up in Northern Norway, where we are blessed with stunningly beautiful sceneries which really can make you speechless. The combination of deep fjords and high mountains in the magical light of the midnight sun is the perfect recipe for getting you relaxed and comfortable. Highly recommended!
Do you have a mentor or coach?
I can't say that I directly have a mentor or coach, but my great role models, who really inspired me when I first picked up the guitar, is in many ways still acting as my mentors and coaches. My music and guitar playing would never been what it is today without listen to and deeply admire Carlos Santana, Eric Clapton and Ritchie Blackmore as much as I did in my younger days.
Do you think it's easy to become established in the music world, or is it difficult?
I would say that it is very difficult. There are so many talented independent artists making great music today. Times have changed a lot since I started my music career and it is today possible for almost everyone to record and release music without being signed to a major label. This is of course great in many ways, but the chance and opportunity to get noticed and established in the music world have thereby also become very difficult to achieve. I would anyhow encourage everyone to follow their dreams and continue to release their own music.
What accomplishments do you see yourself achieving in the next five to 10 years?
I still have dreams after all these years, and I do hope that people will recognise my music and continue to enjoy it in the next five to ten years. I do write a lot of instrumental music and it would also be great to see a producer of a movie or TV series pick up one of those tracks and use it in a production. I am so lucky to have a very loyal fan base, which really makes me want to go on, and I my future hope is to be able to reach out to even more listeners and touch their heart and soul with my music. So, I guess that I do not have any other opportunity than to continue my musical journey in the years to come in order to be able to accomplish this.