Dylan Mondegreen - An indie-pop dad

Long overshadowed by other, more successful Scandinavian artists, partly due to a string of unlucky coincidences, Borge Sieldnes remains one of the great talents of independent pop, and he proved it again this year with the self-titled album from his project Dylan Mondegreen (the name being a play on "mondegreen," misheard Dylan lyrics). With work and a newborn daughter forcing him to ration his live appearances, we didn't want to miss the chance to reach out and hear about his latest musical adventures.

In an interview you said you've always wanted to make indie-pop, but drawing on styles from different decades to set yourself apart from the genre's usual clichés. You've certainly always written great pop songs, but would you agree that your latest album comes closer than any other to that idea of yours?

Yes, I agree! I think the latest album is the one where I managed best to gather influences from all the music I've listened to since I first got into it. It was made during a period in my life when I was feeling pretty nostalgic, and that pushed me toward a sound where I also tried to work in elements of music I hadn't listened to in a long time, but which still left an indelible mark on my life.

Why did you decide to use your project's name as the title for this third album? And why did you choose to release it on the American label Shelflife? There seems to be a connection between Shelflife and Norwegian projects (I'm thinking of Burning Hearts too).

It's a very personal record, written and recorded during a period when a lot of things changed in my life: I lost my mother to cancer and my daughter was born. The lyrics reflect all of that, and it didn't feel right to use a title that couldn't describe the record in its fullness other than "Dylan Mondegreen".

I like labels with a well-defined aesthetic, and I wanted to release the record in America. I thought Shelflife and the record were a great match, and in fact it was one of the few labels I sent it to. They got back to me quickly and told me they wanted to release it. I really appreciated their enthusiasm, and they seemed quite reliable — it's been great working with them!

Staying consistent with the rest of your discography, your new record is still a step forward in terms of production and arrangements. Can you tell us a bit about the recording, the production process and the people who contributed? How did you get in touch with Ian Catt, and how much did he shape the sound of the record? His remix of "Keeper of Secrets" is excellent!

Yes, it's the first time I've had a real production, not just a co-production. Although almost everything had already been sketched out by me in the demos; let's say Ian helped make the songs more interesting and dynamic. I recorded the basic tracks at a studio outside Oslo, together with Rune Berg, a longtime friend and a great musician and songwriter. Then I went to Ian's studio in Coulsdon, outside London, to do additional recording, editing and mixing. I also mastered the record in London, with the help of Guy Davie, who has worked on a huge number of albums.

I got in touch with Ian after the first record, which he liked a lot. I wanted to do something different with this new release and fully explore my more "indie" roots. I thought Ian would fit well with that idea, and I think he did.

"Dylan Mondegreen" also deals with "more adult" themes, like fatherhood and relationships in general, which sometimes end up steering the music itself. Aren't you afraid this might alienate part of your audience? Indie-pop is often associated with an idea of freshness, and often with more adolescent themes...

That's partly true. But I needed to write about important feelings that felt honest to me at this point. It might not be something an "indie" fan would relate to, but there are certainly other people who can relate to it.

Maybe we're also misreading your potential audience, at least in your country. Is Dylan Mondegreen in Norway an independent project — which by our Italian standards would mean it's unlikely to get played on national radio and would remain confined to a small young audience — or is it something popular that reaches people of any age (what we might call "mainstream")?

No, the Norwegian audience is limited, but not that young. My first record got some national radio play and was reviewed in a few major newspapers, but it never sold much. I don't see the Norwegian market as more important than that of other countries, but honestly, I feel my project is a bit underrated here, even though the latest album got a lot of great reviews.

Your second record, "The World Spins On", opens with "Come With Me (To Albuquerque)", a tribute to Paddy McAloon in which you also reference his 2003 solo album "I Trawl the Megahertz". Can you tell us the story behind this song? Do you know Paddy personally?

I've loved Prefab Sprout for many years, but they were never that big an influence on my songwriting. Although it probably seemed that way to everyone, because a lot of people started comparing my music to theirs. Since then I've actually started listening to them even more than before. So I wanted to write a song to honor him. It was just a coincidence that he released his "new" record ("Let's Change The World with Music", ed.) the week after mine! No, I don't know him personally, but I know he received my album from a German journalist and was very flattered by the song.

What's your take on Scandinavian pop music? From the outside, it's striking how many artists share the same roots (Smiths and indie-pop in general) or the same moods (for instance, even though musically you're quite different, you sometimes remind me of Kings of Convenience). Do you think it's just down to a kind of "preferential attachment" caused by geographic proximity, or are there deeper cultural reasons behind the rise of this scene?

Honestly, I don't know. I'm not part of any scene, but I have musician friends who share the same inspiration from the indie scene of the 80s and 90s, bands like The Margarets, for instance. There aren't many Norwegian bands I actually like. Kings of Convenience are good though.

Is it common in this scene for musicians to make music their full-time job?

No, not right now. Norway is a small country and it's impossible to make much money from music here, at least unless you're very popular and can play huge tours. Recording my record cost quite a lot, and I need another full-time job to cover those expenses, just like every musician I know.

What I think about the Italian scene, on the other hand, is that it's very self-referential and never engages with the outside world. I think anyone who follows music can easily name at least a few Scandinavian artists, whereas the opposite is much harder. Could you tell me a few names of contemporary Italian bands?

Oh, that's a hard one. Honestly, I don't know any. The Italian music that's had some success here in Norway is more along the lines of Eros Ramazzotti.

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