Inspired by Brazilian legend Milton Nascimento, Nicolai Dunger‘s new single and album has a distinctly South American feel about it.
By Graeme Smith
For it, he teamed up with percussionist Finn Björnulfsson, and worked with Joel Igor’s additions to field recordings from Jakarta Indonesia, La Paz Bolivia and Lima Peru.
The album is typified by The Storm, a funky, jazzy, stripped-back and experimental number quite unlike anything else you’ve heard. Dunger’s soulful vocals cut through the quirky layers, giving us something to hold to in between snatches of bass, minimal percussion and ambience. Things build nicely to a passionate finale in which the vocals leave it all out there.
A legend in his native Sweden, Nicolai Dunger has appeared once before on our blog. At the end of 2024, I ran the rule over his album Melody Rules, a record that would go on to be awarded “Best Album” by the Americana Music Sweden Awards 2025.
His latest album Rooto The Fruit is out today, 18 July 2025. You can listen to The Storm below.
And for more thoughtful tracks with a story to tell, be sure to follow our Decomposition playlist on Spotify.
