Reine Fiske

Reine Fiske is a musical renaissance man best known for his work in Dungen. A guitarist, composer, improviser, and sound engineer, his talents have graced some of the most important recordings to come out of Scandinavia since the early 1990s. Fiske was born in 1972 and began playing guitar around age ten. Though he cites well-known guitarists such as John McLaughlin (during his period with Tony Williams' Lifetime), Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, and Jimi Hendrix as inspirations, many of his primary influences were Scandinavian musicians, including Terje Rypdal, Bo Hansson, Bengt Dahlén, Kenny Håkansson, and Jukka Tolonen. Fiske's earliest recordings were with the rock band Landberk, with whom he made five albums between 1992 and 1996. He played in the short-lived prog rock outfit Morte Macabre with Nicklas Berg, Peter Nordins, and Stefan Dimle. They released one self-titled offering in 1998. In 2000, Fiske formed Paatos with Dimle, Huxflux Nettermalm, and Johan Wallén as a purely instrumental ensemble, though cellist and vocalist Petronella Nettermalm joined shortly thereafter. After two albums with the group, the guitarist left in 2002 to join Gustav Ejstes' Dungen on the album Stadsvandringar. The band's reputation exploded across the independent scene with the release of 2004's sophomore effort Ta Det Lugnt. They went on a long hiatus after 2010's Skit I Allt, during which time Fiske worked on recordings by Nicolai Dunger, Anna Järvinen, and Sonja Hammarberg-Åkesson. He also co-founded the psychedelic rock outfit the Amazing with Christoffer Gunrup (whom he met while playing with Järvinen) Fredrik Swahn, Alexis Benson, and drummer Moussa Fadera in 2008. Their self-titled debut album was released by Subliminal Sounds in 2009. It was followed by Wait for a Light to Come in 2010 and the acclaimed Gentle Stream in 2011 -- the latter netted them an appearance on Late Night with David Letterman and their first headlining international tour. Fiske was busy in between dates with the Amazing. He played on Linnea Henriksson's Till Mina Älskade Och Älskare, on the first Bondage Fairies album, and in 2012, collaborated with progressive jazz-rock trio Elephant9 (keyboardist Ståle Storløkken, bassist Nikolai Eilertsen, and drummer Torstein Lofthus) on the co-billed album Atlantis for Rune Grammofon. That same year, he co-founded the vanguard jazz outfit Svenska Kaputt, with saxophonist Jonas Kullhammar, drummer Johan Holmegard, and bassist Torbjörn Zetterberg. They released their self-titled debut in 2016. Fiske also guested on jazz group Nacka Forum's Fee Fi Fo Rum. In 2013 and 2014, Fiske embarked on both live and studio partnerships with Norwegian rockers Motorpsycho, playing on the albums Still Life with Eggplant, Behind the Sun, and their series of Motorpnakotic Fragments singles. 2015 was a busy one for Fiske. The Amazing issued Picture You, and Dungen broke their long silence by releasing Allas Sak on Mexican Summer, and Svenska Kaputt's second long player Suomi. That summer, Fiske again collaborated with Elephant9 in the studio. The resultant co-billed date, Silver Mountain, was released by Rune Grammofon in early 2016.
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