The past decade has seen Öona Dahl solidify her status as one of underground dance music’s most refreshing artists.
As a producer, she has steadily built her repertoire, with a penchant for experimentation that’s guided by an innate understanding of what makes a great song. Punctuating those musical attributes, her debut album “Holograma” on the Hallucienda label, further revealed the emergence of a songwriter hinting at influences ranging from the ambient vocal stylings of This Mortal Coil, to the electronica offerings of Bjork, without ever sounding like anything other than herself.
Öona Dahl continues to develop her versatility as both producer, and DJ by effortlessly weaving through electronica, ambience, and cosmic warehouse grooves.
Lookout for Öona on her upcoming tour dates, which include, 1015 Folsom San Francisco, Rainbow Serpent Australia, and Rumors London.
Also, the forthcoming track featuring Kirsty Hawkshaw and Öona Dahl – ‘Love Is All We Need’, set for release in February 2020.
Balance Selections Q+A
Name: Öona Dahl
Location: New York
Facebook: www.facebook.com/oonadahlmusic
Soundcloud: www.soundcloud.com/oonadahl
Alias/Producer name: Öona Dahl / Slumber
Labels affiliated with: Hallucienda, All Day I Dream, Watergate, Anjunadeep
My last 3 releases:
Gavin Hardkiss – Grapeseed Meditation (Öona Dahl Remix) [Hardkiss]
Öona Dahl & Giddyhead – Astral Realm [Anjunadeep]
Öona Dahl & Dance Spirit – Break The Stillness [Watergate Records]
What music did you listen to as a child?
I grew up listening to Disco and 80’s Dance which got me into electronic genres like House, Trance, and Euro Dance. Some of my favorite artists were Madonna, Ace of Base, Opus lll, and Björk.
When was the first time that you realized that you liked electronic music?
I think I was born attracted to anything electronic that I heard. Before, it was hard to find anything like techno on the radio, so anytime I heard something I would find out what it was then follow it down the rabbit hole. Most of the time I would go to the record store or Media Play and buy anything in the dance/electronic section.
When was the first time you saw a DJ in a club?
I remember this moment like yesterday. It was around 2001 (I must’ve been about 14 years old), and I attended my first rave in Toronto. DJ Venon was playing at this underground club that had multiple rooms like Hard House, Drum and Bass, and even an Ambient room. I had been listening to mixes since prior but had never seen a DJ before. I remember my first thought was, “Oh that’s how they make the music last forever.”
Which producers/artists/acts inspire you?
I would have to say my favorite artist would be Future Sound of London. I really admire the range they have stylistically and they are very versatile. I’ve been listening to them since the early 00s and they are still putting out new music every month. Jon Hopkins and Four Tet are creating a lot of unique sounds right now that I enjoy playing in my dj sets. I listen to a lot of Dream Pop and Shoe Gaze like Beach House and Blue Hawaii. Björk’s audio visual performances really inspire me as well.
What was the last album that you downloaded/bought?
The last album I downloaded was Blue Hawaii’s ‘Open Reduction Internal Fixation’.
What is your current production and DJ set up like?
For my DAW I use mainly Ableton and sometimes Logic. I incorporate both hardware and soft synths. For my setup I like to use my Access Virus TI Snow, Elektron Analog Rhythm MK2, TC Helicon Voicelive 3, Livid Ohm RGB, and I just got a Behringer MS1 synth. I have a live show for my alias as Slumber with Amber Cox, and I’m currently working on an Öona Dahl live show too. For DJing, I use USB’s, and vinyl.
What releases do you have on the horizon?
My next release, “Love Is All We Need”, is with Kirsty Hawkshaw and that will be out on her label, Wellhead, this February. A collaboration with DJ Tennis for Life And Death, another release with Dance Spirit on Watergate and my sophomore artist album on Hallucienda are all coming soon.
Where can we hear you perform?
January and February I’ll be hitting up Mexico, NYC, San Francisco, Australia, and the UK. I’ll also be debuting a new monthly podcast series via my SoundCloud in the next couple months. I recently just ended my residency on Pioneer DJ Radio, and you can listen to all those mixes on my SoundCloud.
Australian Tour Dates:
Jan 24 – Melbourne – New Guernica
Jan 25 – Sydney – Cafe Del Mar
Jan 26 – Melbourne – Welcome to Thornbury (Rainbow Serpent)
Jan 26 – Wollongong – TUSK
Tell us more about the podcast you made for Balance?
I incorporated a lot of material I’m currently playing at my club gigs. Digging up gems I used to play like Chris Mitchell’s “Nibiru”, FSOL and a few from the Hallucination/Hallucienda vinyl catalog. There’s also an unreleased track from me that I just finished a few weeks ago titled, “Everlasting Godtripper”, and I’m super excited about that one.
My Recommendations
The top track in my DJ wallet currently is:
David Christophere – Between The Hands of Friends [Hallucination Limited]
If I could recommend only one of my tracks for you to listen to it would be:
Öona Dahl – Veil Enchantress [Hallucienda]
If I could recommend only one track for you to listen to it would be:
Second-Hand Satellites – Orbit 1.3
The last movie I watched that I really liked:
Unico in the Island of Magic
My favourite TV show:
The OA
Balance Selections 116: Öona Dahl
Tracklisting:
1. FSOL – Light Forming (2017 Edit) – Future Sound of London
2. Auntie Flo – Gods of War (Von Partys Peace Pipe Dub) – Multi City
3. Nathan Surreal – Eprex 4000 – De Lichting
4. Sentre – So Good – Bird Up
5. Theo Meier – Drei – Wood
6. Öona Dahl – Everlasting Godtripper – Unreleased
7. Aurora Halal – Liquiddity – Mutual Dreaming
8. David Christophere – Between The Hands of Friends – Hallucination Limited
9. Hazed – Bell Chant – Hallucination Limited
10. Chris Mitchell – Nibiru – Hallucienda
11. Man Power – Hubris – Correspondant
