Jake Dunn “Kinda Like A Dream”
Americana Highways presents this premiere of Jake Dunn’s song “Kinda Like A Dream,” the title track from his forthcoming album set for release on Halloween. All songs were written, performed and recorded by Jake Dunn, and were produced, mixed, and mastered by Neil Tuuri at Amish Electric Chair.
We had a brief chat with Jake Dunn about the song and lots more. The premiere appears just beneath the interview.
Americana Highways: Who are some of your favorite classic outlaw & Americana artists?
Jake Dunn: I grew up listening to a lot of ’80s and ’90s country top 40 radio so, that stuff has a soft spot in my heart. Really, it wasn’t until many years later in my 20’s that I became more interested in Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson and Townes Van Zandt and John Prine, as well. I also really enjoy Ryan Adams and Drive-by Truckers and a lot of Jason Isbell‘s solo work too. Artists like Kurt Vile, Courtney Barnett, and Mac DeMarco have inspired me a lot recently too.
AH: You describe this work as “cosmic.” Is that a reference to Graham Parsons?
JD: It definitely is a reference to Graham. I discovered him and The Flying Burrito Brothers when I was about maybe 22, and their sound and his ideas had a big impact on me. It was just the idea of trying to combine all these different sounds and genres to create things that just hadn’t been done before. Him describing it as “cosmic American music” was really cool to me, and it impacted me from that point moving forward.
AH: Do you write from a place of self discovery? How much of your music is you sorting your thoughts out versus making something enjoyable for your fans.
JD: I just really like writing songs and creating something that is entirely my own. It happens in a few different ways for me too. Usually, the first thing I do when I pick up my guitar is just very organically start playing something that I might have never played before. Just something different right on the spot, and if it’s something that I dig or I think is catchy, then I might fiddle with it and record a bit on my phone. Then I might start to hum a melody or sometimes even sing just whatever is popping into my head. A stream of consciousness until a thought arises or I fall into a nice turn of phrase. But, sometimes, not that often, the whole song is right there. The chords, the arrangement, the lyrics, it just all comes to you at once. It’s like the songbird perch’s on you for a bit and gives you a tune. I enjoy using that as a jumping off point to then go and work with each section of the song piece by piece. That’s when I really focus on trying to make it be that great listening experience. I think a perfect song shouldn’t only make you want to move and sing along, but it should also inform you and maybe help you think on things that you hadn’t before.
AH: Do you like solitude or find yourself running from it?
JD: I enjoy solitude most of the time. It really helps slow down my thought process and sort through everything that is constantly running through my mind. I have a lovely wife and a beautiful baby girl, so finding that solitude is not as easy as it used to be, which is still wonderful, of course. But when I do find those moments of being alone, it helps me to clear my mind and focus on things I want to create. I like to be alone when I’m working through that stuff. It helps me when I am trying to write, and it helps me when I’m trying to figure out what’s really on my mind.
AH: What was it like recording everything yourself this time around, compared to live band chemistry?
JD: Recording everything all myself was definitely a very different experience. I won’t say that it was more fun or less fun than it was without having a band with me, but it did make it much easier to achieve the exact sounds that I had in my head. I have always loved seeing how others take my ideas and help turn them into something I wasn’t expecting, but, for some reason, it felt right recording these alone. I had written them a long time ago, well before they were recorded, and I have listened to them over and over so many times, so I really knew what I wanted them to become.
AH: What are you most looking forward to when the full album is released?
JD: I’m excited to see how people respond to it because this batch of songs are different for me in a lot of ways. Not only because I recorded them without a backing band, but it’s a bit of a change in direction too. I’m always looking for new ways to create and new sounds to blend. Moving those sounds and ideas forward is not only a really fun thing to do, but it’s important to help me grow as a songwriter and as a person too. Come what may, this is certainly the start of something new for me and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes.
Thanks very much for chatting with us, Jake Dunn. This song rocks with the driving vision of heartland rock in trying to figure out when the struggle, whatever it may be, will end: “I’m not giving up, but I might be giving in. I think I’ve had enough, could you tell me know it ends.”
Folks can find more information here on his social media page: https://www.facebook.com/jaketdunn/
Enjoy our previous coverage here: Video Premiere w/Interview: Jacob Dunn “Who Do You Hate”
