Danish Dia Delight – The very last concert

You can listen to a podcast about Danish Dia Delight and the entire very last concert here!

In 1994 Carl Erik Lundgaard form the band Danish Dia Delight which, as the name suggests, puts the spotlight on new Danish folk music in general, and on the small diatonic accordion - Carl Erik's favorite instrument - in particular.

Carl Erik asks if I want to join in on guitar, and I would like to. I on the other hand, know another guy from Copenhagen, Casper Ludvigsen, who plays rock, funk and jazz on electric bass guitar and he also wants to join.

Carl Erik also gets hold of a saxophonist Henrik Bredholt from Aarhus, which otherwise mainly focuses on Jewish klezmer music, and now we just needed a percussionist or a drummer.

In the years 1994 to 1997, we work with various sharp percussionists and drummers, here among Janus Templeton, Flemming Quist Møller, Martin Bregnhøi, Carl Bill and especially Claus Fossing, the latter also known from The Original Polcalypso Orchestra (Karlkammeret).

Together we fight, argue, laugh and travel, concentrated on a common idea to develop and present an offer of new Danish folk music, with roots firmly planted in tradition, and all senses pointing towards everything that moves around us.

The result is a long series of concerts at venues and festivals in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Finland, Estonia and the USA.

Danish Dia Delight plays i.a. in the great German Rudolstadt Folk & Dance Festival in 1995, and the same year on the at least as large South by South Westfestival in Texas.

On the way to the huge South by South West -festival in Austin, Texas, the band passes by a small shop where they sold old stuff, and we took the opportunity to get a new press photo in the box.

We play when Copenhagen celebrates its status as European City of Culture in 1996, and we play then European Broadcasting Union's Folk Festival will be held in Roskilde in 1996.

Yes, the small band works hard and travels around until one day in July 1997 we stand a bit worn out on stage at the big Kaustinen Folk Festival in the town of Kaustinen, a long way up in Finland.

Here, like several other Danish bands, we are part of a larger Danish folk music push initiated by what was then called The Danish Folk Music Organisation. We are talking about bands such as DUG, The Original Danish Polcalypso Orchestra and Lang Linken, and now Danish Dia Delight will play the concert that will later turn out to be our last ever.

'We're on our toes..', says Carl Erik Lundgaard, and continues: 'The room is full of Danish and foreign colleagues, and then there are problems with the sound and feedback on stage. I remember us being very excited about it. Not in a wild way, but it stimulates us to give it a full blast, and when you listen to the concert you can hear that we are not leaning back in our chairs while we play, not at all. We're on our toes!' 

Listen to the concert via the link above.