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. ~ Thom Jurek