Cynthia D. Chambers, Nederland. Some of you may remember an article at the beginning of the year that featured Dango Rose and the Artist Empowerment Program through his current project Elephant Collective. 

As mentioned in the previous piece, Dango has been on #Hiatus since his last performance with Elephant Revival at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in May of 2018. 

To follow up on his current status of #Hiatus, my first question was if he still considers himself on #Hiatus? This is taking into consideration that he seems to be busier than ever. Not only is he still mentoring all the artists in his program, he recently released an original song that will be included on one of two EP’s he plans to release this fall.

When explaining his current state of #Hiatus, Dango replied, “After Elephant Revival played its final show at Red Rocks, I planted a garden. I took care of that garden all summer long. When I wasn’t tending to it or watching my cat hunt bunnies, I produced and starred in a satire video series called #Hiatus. The running joke is that there is no known cure for the disease.” He goes on to say, “The truth however is that I got to work right away on creating the Elephant Collective and the Artist Empowerment Program, which has kept me busier than I’ve ever been. The first ever Artist Empowerment Program will culminate with a three-day recording retreat at the Elephant Collective Studios at the end of June and I look forward for us all to be retreating in Nederland during that time.”

Along with Dango’s new path of mentoring and artist collaborations, he will always be a musician and songwriter first. Last week fans were able to get a peek into to some of his current musical creations with “A La Glory.” The song is the inaugural release of Rose’s Elephant Collective record label. 

Often, as musicians grow in their craft they tend to take on more control of every aspect of their music and how it is released into the world. Dango is following a natural path and one that has been years in the making.

Rose describes how Elephant Collective Studios continues to grow, “I’ve been searching for a new way for artists to band together with a unified sense of purpose.” He goes on to say, “Starting a record label seems like a logical next step, following the artist development and production work already in motion. I’ve been recording tracks for years and am excited to finally be releasing them into the world."

While listening to the new release it is obvious there is a powerful, almost spiritual, energy behind his music. The song is a beautiful arrangement with layers of complimentary instrumentals and soothing vocals. It opens with Dango on banjo and ends with the contributions of more than seven additional musicians and singers. Evan Reeves provides perfect guitar and percussion while MacKenzie Solidago, of the Portland Cello Project, and Jules Schroeder, of Unconventional Life, add in vocals. You will hear haunting sounds of the bagpipe played by Andrew Forbes while an array of horns provided by Dexter Payne and Colton Crandell grow ever more triumphant with each passing note.

Dango was a prominent writing force behind many of Elephant Revival’s songs and I wanted to know how he first came to writing his own music. “Songwriting for me has always been a healing process. Taking situations and circumstances of life and finding the positive outcome hidden in the depths and layers of mystery. In this way, I feel a strong kinship to writers like Leonard Cohen who sometimes would take years to finish writing a song.”

In regard to his musicianship and style he says, “Instrumentally, I love the layered approach that musicians like Sufjan Stevens use in their arrangements and the production approach that producers like Alan Parsons have taken over the years.” Dango finishes by adding,”Yet at the end of the day, I’m just doing my best to be an open vessel and to stay true to the art and the meaning behind the song.”

When I mentioned to Dango that his music sometimes seems to be prayer-like he stated, “My aspiration is for the music to be written and shared in an act of service to something greater than I. I am focused on that which binds us together, rather than that which tears us apart. So, yes, in this respect, I suppose I do approach writing music in a manner that could be considered relatable to prayer.”

A La Glory is an Elephant Collective production that included Evan Reeves and Dango as lead producers. Phil Norman contributed immensely on the horn arrangement. The lyrics and melody were written by Dango Rose. 

Check out our online edition of this story that includes more links to videos, music and social media.

To hear the song and find additional information go to: https://americanahighways.org/2019/04/18/song-premiere-dango-roses-a-la-glory/. You can also visit Dango on Facebook and Twitter @dangorosemusic. 

(Originally published in the May 2, 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)