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There’s a myth of California and, more specifically, Los Angeles that reaches far across the wire of popular culture—opportunity and prosperity; As-Seen-On-TV glamour and sunshine. The reality, of course, is that it’s also an extraordinarily normal place. It’s here, near the Port of Los Angeles and Vincent Thomas Bridge, where French born David-Ivar “Yaya” Herman Dune finds himself, like so many others before him, living in a lucid dream of Los Angeles. Living in the sleepy San Pedro neighborhood of Vinegar Hill, on the same harbor-adjacent street where Charles Bukowski lived out his final years, David-Ivar, visual artist and founding anchor of antifolk stalwarts Herman Dune, turned those Covid-induced anxieties inward and has created a highly productive, down-home lifestyle and a world of his own..

David-Ivar’s twenty-year career has been marked by record releases; touring the world with the likes of Arcade Fire, Of Montreal, Kimya Dawson, Wanda Jackson and Sleater-Kinney; showing at Art Basel and the Milan Trienniale; double-digit Peel Sessions and high-profile festival appearances; a comic strip and limited-edition toys; film soundtracking; and even producing and curating his own festival in Paris, together with Benoît Rousseau, the MOFO Festival.

In 2015 he settled in San Pedro with his partner, Mayon, and 3 black cats they’ve met over there. There he launched his own imprint, Santa Cruz Records, home to both his own music as well as multiple film soundtracks. He quickly found his place in the Pedro community, gifting peach jam to his neighbors from his backyard harvests (dubbed Yaya’s Yum Yum Jam), contributing comics to the legendary local newspaper Random Lengths, and picking up a standing Saturday night gig at The Alhambra, a still-rough-and-tumble dive that dates back to 1904, officially designated as the oldest continually operating bar in Los Angeles.

Four-hour sets in a smoke-filled room filled with longshoremen, docked sailors from nearby Navy ships, and beautiful older women dolled up in huge wigs proved a stark contrast to sold-out gigs in 3,000-seat European theatres, and it would test the limits of his voice (“Sometimes my voice is broken / sometimes it’s really low,” he muses in the lyrics to “Hawaii Morning” a song from the 2020 album). But these marathon sessions also helped stretch and strengthen his voice’s capabilities, evident in his recent recordings.

The added character and this maturity is especially evident with the upcoming album, The Portable Herman Dune, due to release as 3 parts in Fall 2022 (Vol.1) ,Winter 2023 (Vol.2) and Spring (Vol.3). It will be an acoustic anthology, a collection of 39 newly recorded and interpreted songs (the release will be spread over 3 Volumes). 22 years of Herman Dune songwriting are made bare, to their most intimate backbone. The songs are sonically naked, but bundled in emotion and loaded with life.
Center stage on these recordings are his 1954 guitar, his 1930s mandolin and his voice, few instruments are added sparsely. For a vocal counterpoint his friends Julie Doiron, Mayon, Caitlin Rose, Jolie Holland, and Kimya Dawson join with their own beautiful parts.

The 3 volumes of these recordings should be a surprising listening adventure for those who follow Herman Dune throughout the years, and a new love for some who've missed it yet.

ABOUT:
Herman Düne is a French group from Paris established in 1999 as a trio with brothers David-Ivar and André Benouaisch (both brothers born in Paris to a Swedish mother and Moroccan father) singing and writing, and drummer Omé, David Ivar's childhood friend. In 2000, they released their debut album, They Go To The Woods. In 2001, drummer Neman joined Herman Dune for their following albums, Switzerland Heritage, Mash Concrete Metal Mushroom, Mas Cambios, and Not On Top. Herman Dune then released Giant in 2006, Next Year In Zion in 2008, and Strange Moosic in 2011. In 2006, Andre left the band after recording songs for Giant. After a hiatus and relocation to San Pedro, Los Angeles in 2015, David Ivar released Sweet Thursday and Santa Cruz Gold on his own label Santa Cruz Records, both in 2018. Between 2013 and 2018, while still performing as Herman Dune, David Ivar also performed as Black Yaya, with the eponymous album Black Yaya and the album Rattle Snake, a concept album about Bonnie and Clyde. Since 2006, André has been pursuing his own solo career as Stanley Brinks. Omé earned his MD and PhD and works as a physician at Hôpital Bichat-Claude-Bernard in Paris. Néman is the frontman of the band Zombie Zombie.

( John Peel Wiki - see also a list with all their John Peel sessions and some interview)

A HERMAN DUNE INTERVIEW - Spotify Podcast
If you want to learn from and about Herman Dune listen to this
NOT ON TOP (link to spotify)
It’s is a conversation between David Ivar and Frank Burton of the Ragbag

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CONTACT

Label EU: Quintus @ BB*ISLAND

Booking: Doudou @ Radical Prod.

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artist homepage (Herman Dune / Santa Cruz Records)
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