dedicated to the bird we love

Dedicated to the Bird We Love is the only album by Norwegian group Oriental Sunshine and one of the most distinctive examples of European psychedelic folk from the beginning of the 1970s.

The group developed around singer and guitarist Nina Johansen and guitarist and sitar player Rune Walle, who met in western Norway during the late 1960s. Their shared interest in folk songwriting, The Beatles, Joni Mitchell and Indian music led to the creation of a gentle but highly individual sound.

They were joined by Delhi-born musician Satnam Singh, whose flute and tabla added an authentic Indian dimension to the arrangements. Jazz and rock musicians including Espen Rud, Sture Janson and Helge Grøslie also participated in the sessions, giving the album a richer rhythmic and instrumental foundation.

Nina Johansen’s clear, melancholic vocals float above sitar drones, delicate acoustic guitar, flute, tabla, upright bass and occasional Hammond organ. The result combines the intimacy of acid folk with Eastern-influenced psychedelia and the cool, spacious atmosphere associated with Scandinavian music.

“Across Your Life” opens the record with swirling sitar and organ, while “Mother Nature” and “Land of Wisdom” reflect the trio’s interest in nature, meditation and Indian philosophy. The extended “Can Anybody Tell?” moves into a darker and more introspective psychedelic mood, and “Where You Went (Tum Kahan Gaye)” places Satnam Singh’s Indian influence at the centre of the music.

Originally released by Philips in Norway in 1970, the album sold in very small quantities and Oriental Sunshine separated soon afterwards. Its unusual mixture of Scandinavian folk melancholy and Indian instrumentation gradually earned it a strong reputation among collectors of psychedelic, acid-folk and raga-rock recordings.

Track listing:

Side A
1. Across Your Life – 3:26
2. Mother Nature – 2:58
3. Look at Me – 1:35
4. Unless – 2:48
5. Land of Wisdom – 1:45
6. Let It Be My Birth – 2:08

Side B
1. Can Anybody Tell? – 5:50
2. Visions – 2:48
3. My Way to Be Hurt – 3:05
4. Where You Went (Tum Kahan Gaye) – 3:05
5. I’m Going – 0:55