the land of the dykings
The Dykings were formed in 2010 as the main project of Sara Renberg. Renberg had been writing songs for about a year when the opportunity arose to play at an alumnae house show in Chicago. She asked her best friend to play with her for a three song set and the Dykings were born. After playing at various venues in Chicago for a year (including the Red Line Tap, Mary's Attic, and a tree), Renberg relocated to Portland in mid-2011.
Renberg's intentions as a songwriter are to create musical spaces to access and explore complex emotions; to use myths to say something true; to write from experience but not be bound by experience, so that listeners have room to find themselves in the songs. Renberg believes that words and sounds both matter, and that music's ability to function as a vehicle is underexplored in our current culture.
Sonically, The Dykings enjoy exploring contrasts with acoustic and electric instruments, nontraditional song structures, found percussion, and looping. Their primary influences are the Silver Jews, Pavement, Neil Young, Sarah Harmer, the Microphones, and tUnE-yArDs.
The Dykings have recently released an EP of tiny songs, which you can find at bandcamp. They are presently working on their first full-length album. You can contact the band at the.dykings at gmail.com.