Dean Johanesen opens up on his latest album, "Cautionary Tales" - Interview
Surpassing our wildest expectations on his newest record Cautionary Tales, Dean Johanesen truly outdid himself, and thankfully was kind enough to drop in for a full interview to discuss the inner workings of the record. Please enjoy our discussion with the artist below!
For those potentially out of the loop, Dean Johanesen is a New York-born but now Florida-based artist who’s sincerely put something out of the box together on his newest record, Cautionary Tales. Infusing ideas, sounds, styles, and so much more dating back almost 100 years, this album embodies Circus Swing, Americana Roots, and a whole lot of passion. During our conversation with the artist, we took a deep dive into how it was all put together, what this upcoming year looks like for Dean, and many other topics. Of course we’re urging everyone out there to take a listen as soon as you can.
With the title inspired by the old children’s book “Cautionary Tales for Children” written by Hilaire Belloc, truly the entirety of Cautionary Tales is rooted in the past. However, Dean has certainly brought a ton of modernity into the mix by including stories of his own, but also capturing tales from novelists Sara Gruen and Erik Larson (historical fiction). Sara is best known for her book “Water For Elephants”, so if you happen to be familiar with it, we challenge you to listen to the words closely in order to pick out the stories. Honestly though, Dean really has gone above and beyond here in the storytelling, a lot of where we find this record shines the brightest.
On the other hand though, he’s done an impeccable job of simply transporting the listener into another realm of time. We spoke extensively about the style and genres included, but undoubtedly it’s his modern take on a specific point in time that works the best. From beginning to end, the cohesiveness of Cautionary Tales comes through and it flows effortlessly from song to song. Whether this is your introduction to his music or not, it’s an ideal spot to start and explore the rest of his tunes too.
We’ve included all the necessary links below to listen, follow along, and of course to stay up to date for all future news.
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