Filip Dahl has been at this a long time. The silence, the studio years, the seventies, and the return. This isn't history you're going to forget once you pick up a guitar. It has got to become part of the music in the end. It's heard in "Flying High. This track has a sort of lived-in quality to it. It's like someone's rehashing old ideas, memories, instincts, with calm confidence, not attempting to prove anything now.
This is an instrumental. No words, no vocals. Only Dahl and his guitar and what he's always done best. The track is slow and deliberate with a melodic riff that he layers patiently and carefully. Nothing is rushed. The rhythm section is solid and rock steady underneath, the bass remains quiet and supportive and the whole thing grows in a manner of quiet authority, only a seasoned veteran can do.
The tone is what catches your ear. Warm, relaxed, his. It's that signature that's been criticized for years and "Flying High" is likely one of the most obvious examples of it. You can tell in seconds that it's him. He produced, performed and recorded all of it himself. That matters. It has a flow to the sound that you only can achieve when one person is in charge from start to finish. There is no feeling out of place.
He plays through the track's main ideas in a companion video on YouTube. It's time well-spent. It's a very thoughtful piece of music; watching his hands and seeing what he's doing, what he's choosing, as he's doing it. This is a good place to begin for new listeners. It's just Filip Dahl doing his thing for the years that he has been around. This is more than sufficient. The song does not intrude, and perhaps that's why it works so well. It's at ease in its own skin, and has a quiet confidence that comes with years of experience.
