Short Reviews [Dikajee - 2021 - "Forget-Me-Nots"]

Due to the huge amount of time I spent on NZ music in 2022, I am now the farthest behind I have ever been in terms of my other reviews and am working frantically hard to catch up. This was sent to me in November 2021 and I have only been recently playing it, and am absolutely blown away by what I am heading as she has an incredible voice, and her style of prog folk is simply incredible. In many ways it reminds me of Talitha Rise and their incredible debut album, ‘An Abandoned Orchid House’, where Jo Beth Young treats us to some ethereal vocals and restrained musical styles, but this is even more folky with acoustic guitar and piano being incredibly important. Olja Dikajee grew up near Lake Ladoga in northwest Russia, and this has provided her with inspiration for a world which is long gone, Tolkien-esque in many ways. Her English is clear and unaccented, and there is little within the music which leads one to understand her roots, although sometimes an instrument comes in, such as the cello on “Millions of Flashes” which is mournful and quite Eastern European in its approach. There are quite a few musicians involved in this apart from Dikajee herself, but it is all about her vocals, clear and clean, fragile yet mystical. There is huge depth within this, a passion which is hard to describe, and even when it is just Olja accompanying herself on piano there is a magic being created and captured. For years I have been telling everyone there is some amazing music coming out of Russia, and some of my very favourite acts are there, and now I add Dikajee to that list as this is nothing short of incredible. If you enjoy prog folk with sensational vocals, then this is indispensable.