Dinner

The project of Danish producer/vocalist Anders Rhedin, Dinner’s synth pop contains a wealth of varying moods. On early releases like Three EPs: 2012-2014 and 2016′s debut album Psychic Lovers, Rhedin contrasted slick synths with irreverent wit, then offered a grittier take on his style with 2017′s Dream Work. After immersing himself in ambient music and guided meditations, Rhedin brought some of that bliss to 2021′s reflective Dream Work. Rhedin became a part of the Copenhagen indie scene while in his twenties, and played with bands including Choir of Young Believers. He moved to Los Angeles to become a pop songwriter, but instead founded what would become Dinner. Originally, he began the project with the intention of someone else singing the songs he wrote, but when he went into the studio with ex-bandmates Jannis Noya Makrigiannis and Cæcilie Trier (also of CTM), they convinced him to contribute lead vocals. Recorded over the course of two days, the You Are Like L.A. EP arrived in 2012 on Looking Forward, and introduced Dinner’s dreamy, lo-fi electro-pop. Rhedin returned in 2013 with the slightly fuller-sounding Girl EP, which he said was inspired by “the divine feminine.” The following year, he released a guided meditation tape as well as Dinner’s third EP, Oui!, which was released by the Austin, Texas label Red Eye Transit. Also in 2014, Dinner signed to Captured Tracks, which issued 2015′s collection Three EPs: 2012-2014 while Rhedin worked on Dinner’s debut album. Recorded in Copenhagen and Los Angeles, 2016′s Psychic Lovers presented a more streamlined, cohesive version of Rhedin’s ’80s-meets-2010s electro-pop. For the following year’s New Work, he took a different tack, working with producer Josh da Costa in a spontaneous approach that included four-track recordings and collaborations with Sean Nicholas Savage and Blouse’s Charlie Hilton. After that album’s release, Rhedin took a break from Dinner to pursue the ambient productions and guided meditations that were his growing passions. In 2019, he released the first installment of his meditation and relaxation series, Kyoto Window, and Guided Sleep Meditation. By 2020, he felt ready to return to Dinner. Arriving in October 2021, Dream Work incorporated some of the sounds and moods Rhedin explored while on hiatus into the project’s indie pop. ~ Heather Phares