Dead Pixel from Dead Pixel by Petter Vågan
If your digital camera has a dead pixel on its optical lens, every photo you take will carry a small black dot—a subtle but persistent mark. Petter Vågan uses this as a powerful metaphor for depression in the first single and title track of his upcoming debut album, Dead Pixel.
The song unfolds like a photo album, where the black dot appears over significant personal moments, shaping the narrative in a poignant and evocative way. Musically, the story is brought to life through a rich chamber-folk arrangement, featuring a string quartet, a subtly virtuosic trumpet, and delicately restrained vocals. With acoustic guitar and conceptual lyrics at its core, Dead Pixel creates a soundscape that is both intimate and deeply expressive.
Tracklist
| 2. | Dead Pixel | 7:17 |
Lyrics
On your cheek, on our way to your mom’s
On the chair, looking drunk in a bar
Stealing the focus, on a selfie in the street
Taking my eye out, posing with my brother in Greece
Dead pixel.
On my old friend, kids trying to fill their suits
Just over the exit sign, poster boys of awkward youth
Forever imprinted on, my face in an italian park
Superimposed on our kiss in the dark
Dead pixel.
On my bike, trying to look lean in Koh Tao
On my arm, sucking in my gut in Macau
A dark, dark shadow on our trip to France
A disturbing mark on our wedding dance
Dead pixel.
On my knee, faking a smile out in the yard
On your hand, thumbs-up but tight lips in the car
A compulsory watermark, on a photo-op in June
Just an error with the hardware, there’s nothing I can do
Dead pixel.
Credits
Petter Vågan: vocals, guitars
Eivind Lønning - trumpet
Ole Morten Vågan - upright bass
Erik Nylander - drums
String quartet:
Ola Lindseth - violin
Oliver Leonard Bailey Dyb - violin
Mathieu Roussel - viola
Joakim Munkner - cello
Recorded at Amber Sound Studio, Trondheim.
String quartet recorded at Sørgården Studio by Håvard Soknes.
Mixed by Kyrre Laastad at Øra Studio.
Mastered by Helge Sten at Audio Virus Lab.
Cover art: Gard Aukrust
Cover design: Håvard Gjelseth
License
All rights reserved.
Petter Vågan blends organic and electronic elements into a sound both intricate and immersive. His music bridges experimental chamber folk, acoustic pop, and jazz, pairing evocative melodies with conceptual lyrics that explore imperfection, memory, and transformation. Collaborating with top Norwegian jazz musicians, he crafts a rich, dynamic soundscape that invites deep listening.