About
Dahjyn (formerly known as Tengu Yawn) is Dan Ahrendt, a producer and vocalist in service to whatever his musical hemorrhage is currently spewing out. After half a life lived between Tacoma and Seattle in the Pacific Northwest, years in local music merged with a moment of intense physical trauma, leading to a search for control and exploration through mutated electronic formats. In Seattle, Dahjyn performed and curated in club and DIY settings, transforming and boldening a dark, eclectic mingling of noisy industrial pummeling with equal parts ephemeral and guttural song. He relocated to Brooklyn in 2019, and released his debut EP The Gall in 2021 via London’s Most Dismal Swamp.
His most recent self-release Thresher’s Blush was reviewed in the May 2023 issue of The Wire by Emily Pothast:
"The latest EP from Brooklyn based producer Dan Ahrendt as Dahjyn sounds absolutely massive: a kaleidoscope of cut-up samples pushed through punishing digital effects. But the most memorable thing about Thresher's Blush is the controlled power of Ahrendt's vocals, which leap from a lithe baritone reminiscent of Scott Walker or early Brendan Perry to a rumbling Cookie Monster growl, then a Mike Patton-esque falsetto with a laser-focused bravado that both mirrors and complements the multifaceted precision of his composition. Ahrendt's vocals lend a strikingly human element to this rhythmically disjointed music that feels simultaneously strong and vulnerable, while his lyrics chart a cosmic struggle. ‘Here comes the hand of God to cross you out’, he sings on the opening track. If you can't beat the howling void, you might as well join it.”
Image by Quinten Koroshetz 4/21/2023
Image by Derek Rush at Purgatory 3/3/2022
Image by Jason Mannings. Togetherism at Club 333 in Vancouver, December 2018