Stray Dogg — artist
Stray Dogg started out as a solo project by singer-songwriter Dukat Stray, who soon decided to flesh out the band with a couple of trained musicians. Over time, the line-up expanded and now includes a guitarist, violinist, keyboardist, bassist and drummer – in addition to Dukat’s vocals and guitar-work, of course. That’s the band as it stands today, but it actually took just the initial trio to grab listeners’ attention – they were warming up for Michelle Gurevich and Scout Niblett just a few months into their joint career, and even managed to snag Devendra Banhart for a guest appearance on their second album Fire’s Never Wrong. It shouldn’t really come as a surprise – the record would be excellent even without Banhart’s contribution, as the way the group weaves folk melodies into a soothing sonic quilt, never plunging into despair despite the music’s inherent melancholy, is pretty magical.