Flora

Previously known as simply Frøkedal, the new extended name Frøkedal & Family pays homage to the communal groove of the new album Flora which was very much a collective affair. Anne Lise Frøkedal describes the new album Flora as a record of “nature and awakening,” one that explores the human race’s inherent restlessness and ability to find connections, and through the alchemy of the album’s creation - with Anne Lise and her band playing for 10 days straight in the studio – the connection she desired was met with amazing results. An album full of songs created through the shared passion of playing together – an experience that was magical, organic, and intuitive with human connectivity at its very core. As Anne Lise explains “Flora does not worry about being heartfelt and unfiltered. ‘Flora’ let loneliness and fear, hope and nature grow wild. It is the dream of connection we all long for.” Though originally from a small misty village on the west coast of Norway, Anne Lise’s musical background is one of well-crafted indie as an ex-member of Harrys Gym and the collective I Was A King. That full-bodied band sound sits alongside deep-rooted folk in Flora creating a sonic experience of folk-pop with skyward eyes and insatiable grooves. The first single SØN nods to Anne Lise indie heritage with its chiming guitar, described by Anne Lise as “a pop-protest” and a song that “turns its back on the light and conventions in pursuit of a new truth.” Heavier moments on Flora come in the almost punk-paced Familiar with its driven drums and spiralling guitar riffs, and the folk-rock of Shot-Put which would not sound out of place on Fleetwood Mac’s creative power-house album Tusk but with its roots firmly in a traditional folk sound, bringing to mind an earlier Lauran Laverne (BBC 6 Music) description of Frøkedal as “Fleetwood Mac getting on pretty well with Joni Mitchell." Songs such as Set Your Spirit Free also brim with a traditional folk sound in its meandering melody and roots instrumentation, its multi-instrumentation constantly builds skywards layer-upon-layer, laced with hypnotising overlaid vocals. Elsewhere on the album there’s a gentler touch, in the beguiling Window which lets Anne Lise’s sonorous vocals take centre stage, recalling the intimate heart rendering folk-pop of Nico or Marianne Faithfull - both of whom Anne Lise has been compared to. Song like the bitter-sweet Lonely Robot sit somewhere in-between in pace, it’s melancholy unable to hide a wonderful pop-sensibility in the song-writing craftmanship, and Takedown with touches of 60’s slinky pop magic in its percussion. Then there’s the wonderful anomaly found in the raw bluesy energy of Treasure, conversely one of the album’s most powerful yet also stripped back songs. Flora is an album of rare musical magic, a moment in time of music alchemy captured on record, where hugely talented musicians left their vulnerability at the studio door and with guards down came together to create songs with no limitations. Flora is the sound of the genuine human connection Anne Lise Frøkedal sought and the vast reaching creativity that connection can birth.