Fredrik will be doing a number of shows around California starting next week:
02/12 - Bootleg Theater, Los Angeles
02/13 - Hotel Cafe, Los Angeles
02/15 - Subterranean Art House, Berkeley
02/16 - Hemlock Tavern, San Francisco
02/17 - The Red Vic, San Francisco
Fredrik will be heading to Germany in October:
10/18 - Michelberger Hotel, Berlin
10/19 - Beta Bar, Chemnitz
10/20 - Gebäude 9, Lüneburg
10/21 - Beatpol, Dresden
10/22 - Cafe Wagner, Jena
10/23 - Galerie Kub, Leipzig
I hear word that Fredrik will be coming over in June for a few select live dates with member Ola Lindefelt sticking around for a solo tour endeavor afterwards. Expect details soon.
A new video from Fredrik, the first official clip from the band's new album "Flora" outside of the excellent full album stream. Details:
Inspired by early motion picture magicians like Stan Brakhage, Harry Smith, Isidore Isou and Viking Eggeling, it features an abstract take on Palm Shadowplay using "a vintage British overhead projector, an off-white canvas, scissors, paper, 8 hands and a fishtank full of flammable liquids". The colorations are natural and come from the way the lens refracts light at various distances, much like a prism. The effect has been "accentuated and slightly colour-corrected to fit the overall style".
"Flora" also got a decent review at Pitchfork today: http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/15388-flora/
Here is the It's a Trap! listening group top 10 artists of the week unique to our group:
01. Jonathan Johansson
02. Anna Järvinen
03. Jens Lekman
04. Acid House Kings
05. Fredrik
06. Holy Ghost!
07. The Radio Dept.
08. Syket
09. Lykke Li
10. Palpitation
Do you listen to music on your computer or with an iPod? Please join us and make your playlist count! Go here to learn more: http://www.last.fm/help/
The entirety of Fredrik's excellent new album "Flora", now streaming via YouTube. Direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPcsMWXIwQg
Recommended!
Filter has the premiere of a new track from Fredrik off their forthcoming album "Flora" (see our review here): http://filtermagazine.com/index.php/media/entry/mp3_fredrik_moves_us_with_rites_of_spring_filter_premiere
FredrikBlossoming past the confines of traditional songwriting, Fredrik's newest album "Flora" is a melancholy outing carpeted with of horns, bells, and guitars. Sure, it's what we've come to expect from the Swedish experimental trio (two members who also perform as the criminally underrated band, The LK) -- but it's also more than most fringe-folk acts could hope deliver.
A lo-key, densely arranged cacophony, theirs is a brand of hypnotic chanting and melodic repetition that could easily grow stale or downright grating in lesser, or less restrained hands. Instead, we're offered remarkable variance, from the clattering urgency of "Vattenfront" to the haunting, never-quite-peaking crescendo of "Inventress of ill (and everything)". Though perhaps it's the driving, narrative-heavy track "The shape and colour of things gone blind" (a reference to member Ola Lindefelt's reported synesthesia) that offers the best context in which to discuss/dissect the album. Armed with a world-view turned some 180-degrees from current trends, Fredrik doesn't just make music to hear, but to get lost in.
- Laura Studarus
FredrikHaving blossomed into a three-piece, with Anna Moberg making her debut on "Origami", Fredrik's newest effort builds on the dreamscapes explored on the collected EPs of "Trilogi". The introduction of a new member often changes a group's sound, for the better in Fredrik's case, but it's subtle; the "Origami" EP could have been included alongside the three collected in "Trilogi" without feeling forced or tacked on. The same ethereal quality remains, but the first two tracks on "Origami", "Dance of the peacock phantom" and "White on white", feel more focused than many of the efforts on "Trilogi", all without seeming divorced from the contemplative nature of that record. The layering on these first two tracks is wonderful, creating a lush soundscape that doesn't feel rushed through despite the relatively short lengths of the songs, and yet unveils new aspects with each listen. Closer "ABC", clocking in at almost seven minutes, is gorgeous: meditative without meandering, the constant percussion driving the airy instrumentation along, giving a sense of tangibility to the abstract composition. If this is a taste of what's to come, I'm excited to see what Fredrik have planned for 2011.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
As hinted at in yesterday's top 10 list, Fredrik has a new album on the way next spring and it's now been confirmed that it will be called "Flora" and it will be released on March 29 via . Download the track "Dance of the peacock phantom" from the band's excellent new EP "Origami" for a taste of where they're heading: http://www.thekorarecords.com/sounds/DOTPP.mp3
Fredrik is heading out for a few dates in Northern Europe:
11/24 - Astrastube, Hamburg (GER)
11/25 - Steinbruch, Düsseldorf-Duisburg (GER)
11/26 - Ricarda Huch Haus, Jena (GER)
11/27 - tba, Berlin (GER)
11/28 - Final, Prague (CZ)
11/29 - Eufemia, Warsaw (POL)
11/30 - Stanica, Zilina (SK)
12/01 - Rhiz, Vienna (AUS)
12/02 - Cairo, Würzburg (GER)
12/03 - Ostpol, Dresden (GER)
Malmö-based act Fredrik will be releasing new 7" EP called "Origami" on November 16 via featuring the group's very first recordings as a trio following the addition of multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Anna Moberg as a permanent member. Full details: http://www.thekorarecords.com/fredrik-origami.html
Otherwise, the band is hard at work on their new album, due out next March.
Check out video footage of Fredrik performing live for NPR: http://www.frdrk.org/2010/05/06/npr/
