Fire Fortellinger LP blue marble

Nach „Summit“ von SEVEN IMPALE, das zweite Karisma-Album in kurzem Zeitabstand, das lediglich ein Quartett von Songs aufzuweisen hat und trotzdem auf amtliche Langspielplattenlänge kommt. Für LARS FREDRIK FRØISLIE seines Zeichens Keyboarder von WOBBLER, ist das nicht besonders ungewöhnlich. Denn der barocke Retro-Prog, den Frøislie auf „Fire Fortellinger“ präsentiert, ist A) nicht allzu weit von seiner Stammband entfernt und B) geradezu ein Aspirant für Longtracks. So sind zwei der vier Stücke über siebzehn Minuten lang.

Das Album beginnt mit einer Mellotronseligkeit, die schon Fans der MOODY BLUES in Verzückung gerieten ließ. „Rytter Av Dommedag“ steckt den musikalischen Rahmen bereits früh ab. Hymnischer Prog, der knietief in den 70ern fußt, ergänzt um ein wenig nordischen Folk und psychedelisches Georgel. Frøislie singt in seiner Muttersprache, was trefflich zur pastoralen Stimmung des Werks passt. Der Gesang ist charmant und im besten Sinne unauffällig.

Neben den MOODY BLUES stehen GENESIS Frøislie näher als GENTLE GIANT oder YES. Wobei der Keyboarder gerne zeigt, dass er Rick Wakemans Arbeit mit dem Synthesizer sehr schätzt. In der „Naturens Katedral“ im Gottesdienst mit den „The Six Wives of Henry VIII“. Das ist alles dramatisch, mächtig, schicksalsträchtig, unterbrochen von Momenten naturtrüber Ruhe und kleinen Flirts mit Schrägheiten. Aber das tut nicht weh. Wie schon mit WOBBLER ist LARS FREDRIK FRØISLIE dem volltönenden Wohlklang verpflichtet.

Debut solo album from Wobbler’s Lars Fredrik Frøislie! Fitting perfectly into the 70s prog-rock tradition where the keyboardist makes a solo album between the band albums, this is music Frøislie has been doing, mostly alone, during the pandemic. Had it not been for the pandemic, much of the material would probably have ended up on a new Wobbler album - but then run through the Wobbler grinder and with English lyrics. In other words, this is unpeeled and raw, as spontaneous as possible without going through too many rounds of processing. Trying to preserve the impulsive - much of what you hear is improvised, and one-takes (preferably with playing errors and piano strings that break and the like). Trying to preserve the human aspect to a large extent, avoiding click tracks, auto-tune, MIDI or too much technology. Expect lots of old analogue keyboards such as cembalo, Mellotron, MiniMoog, Yamaha CP70 and Hammond organ. Four tunes; Four stories. The first song "Rytter av dommedag" is themed around Ragnarok, when King Rakne awakens in his large burial mound outside Romerike and, together with the old gods, creates real mischief. The second song “Et sted under himmelhvelvet” is dreamy, possibly set in a Renaissance garden near Florence or Arcadia. But in principle it can be anywhere where it feels good to be. It is partly about travelling to a place and feeling that you have been there before - only to find out that you had ancestors who lived there long ago. The third song "Jærtegn" opens in a frenzy, with a horse and cart speeding through the forest. The wagon overturns at the same time as there is a solar eclipse, and the riders become eternal wanderers in the dark forest, only visible to us now and then like the northern lights, as they vainly stretch their arms towards the sun in the hope of finding their way home. The final song “Naturens Katedral” is a depiction of the Norwegian mountains in winter where the cold is bitter, and blizzards and avalanches abound. It is also a search for bygone times when life was more basic out in the wilderness.