Again in 2023, Wobbler’s keyboard mastermind Lars Fredrik Frøislie spoke to Prog about singing in his native tongue and staying sane together with his solo album, Fireplace Fortellinger
“That was scary, man. Actually,” says Lars Fredrik Frøislie.
Because the keyboard wizard of Norway’s good Wobbler, composer for movie and TV, and a producer, Frøislie is a seasoned, completed musician. However together with his solo debut Fireplace Fortellinger, he not solely performs every little thing however the bass himself, he sings too. “I’ve solely carried out backing vocals earlier than,” says Frøislie. “Simply to launch a solo album underneath my title is horrifying.
I had no concept what folks would assume so it’s somewhat scary. It’s a totally completely different factor to a band the place I’m hiding within the again. Right here I’m actually within the entrance.”
Fireplace Fortellinger, or ‘4 Tales’, was born from the restrictions of lockdown. With nowhere to go and briefly indifferent from his Wobbler bandmates, Frøislie began making music in his house basement studio. It was, he says, “to maintain my sanity.” Working alone was a distinction to Wobbler’s inventive course of, however that’s what Frøislie needed.
“In a band it’s very democratic,” he says, “and for the final three albums, we’ve jammed and labored off one another. You current one riff after which one other… how about this? And it may possibly take endlessly, for good or dangerous, however on this solo undertaking, I needed to make it spontaneously and shortly, not ponder an excessive amount of, simply go together with my intestine emotions.”
Initially, Frøislie began with no better intent than to place down some concepts he may develop at a later date.
“Thank God I had the nice preamps and every little thing arrange, so I may hold these takes,” he says. “I improvised and issues occurred, and it could be utterly fallacious to attempt to recreate one thing I’ve improvised, the spontaneous factor could be misplaced. I used to be very relaxed as a result of I used to be pondering: that is simply
a take a look at, it’s a demo, so I’m having enjoyable. I believe you possibly can hear I’m having enjoyable. Plus, my studio pc was damaged, so I principally had no plug-ins. I solely had the analogue keyboards and stuff and a fundamental recording pc, so I needed to do it very old skool. No click on tracks, no MIDI, however that made it natural.”
Because the music developed, Frøislie went backwards and forwards from drums to keyboards, capturing concepts because the muses whispered in his ears, deploying an arsenal that features a harpsichord, Mellotron, Minimoog, Yamaha CP70 and Hammond organ.
“I’m an enormous fan of those previous keyboards, plus that’s what I had in my basement, so I had to make use of them,” he says. “However I really like the sound. Just like the harpsichord, it’s hell, principally. You’re tuning it for 2 days and it goes out of tune in in the future. The identical with the piano. Then once more, that piano is type of out of tune as a result of I used to be pondering, that is only a take a look at. However I believe it’s charming. It’s not purported to be excellent. The Mellotron will not be in excellent pitch, however that’s the purpose. There’s an excessive amount of perfection as of late.”
He compares the Mellotron to an previous, rundown automobile. “There are oil spills, you need to push it to get going generally,” he says. “You’re engaged on their phrases otherwise you’re nearly preventing them.”
The one instrument Frøislie doesn’t play on the album is the bass, which was recorded by Nikolai Hængsle from Elephant9. Frøislie began with synth bass components, however realised the music was crying out for the distinctive tone of a Rickenbacker, so he picked up the telephone.
“I assumed, let’s simply ask one of the best bassist in Norway,” he says. “The worst he can say isn’t any. [But he said,] ‘Yeah, I’ll do it!’ He’s unbelievable.”
Every track spins a story. Rytter Av Dommedag (‘Rider Of Doomsday’) was impressed by the legends of Ragnarök and a close-by landmark, a burial mound referred to as Raknehaugen that’s rumoured to be the resting place of the legendary King Rakne. Frøislie and his household took day journeys to Raknehaugen “as a result of my spouse had a college undertaking about cultural landscapes. We needed to take these journeys to {photograph} it and it was simply such a magical panorama, it sparked the creativeness. Within the winter it’s a ski leap, it’s that massive, however the legend is that it’s King Rakne in there surrounded by white horses, treasure and so forth.”
Frøislie imagined Rakne being roused from centuries of slumber and coming forth to result in Ragnarök, throwing in different darkish legends for further spice.
“He’s like one of many riders of the Apocalypse from the Bible, there’s Oskoreia or The Wild Hunt, I’ve combined in every little thing,” he says.
Much less apocalyptic, Et Sted Beneath Himmelhvelvet (‘A Place Beneath The Heavens’) is about eager for escape, a sentiment little question extensively shared throughout lockdown.
“You couldn’t depart the nation, however you dreamt of a hotter place, in order that’s a track the place I’m dreaming away to a hotter place. Possibly it’s Florence, it could possibly be wherever,” says Frøislie. “I’ve had experiences the place I’ve been someplace and it felt acquainted, like I’d been there earlier than, and it touches that as effectively. Possibly it’s simply coincidence. Even on my farm the place I grew up, [my family] moved there in 1950, however we did some looking and it seems a Frøislie lived there 400 years in the past, so possibly it simply felt like house after they purchased the farm. It’s a enjoyable thought.”
The cosmic Jærtegn, that means ‘Omen’, sprang from a Viking saga, “the place Olaf The Holy died on the Battle Of Stiklestad,” says Frøislie. The track tells of riders dashing by means of a forest earlier than their carriage crashes.
“They die and at the moment there’s a photo voltaic eclipse, they usually flip into these ghostly figures and wander within the darkness. This was throughout winter and there have been some fantastic northern lights within the sky, and I imagined these have been the arms of those wanderers attempting to succeed in for the Solar.”
The album’s closing epic, Naturens Katedral (‘Nature’s Cathedral’), was impressed by Harald Sohlberg’s Winter Nights In The Mountains, the nationwide portray of Norway that captures the mountains of Rondane, a picture that resonates with Frøislie.
“My spouse’s household has a really previous cottage close to there,” he says. “It’s like going again in time, there isn’t a telephone sign, no electrical energy, we get water within the mountain stream, very primitive, and somewhat chilly. Within the winter it’s not potential to get there. Even in July and August, you might have a fireplace going as a result of it’s so chilly up there, so it’s a harsh however lovely place. And a tremendous view, no folks, just a few eagles, reindeer, moose, it’s spectacular. That’s the surroundings of this final track. It’s romanticising that concept of going again to the wild.”
All 4 tales on the album are informed in Norwegian, one thing that Frøislie has been ready to do since Wobbler’s debut, Hinterland, in 2005.
“With the primary Wobbler album we had Norwegian lyrics and the report label, which was American, didn’t need Norwegian lyrics so we did it in English,” he says. “This was the right time to try it out. There’s not that a lot prog in Norwegian. Norwegian isn’t just like the Italian language, which may be very lovely sounding, however I attempted to see if it’s potential to make this crude, barbaric language sound good.”
And that returns full circle to the problem of stepping as much as the mic on Fireplace Fortellinger.
“I do not know how my voice sounds to others. I simply went for it,” explains Frøislie. “Principally, this was nearly for my sanity that
I made this undertaking. I may’ve left it in a vault and simply carried out it for myself, however it’s thrilling. In spite of everything these albums I’ve launched, you by no means know when folks will prefer it. Thus far so good. I hope you possibly can hear that it’s very honest and heartfelt. It’s a pleasure undertaking.”
