Description
Label Review.
2020 album. Indie. Also available on Vinyl.
Our Overview.
Norwegian artist Kai Gundelach heads the project Gundelach. Synth, emotions, percolating anxiousness – all combine into the hazy iridescence, in which is demonstrated in ‘My Frail Body’. A paladin worth of grifting waves, it signals the unknown, as does the identifiable deference. Ambience, corporality and our connection to the natural world make up the defining themes of Gundelach’s sophomore LP, ‘My Frail Body’.
A calmer, more contemplative affair than 2018’s acclaimed Baltus, the record opens with an atmospheric collage built around a set of field recordings made by the artist last summer in the Dutch nature reserve of Het Twiske. There, surrounded by green meadows and dense, verdant forest, Gundelach had his first encounter with psychedelic mushrooms. “I was suddenly opened up to nature in a way I had never experienced before", he recalls.
As cliche as that sounds Kai was coming off a period of prolonged illness and the experience left a profound impression on him. Long after the haze had cleared he couldn’t shake his interest in how our bodies are deeply intertwined with our surroundings - that there are forces that we can yet explain that impact our lives and our bodies everyday “It really altered my perspective and ended up setting the conceptual framework for the entire album,”.
'My Frail Body' came together during an intense summer and fall touring and recording in Europe. At the time, Gundelach’s girlfriend was pregnant with the couple’s first child - a life event that has helped permeate the record with a new sense of clarity and direction. While his previous output has centred on the melancholy undercurrents of love and longing, the artist says he is now at a point where things feel more grounded. That was particularly true for “Stay in the Water”, Gundelach’s soft and humble homage to his newborn daughter, which took him only a few hours to write. The track features his signature falsetto vocals laid over gently levitating chords and the sound of chirping birds. “There was a sense of physicality on so many levels during this period, which I found incredibly inspiring”
“Norway’s Gundelach spins a tale of love, loss, and depression into a bright and tender piece of synth-pop that is nothing short of comforting.” - Nylon
Tracklisting: Forskjellige Steder / My Frail Body (Feat. Bendik Hk) / Rainstorm (I Worry ‘bout You Always) / Stay In The Water / Red / Moon Perfume / Bolder / Silver / Cynical Mind (Feat. Aurora) / Obuli