Ambience, corporality and our connection to the natural world make up the defining themes of Norwe- gian artist 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 cliché as that sounds Kai was coming off a period of prolonged illness and the experience left a pro- found impression on him. Long after the haze had cleared he couldn’t shake his interest in how our bod- ies are deeply intertwined with our surroundings – that there are forces that we can yet explain that im- pact our lives and our bodies everyday “It really altered my perspective and ended up setting the con- ceptual framework for the entire album,”.
Due for release in the spring of 2020, 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 in- credibly inspiring”
While My Frail Body reflects Gundelach’s evolution as an artist, it still maintains strong elements of his background as both guitarist and mainstay DJ on Oslo’s club scene. The latter is apparent both on the album’s drum and bass-indebted title track, which features long-time collaborator Bendik HK, as well as on the slow-building dancefloor anthem “Cynical Mind”, where Gundelach pairs up with Norwegian pop sensation Aurora. Since releasing his eponymous first EP in 2016, Gundelach has gone from strength to strength, earning critical acclaim and two Norwegian Grammy nominations for his debut record. He has toured extensively and headlined Øya Festival to rave reviews.
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