Danish composer and multi-instrumentalist Frisk Frugt releases Den Europæiske Spejlbue, the follow-up to his 2010 debut, next week and tQ is offering you the chance to give it a listen in full right now, above. Den Europæiske Spejlbue – roughly translated from Danish as "The European Arch Mirror" – sees Anders Lauge Meldgaard, for Frisk Frugt is he, taking on different influences from his previous album. Where Dansktoppen Møder Burkina Faso i det himmelblå rum hvor solen bor, suite followed a trip through Danish folklore, Mali and Burkina Faso, the new record sees Meldgaard taking a playfully melodic, vocal take on orchestral music.
The album’s inspiration is said to come from Meldgaard’s studies of Danish folk at a museum in the Rebild hills as well as old folkloric texts he found in the Royal Library in Copenhagen. Some of the instruments heard on the album were built by Meldgaard himself, partly because he did not have access to a large live orchestra, but also because it was his ambition to create music as unconventionally as possible. "This music has been composed over a long period of time through extended experimentation and editing, not through the traditional process of writing, performing and recording," Meldgaard says of the album. "I am fascinated by the idea that today one guy with an internet connection can follow a musical chorus at Yale University for free, while downloading thousands upon thousands of sounds from the internet, and then put it all together with software illegally downloaded to create an image of whatever he or she wants."
Frisk Frugt plays Dalston’s Cafe OTO on March 24 for a tQ Presents… show. As well as a headline live set and some hand-picked guests supporting on the night, Meldgaard will give a talk on his work. Tickets for that show and more details can be found here. This will be followed by appearances in Sheffield, at the Audacious Art Experiment on March 26 and Bristol the day after, at The Benjamin Perry Boathouse. In the meantime, read John Freeman’s 2012 interview with Frisk Frugt here.
