Fieh Albumreview „In the Sun in the Rain“ & Interview

Fieh im Interview und Feature zum neuen Album; Fotocredit: Jonathan Vivaas Kise

Fieh sind mit ihrem neuen und zweiten Studioalbum „In the Sun in the Rain“ raus und wir stellen dir die Platte hier auf dem Blog vor. Die 7-köpfige norwegische Band Fieh hat dafür einen ganz anderen Ansatz gewählt und sie wollten auch ganz bewusst einen neuen Sound damit kreieren. Mit ihrer Hit-Single „Glu“ (2017) feierte die Band schnell internationale Erfolge und ihr Debütalbum „Cold Water Burning Skin“ (2019) wurde treffend als „Future Soul“ oder „Left Field R&B“ beschrieben. Jetzt soll also alles anders werden, aber der Groove, der soll bleiben. Und vor allem wollten sie auch direkt mit dem Opener der Platte einen „WTF-Moment“ schaffen. Die Passage erinnert an Mozart und war genau so geplant. Wer jetzt also denkt: Aaah geklaut, der täuscht sich.

Insgesamt haben es 11 Songs auf die Platte geschafft und mit dieser Platte soll so einiges ins Rollen gebracht werden. Sie wollen endlich wieder live spielen, endlich wieder die Zuschauer mit ihrem Groove-Sound begeistern. All das kehrt jetzt wieder zurück und für Fieh könnte diese neue Platte neue Energie freisetzen. So kann der Groove und Funk gut und gerne auf einen überschlagen, denn Fieh liefern auch hier wieder ordentlich ab. Die Bandbreite ihres Sounds ist im Vergleich zum Vorgängeralbum nochmal stärker geworden. Vielseitiger und in mehreren Schichten aufgearbeitet bereiten Songs wie „Rooftop“ oder „Howcome“ unbändige Freude.

Im Interview sprechen wir um genau diesen Sound und darüber, was Mozart auf der Platte zu suchen hat.

„We knew that we wanted to develop our sound on this new album – to bring the good stuff we already were doing on first album, but also to develop and add inn new sounds and landscapes. The album release feels like an awakening from the “covid sleep”, and the music itself feels like a development of the sound we had on our first record.

When I saw the album’s opener, I first thought: Ok, that’s Mozart! Then it turns out to be a rapidly varied grooving soul and R&B song. Was it intended to start with this “theme” and how does the title track define everything that happens in the next 10 tracks?

Fieh: „It was important to us to find the best order for the songs, and the coolest opening tune, since the album as a whole is very important to us. We knew that starting with that Mozart thing was a bit crazy, but we also felt like “fuck it, we want an opening that really feels “kapow!!!!” and maybe even makes the listener wonder “whatttt just happened?!”.“

Your new songs are predestined to be danced live with you. To what extent does this new album free you from the „Corona shackles“ of the last few years?

Fieh: „This album will hopefully give us some gigs, and in that case it will literally free us from the covid shackles of not playing gigs! But yes, the album was made during lockdown – now it’s not lockdown any longer, we have a tour coming up very soon and the album is finally released. So yes, the feeling of freedom is definitely wonderful.

Could one say that your groove in the 11 new tracks also stands for a certain awakening?

Fieh: „We knew that we wanted to develop our sound on this new album – to bring the good stuff we already were doing on first album, but also to develop and add inn new sounds and landscapes. The album release feels like an awakening from the “covid sleep”, and the music itself feels like a development of the sound we had on our first record.

Fieh now consists of 7 permanent band members. Can you briefly describe how the songwriting process has changed compared to the debut record? What has become more difficult and where did you perhaps gain freedom through the large cast?

Fieh: „This record was made in a quite different way than the first one. On the first record, we had already been playing the songs for many years, and we had tested the songs on an audience live. We had been adjusting and developing the versions of the songs for several years. On this new record, we didn’t even get the chance to release the songs for a long time, because cover restrictions made it illegal to even meet. So when the album was recorded in august/september 2020, a lot of arranging and development of the songs was still happening in the studio. Also, this time we have strings and a larger horn section than last time, more orchestral arrangements and in general several sounds throughout the record than on the first one. We have been 8 members pretty much from the beginning, so the process of me me (Sofie)making demos and then bringing them to the band, where upon they develop the arrangements and their own parts, happened in a similar way as the last record.

For me there are two tracks that stand out for their calmness, not being quite as lively as the rest of the record: “Anger Management (Jesus)” and the last song “Hero”. Can you tell us something more about these two songs? Did they appear randomly between the others, or
did you absolutely need a slightly stronger counterbalance?

Fieh: „In my mind, the record is split in two parts – the A side (In the sun), which represents fun, liveliness, party and good times. The B side (In the rain), which contains the two songs you mention and other more mellow and slow songs, represents a calmer mood, a slower pace and it also has a more orchestral sound . The B side is the after party. So that splitting of the record is not random. A side is for the party, B side is for the afterparty.

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