Today, we have the pleasure of introducing Los-Angeles based multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Frythm – whose music is fueled by rhythmic beats and soft and subtle electronic soundscapes. His new album Flow is an effortless body of work comprised of 11-tracks that will take you on a sonic adventure, from the get-go. Songs like “Colors” and “Your Soul” dive in and out of guitar riffs and easy vocal work. Other singles like “PEACEONEARTH” and “For the Ancients” rely heavily on creative instrumental production showing his technical prowess and strength in utilizing well thought out melodies and technical structure to convey a certain emotion through sound alone.
In an email correspondence with EARMILK, Frythm shared, “I spent weeks reading into the philosophy of “flow” after coming off a few months of writer’s block I entered a deep meditative state. I came back with a repeated voice inside of my head telling me to look within and let my body take full control of the creative process. I instantly began writing the record, just moving naturally not giving much deep thought or logic to the process of things, and just allowing it to just happen. This was the easiest time I’ve ever had writing a record and felt like everything came to be so naturally, The Flow album is conglomerate of my subconscious’s natural actions.” After listening to the album from front to back, it’s interesting to sit with his take on the album – it feels effortless, but also well thought out. The album is well suited for the meditators, for the easy listeners, for the late-night smokers, and midnight lovers playlist.
Frythym’s sound pays homage to the likes of James Blake, Toro y Moi and Spooky Black, while still striking their own unique chord. With tracks, with titles like “Rose Quartz,” and “La Luna” you know what you can expect, and you won’t be disappointed with a gentleness that comes from Frythm’s use of negative spaces and ethereal soundscapes. He allows time for contemplation and digestion for “deep symbolic breaths of sound,” as he remarked over text to us. Below we were able to get a deeper glimpse into the album provided by a track-by-track breakdown from Frythm himself. Sit back, relax, and have an easy afternoon!
Shade My Blue:
Growth, despite the good or bad is something I had always craved in the human connection. The track was meant to represent the breaking of uncertain emotions. Whether you’re going through heartbreak, a new relationship, or even a new job. You have the power within yourself to shade the feelings of negativity (blue).
Colors:
About a year ago I had a somewhat out of body experience, I was laying down on a rooftop with my partner watching a beautiful West Texas sunset. When I turned to look over at her I could see her auras, indescribable shades of orange and yellow glowed while she seemed to blend into the sunset. As day turned to night the shades of the outside world faded, but her colors did not.
PEACEONEARTH:
This track was written in a response to the amazonian fires that were taking place in August 2019. I had felt truly saddened seeing mother earth go through such a horrendous experience and wanted to write a soft uplifting serenade to her.
The opening “Ohm” in the song was the initial healing call.
Rose Quartz:
The track had initially started with the chords sounding very lush and pink. At the time I had been reading a lot into the Taoist philosophy of yin and yang, often being associated with masculine and feminine energy. After sitting with the lush intro pads I decided to add a balance to the softness. That balance of the masculine energy being the deeper sounding vocal harmonies that come in midway through the song. I also tried to represent the idea in the drums/structure. Starting with drowsy swinging percussion, then slowly evolving into fast-paced drums and percussion. I wanted to guide the listener on the balance I was feeling while creating the track.
Traffic Jam:
Traffic Jam was just something super fun. I know most of the tracks carry a heavy emotional load but I felt there needed to be a break point in the project where there’s all smiles and not much thought. Some of the lyrics presented were questions I’d ask myself while sitting in traffic or things to remind me of my journey. Reassuring myself of my path while trying to beat shitty LA traffic all in a mornings span lol.
Like A flower:
I wanted to induce some form of nostalgia. There were many underlaying textures that may not be present at first but included small field recordings of past memories with friends and organic movements. I wanted to keep the track simple and friendly while also driving drums for groove.
Demons:
Demons was meant to have a ritualistic and mysterious vibe. The demons I was writing about weren’t the crazy entities you see in movies, but more the inner conflicts you face within yourself when confronted with situations.
Your Soul:
Your soul was a response to demons. I wanted the listener to understand that there is light after facing those inner “demons”. Looking within your soul is the place you can find your honest truth despite what people may think or say.
For the Ancients:
After a deep past life meditation I was inspired to write. During the meditation, I had visions of my ancestors and “ancient” people. We could not speak or understand each other but I knew we could communicate through sound. I needed to write them a sonic ode, that ode became “For the Ancients”.
Intuition:
I was having very bad writer’s block when “intuition” came to be. I had been forcing myself to sit in my studio and write. I was manipulating samples, playing keys, trying just about everything but nothing was connecting. Finally, I took a step back and my subconscious told me to trust my intuition. I then began writing the track. I felt truly free at this point, I had been forcing myself to try and create rather than let my body and ancestors write for me. I am a vessel and this track was a reminder of that.
La Luna:
La Luna is the moon in Spanish, it is the goodnight lullaby to “Flow”. This track was sitting on my computer since about late 2018 but I knew it would see the light one day. I had completely forgotten about the track until my iTunes randomly shuffled and the track came on. I had just wrapped up the project, but I took it as a sign to add it as the final piece.
