Oslo five-piece Dråpe (pronounced 'Draw-peh') are excited to share news of their new album ‘Relax/ Relapse’ due Oct 9th via Riot Factory. The shimmering first single ‘Pie in the Sky’ from the forthcoming record is streaming online now.
Laden with warm psych-pop sounds, the first single ‘Pie in the Sky’ is a song about “naïvety and living in denial” according to singer Ketil Myhre, who also mentions that the vocals on the track were done right after he had fallen of his balcony and broken two ribs, which put a proper challenge on the frontman’s pain threshold!
Watch ‘Pie in the Sky’ video below:
The Oslo-based five-piece gained an array of attention both across their Scandinavian home & beyond with the release of their self-titled EP in 2011 & their debut album ‘Canicular Days’ in April 2013. The band then followed the great reviews up with shows at festivals such as Roskilde, Øya and Reeperbahn Festival & are set to release their second album ‘Relax/ Relapse’ on Oct 9th via Norwegian label Riot Factory.
Made up of Eirik Kirkemyr (drums), Lars K. Boquist (bass), Even Hafnor (guitar), Eirik Fidjeland (synth & harps) & Ketil Myhre (vocals & guitar), the band started via a life-long friendship between Ketil & Eirik F who both grew up in a small town in the south of Norway called Kristiansand. It was in 2009 that they decided to move to Oslo& met the other band members & so Dråpe was able to be.
Speaking about how they chose their name, the band went on to say “It’s inspired by Sigur Rós. We all liked the idea of using our native language in our band name. We found Dråpe to be a pretty word on paper and felt like it stood out in a crowd. The word itself means "a drop" in Norwegian˝.
Dråpe combine hypnotic & weightless dreamy sounds with a blissful blend of psychedelia on their forthcoming album. Artists such as Slowdive, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Beach House & Flaming Lips have been mentioned as reference points and as personal inspirations to the band, and it’s clear to see why with ‘Relax/Relapse’.
‘Relax/ Relapse’ is a title represents both the band’s lyric within the album & also the recording process. Singer Ketil went on to shed some light on this as he said “We have all experienced defeats on a personal level, and gone through a small crisis as a band. These experiences have made us the people and the band that we are today and weʼre really proud of the result. It feels like weʼve taken a few steps back in time, both personally and musically, and though it sometimes felt like we were on the verge of losing it, we got through it.”
“So the idea is that sometimes a relapse might actually be a good thing, kind of a second chance to get better again and perhaps change things.”
This Norwegian five-piece have created a shimmering album with ‘Relax/Relapse’, one that is about seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. As obvious as it may sound, it remains something often overlooked by society in the modern day. With their powerful take on inviting psych-pop sounds, Dråpe combine a hazy 60s psych-rock feel with their own modern twist to create a euphoric daydream of a record.
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