Axel Flóvent’s newest album, ‘You Stay By The Sea’, has been attracting a lot of international attention—and for a good reason. It’s a beautiful journey through his inner life, from overthinking stuff (we have all done that) to friendship that slowly fades away.
Axel’s intimate approach has caught the eyes of the Reykjavík Grapevine as well, and we asked the artist to explain, track by track, where he’s coming from. Here’s what he had to say.
Tonight
The first thought I had when writing this was that I wanted to write a song that would set the scene and create the mood going into the record. I initially wrote the song as an ambient intro. A few years later, the piece evolved into a song on its own. “Tonight” is about the path to stability.
Driving Hours
This is about getting in one’s own way because of overthinking, analyzing one’s wrongs, and letting fear get in the way of following one’s own needs. Tourist This song is about trying to reach the unreachable, to hold on to something when you know you should let go.
December
Traffic It’s about a friendship that faded away; the doubts, the wonders, and all the places the mind goes after a relationship disappears from one’s life. Blood This track is about not confronting negative energy, so it just lingers inside. And the longer it stays, the worse it gets, and it feels like it’s swimming inside the blood and slowly becoming a part of yourself until a change happens.
Fall Asleep
The song is a journey through an anxious mind and finding comfort in the discomfort. Even though you know it feels alright, you’re still worried, and the worries keep coming, filling the space.
Still Awake
This song is the high after the low. It’s about the motivation that picks me up after a few dark days. It’s an answer to “Fall Asleep.” It’s essentially about how everything is great now and wishing everyday was like this until the low returns and I can’t fall asleep again.
Indefinite
It’s important to keep listening and learning, no matter how defined one’s opinion is. Seeing the light that’s on the other side and fighting the limited mind to get further.
How Can I
When I was living alone in Brighton, I was very isolated. I felt distant from everything I cared about and made music to find clarity and fulfillment in the absence of everything I loved.
“How Can I” is about self-care and what happens without it.
Haunted
It’s about the fear of the unknown being heavier than the reality and recognizing that the things I taught myself to avoid are, most of the time, the things I needed the most in my life.
Fireworks
Is about an end to something meaningful – both the sadness of its finality and the relief to be able to move on from it to something new without the lingering doubts.
You Stay by the Sea
The title track is, appropriately, the story for my album. The song summarizes what I’m going through, looking at different kinds of anxieties I’ve carried with me and finding my way back home. The album, ‘You Stay by the Sea,’ is this peaceful state of mind that keeps me safe from it all. Guess what?
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