Re-emerging across 2024 with experimental musical tapestries, The Formalist, comprised of Brooklyn-born Stephen Krieger and Norwegian Erik Laroi, first formed in 2006, blending the duo’s different experiences with ambience and melodic songwriting.
After teasers saw acclaim from multiple press outlets, The Formalist’s second album A Trace Of Yourself has now been unveiled to the world. Released under Mother West, the ten-track expands on the ideas of previously released singles ‘Happenstance’, ‘Finite’ and ‘A = N’, delving into the idea of how your past affects your future.
The project continues to bring a unique balance between raw experimental elements, with noisy hits ripping through certain tracks, and a sense of melodic cohesiveness, with soft synth chords backdropping celestial vocal production. The atmosphere is spellbinding, giving listeners a feeling of entering the future, or an alternate timeline, where fragments of familiarity emerge from the unknown.
The pair adds, “Lyrically, A Trace of Yourself is a record about struggling to see the world through clear eyes, Realizing the past and the future can both sneak up on you in unexpected ways.
You want a record to take you out of your ordinary place, like a sonic dreamscape…A meditative thing; a way to lose yourself.”
‘A Trace Of Yourself’ is out now…
