Danish band VINYL FLOOR has just released its new album 'Peninsula'. 'Peninsula' was recorded in Sweden in the summer of 2011 and was mastered by Ryan Smith, Sterling Sound, New York. The Vindla String Quartet – who has played with Forest and Crispian and Nina Persson from The Cardigans – contributed strings on seven songs. Other Swedish musicians contributed horns and lap steel guitar. Vinyl Floor hails from Copenhagen, Denmark and 'Peninsula' is their 2nd album.
'Peninsula' is a concept album divided into two parts – the well known literary concepts of Utopia and Dystopia. Utopia is the image of perfection where happiness and love reigns. Dystopia being the contrast where depression, sorrow and forfeiture reigns. In the world of philosophy these concepts may occur individually, but as many might agree, the world is never just black and white. Vinyl Floor therefore explores the tension between these two concepts. However, on the album, Utopia and Dystopia are more than just concepts – they also appear as worlds for human beings to reside in.
In the Utopia part you may find dystopian tendencies such as doubt, broken dreams and enmity. In the Dystopia part you may find traces of conscience and regret but also glimpses of hope for a better future. This dynamic amalgamation is the focus of the album and comes to life via the lyrics, moods and artwork. Speaking of a peninsula, one of its characteristics is the connection to the main land but it´s also part of the foaming sea surrounding it. In the album concept the peninsula is a metaphor for mankind: ’No man is an island’. A man can´t exist without a bond to the surrounding world. A man is defined by his surroundings.
The artwork has been provided with an old fashioned compass which can be placed in many directions. On the surface the compass navigates geographically but the meaning is both objective and subjective. ‘Where am I going?’. ’Where are we going?’. The first track Frames and Orchids takes off with the natural cycle – birth and bloom/spring. Track six Diverging Paths marks the fall of Utopia and Dystopias emergence from the ashes of Utopia. Track seven Force You Through kicks off Dystopia and unleashes its dark powers. Track twelve Frozen Moon reveals an opening through which the listener can escape Dystopia and go back to Utopia. What is in between all of this is entirely up to the listener.
Source: Press Release
