FRUM releases new album ‘Whirpool’

FRUM is an artist who’s moved across borders, across mediums and across emotional landscapes. Since her arrival in 2016, the Faroese artist born Jenný Kragesteen has forged a creative output that exists between sound and vision, crafting a world where music, film and movement collide in a spectacular universe.

First sharing her sound with the debut single “Birdstone,” a collaboration with Steso, over the next few years, she shared multiple releases across singles, an EP and her first record, For The Blue Sky. Along the way, she’s expanded her reach; touring China in 2017, performing at Reeperbahn Festival and opening for acts like Morcheeba. Her music, cinematic in scope and emotionally potent, has found its way into Netflix soundtracks and retail spaces like H&M, embedding her voice in the global cultural fabric.

Over the last four years, she’s continued to develop her vision in the remote corners of Iceland and the creative current of Bergen, Norway. These environments seep into her sound, which has grown increasingly atmospheric and expansive. A two-year hiatus allowed her to recenter and earlier this year she reemerged with “Rise,” a track about guiding someone back to their sense of self. It marked the exciting resurgence of an artist preparing for something much larger.

That something is Whirlpool, her new sophomore album that fully embraces the latest chapter in her artistic story. Across eight tracks bookended by an intro and outro, FRUM takes listeners into a truly immersive experience, a sonic meditation on movement, change and renewal. As the title suggests, Whirlpool spins with momentum, capturing the cyclical nature of life and the cosmos captures via an experimental electronic pop sound alternating between soft reflection and kinetic release. A commendable thread in Whirlpool is FRUM’s conscious effort to amplify female voices in production, a decision that reflects not just an artistic choice but a deeper ethos of inclusion and representation.

Following the ethereal vocal textures of the engrossing “Intro” piece, the album slips into the dreamy soundscape of “Orbit With You” where soft piano notes, sparse percussion shots and hushed vocal elements engage in a drifting balletic dance. Wrapped in an atmospheric aesthetic, calmly alternative synth tones and sweeping instrumental elements cast a truly enchanting scene that fully envelops listeners in a state of soporific bliss.

The bright synth flutters and emotive vocal leads on “Sun Aura” follows, injecting subtle energy with the plucks of guitar and steady patter of drums. Capped by dazzling vocal performance, it’s a stunning alternative pop outing that’s instantly memorable and thoroughly absorbing throughout. “Wave” flows with a stripped back framework of processed vocal layers and the rising pulse of percussion, building into a dance-tinged outing of uptempo energy and engaging melodic writing.

Other highlights on the album include title track “Whirlpool” with its hazy electric guitar lines and soothing synth textures, led by FRUM’s graceful vocal leads. Progressing with the crisp rustle of drums and bubble of colourful synth elements, the track offers the perfect showcase of the artist’s intricate and fully enamouring songwriting.

“Cycle” sets up the finale with the strike of shuffling electronic beats and pulse of wobbly synth bass lines, offset by the elegant vocal lines that glide above. Following the beat-driven energy of the track, the dreamy, transportive textures of the “Outro” brings the album full circle and closes Whirpool in a memorable and satisfying fashion.

Listen to Whirpool below