In Bloom
Sixteen studio albums in and The Flower Kings show no signs of slowing down. Mainman Roine Stolt is clearly relishing one of his most creative periods with an ongoing reissues campaign and the release of Look At You Now. Prog finds out about the latest record, gets the lowdown on his creative partnership with Jon Anderson and discovers whether he really has made his Final Flight with supergroup Transatlantic.
Words: Paul Ging Images: Lilian Forsberg
Roine Stolt: here’s looking at you now!
When
Prog checks in with Roine Stolt, he’s in fine form. The Flower Kings mainman is anticipating the release of his band’s 16th studio album and he’s just recently seen friend and collaborator Jon Anderson’s Close To The Edge 51st anniversary live show in his native Uppsala. He has much to say about their ongoing work together (of which more later). He also has comments about the apparently defunct Transatlantic’s swansong tour and rumoured last ever concert, recorded for posterity as The Final Flight, plus The Flower Kings’ reissue programme.
But, amid arrangements he’s making for his primary band’s autumn tour, he’s buzzing about the new album Look At You Now and reacts with delight when told this writer’s eight-year-old described the record as “forest music, because you’re surrounded and there’s lots of different things to look at”.
“That’s beautiful,” he says with a smile. “I think that’s really interesting. Kids have no filter, it’s from the heart.”
Look At You Now is the fourth album under the banner of The Flower Kings since the group’s 2018 relaunch, making an average of one album every two years since 1994, despite gaps in activity. Quite the work rate.