Gamle Mester by Lars Fredrik Frøislie

Gamle Mester by Lars Fredrik Frøislie, released in 2025.

We talked about Lars Fredrik Frøislie, a Norwegian multi-instrumentalist musician (also keyboards and backing vocals for Wobbler), when he released his 2023 debut album, Fire Fortellinger. I loved it for its 1970s prog sounds and atmospheres, interpreted with great mastery and taste, full of refinements. It's an absolutely exquisite work, which you can find among this artist's albums here on the blog.

This second solo album confirms and in some ways surpasses the previous one. I consider it the album of consecration. It's not easy to repeat and surpass oneself after the beautiful first album. This album, which features the return of authentic vintage keyboards, the Mellotron and Chamberlin M1, and the excellent arrangements, brings something new to the sounds that, in my opinion, are sought after to break away from classic prog clichés and move toward a sound that retains its epic character, but with renewed ideas.

It's also a less dark, sunnier, more compelling album in a certain sense, summed up in my opinion by the photo of Lars on the inside cover, where he stands on the edge of a forest in the Norwegian snow while the sun filters through the trees behind him. I loved seeing this on my recent trip to the fjords, and these are the feelings I get listening to the album, and those I felt on those beautiful, rare sunny days a few weeks ago.

Lars also plays excellent drums and an impressive number of instruments, supported by a great bass and a magnificent flute.

The compositions are truly exceptional, as is the production.
The song "Jakten PÃ¥ Det Kalydonske Villsvin" is beautiful, with its epic air and a compelling rhythm section, solemn choral vocals, vintage keyboards, and long instrumental parts with constant, sudden tempo changes.
The title track "Gamle Mester" is also beautiful, a piece driven by a medieval atmosphere, at first bold and then suffused, inspiring calm and a sense of spaciousness. The keyboards create a beautiful solo that continues uninterrupted, building choral emphasis and then exploding in a powerful way...until a series of breaks in which the drums and keyboards dominate with counter-tempos, before returning to the main theme with solemn choirs and all the instruments involved in the closing.
Then there's a piece, "Medusas Flåte," which begins with a typically neo-prog sound in my opinion, lighter in the opening section and with beautiful, subtle and precise drumming in the middle, which carries the song to the finale. The keyboards sound more modern, as does the rhythm section, which, while less complex, is executed with great taste. It's a piece of about nine minutes in which different atmospheres shift, leading to an epic final section with continuous drum and keyboard breaks that flow into a piano interlude, before returning to the initial lightness, with a rock-based tempo.
One of my favorites is "De Tre Gratier," a 12-minute piece that begins with a spinet and draws us into a dense, complex, and fun symphonic rock, with Lars's ever-present, intense voice. A powerful piece in which Nikolai Hængsle's bass becomes a deep, low metronome, and Lars shows off his keyboard repertoire with diverse sounds that create a magical effect in harmony with Ketil Einarsen's splendid flute.

The artwork is beautiful: a painting on the front cover and its back on the back, a truly wonderful idea.

An album that will top my personal list of the best albums of 2025.

Without a doubt, prog is alive and well. Thanks Lars!!!

The Tracks

1. Demring (5:01)
2. Jakten PÃ¥ Det Kalydonske Villsvin (10:09)
3. Gamle Mester (7:17)
4. Medusas Flåte (9:08)
5. De Tre Gratier (12.27)
6. Skumring (3:13)
Duration 47:15

Line-Up
- Lars Fredrik Frøislie - Ludwig drums, Paiste cymbals, vocals, Hammond C3 with Leslie 147, Mellotron M400, Minimoog Model D, Chamberlin M-1, Hohner Clavinet D6, Yamaha CP70B, William de Blaise spinet, Arp Pro Soloist, Arp Axxe, Solina String Ensemble, Tremoloa, Rhodes mkII, Wurlitzer 200, recorder
With:
- Nikolai Hængsle - bass (Rickenbacker 4003, Fender Precision Bass, Fender Jazz Bass, Fender Telecaster Bass)
- Ketil Einarsen - flute, recorder