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Friendship Premiere New Single “Gypsy”; Ain’t No Shame LP Coming Soon

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Today, Jan. 26, marks the release of Friendship‘s new single ‘Gypsy’ ahead of the impending Kozmik Artifactz issue of their sophomore full-length, Ain’t No Shame. On an almost song-by-song basis, from the arena-rock lead-in of opener “Are You Ready?” to the Stevie Wonder-style soul and funk of the penultimate “Live Peacefully,” the record showcases a multifaceted personality on the part of the Oslo-based trio. There are some commonalities, of course — the earlier “Harmony Turns to Sound” is plenty funky as well — but mostly what ties together Friendship‘s work is the underlying songwriting prowess, and whether it’s the boogie shuffle and build of “Gypsy,” or the eight-track ready sunshiny brightness of “Got Me Feeling So Good,” the Hammond-laced post-Graveyard melancholy of “Moments,” or the ultra-vibrant mega-fuzz start-stop of “Fire,” which follows, that sense of craft holds firm even through the blowout blues of “Alaska Night” in headphone-worthy sonic nuance, mindful performances and an earthy production that allows the band to maximize their scope while remaining consistent in overarching sound and tone.

Friendship made their debut in 2012 with the Alpha Male EP and followed with a 2014 self-titled long-player that Kozmik Artifactz picked up in 2016. For Ain’t No Shame, the lineup of drummer/vocalist Fredrik Skalstad, guitarist FRIENDSHIP GYPSYSander Eriksen Nordahl and bassist Martin Morland returned to work in conjunction with engineer Christian Engfelt (also Elephant9 and many others across a wide swath of genres), and the fruit of that labor can be heard in the confidence with which the 10-track/41-minute LP pulls off its various sonic turns. I wouldn’t call the album linear exactly — it does seem more interested in jumping from place to place in terms of style rather than digging into a single overarching groove and riding it out for the duration; nothing against either approach when it works — but it does find common groun through its sense of structure and while brimming with variety nonetheless retains a human core of performance beneath that plays up not only a classic feel but cohesion behind even that of hook-making or choice-level chorus execution.

What does that mean? It means the chops are in place, but as you dig into the track premiere for “Gypsy” below which I’m thrilled to be hosting today, don’t necessarily expect the track to speak for the entirety of what Ain’t No Shame brings to bear on an aesthetic level. Do, however, expect a damn good time.

Please find “Gypsy” on the player here, followed by some discussion from the band about the track and the long-player from whence it comes, which again is out soon on Kozmik Artifactz:

Friendship, “Gypsy” official track premiere

Friendship on “Gypsy” and Ain’t No Shame:

Gypsy is a rock tune with a riff that gave associations to a dude who rides alongside railroad tracks, and the lyrics pretty much came after that. The song is about a guy who lives his life on the road looking for love. The band worked a bit to get the riff to sound tight and we are happy with the way it turned out on tape. We included bongo drums in the main riff to recreate the association the riff gave when it first was made on an acoustic guitar in Fredrik’s living room. Sander came up with the riff for the chorus and the rest of the song came together through a collaboration in the rehearsal room. Gypsy is the first taste of a new album from Friendship that sounds like rock and good vibes!

‘Ain’t No Shame’ is an album consisting of ten songs with various feels, grooves and stories. Hence the name, Ain’t No Shame. There are songs inspired by country tunes from bands like The Band and Dylan from his Nashville Skyline period to hard, heavy and slow Sabbath-feel songs. Where we wanted the song to sound like a soul song we went all out; four horns, a Hammond organ, crazy percussion and an extremely talented female singer. The album sounds like Friendship in 2018. Many of the groovy riffs and energetic rhythms from the debut album are present, only performed better. The sound is also more defined and has a higher level of quality. We used a great studio with an amazing technician, Christian Engfelt, who also mixed the record.

We are extremely excited to show the record to everyone. It sounds surprising, sexy and superb!

Friendship is:
Fredrik Skalstad – drums and vocals
Martin Morland – bass
Sander Eriksen Nordahl – guitar

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