Album

The World I Remember is the sixth full-length album by Lights & Motion.

“The writing of this album started off when I decided to get one of my old guitars down from the attic. In a way it was like meeting a very old friend that I had lost touch with, and it just felt really good, like there were songs to be discovered. The very first day with it I wrote ‘The World I Remember’, which eventually became the title track of the album, and the foundation on which everything else was built on. That was in December 2020 in the middle of the pandemic. I found myself reflecting a lot on where I’d come from musically and creatively. I found myself re-discovering the beauty and possibilities of the guitar, and it made me excited and connected with the younger me. Every song on this record (except one) was composed on that electric guitar. In limiting myself to writing on one instrument, a whole world opened up; I was able to spend weeks on creating beautiful guitar-tones and sounds that I’ve never used before. And the songs just started to flow from there. The production and mixing of the album took months and months of not giving up before it sounded just the way I imagined it in my mind. Mixing is just as much of a creative expression as the writing itself. That’s why I’ve never hired an outside producer or mixer for any of my albums, because it would diminish my vision for what I would like an album to be; a constant process of discovery,” says Franzen.

Franzen continues, “There are both light and shade on this album, both uplifting and melancholic. ‘Panic Attack’ is one of the darkest songs I’ve ever written, and at the same time one of the most personal. Songs like ‘Sleeping Giant’ and ‘Touching Sky’ are on the other hand very uplifting and hopefully gets your pulse up. ‘Wilderness’ is almost an acoustic track that has become one of my own favorites of the album featuring the highest vocal I’ve ever attempted. I think it’s poetic that the two singles I am releasing are the first song I wrote for this album (the title track) and the very last one ‘From Dust.’ The album title is in reference to my headspace at the time of writing it; looking at the state of the world and also reflecting on my own life and the passage of time. No matter how much we try to slow it down or hold on to it, it keeps on moving forward…and the world moves along with it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed creating it.”

‘The World I Remember‘ was produced, recorded and mixed by Christoffer Franzen at Studio Evelyn in Gothenburg. Mastered by Dave Cooley at Elysian Masters in Los Angeles (M83, Paramore, Serge Gainsbourg). Additional backing vocals by Adna Kadic. Strings on “The First Day” by Conny Lindgren and Mattias Bylund. Album artwork by Luke Stackpoole. “From Dust” performance video by cinematographer Fredrik Sellergen.

The Great Wide Open (Reimagined)

The Great Wide Open (Reimagined) is a mini-album consisting of brand new versions and arrangements of songs taken from the its predecessor, The Great Wide Open. These songs have been completely reimagined and recorded in such a way that they are very different from the original versions.

“When you’re writing music you go through so many different stages and iterations off a song, before you arrive at what will be the final version that you then present to the world. There are always many layers and versions that only you, as the creator, will ever hear. After I had finished writing and producing my latest album ‘The Great Wide Open’, the songs stayed with me even though the record was released, and I kept hearing the potential of doing completely different arrangements for them. In the following months, I began stripping them down to the bare bones to see If I could re-build them in a new and exciting way. A piece of music can be so many things, and in this re-imagining process I felt very inspired, as if the songs were asking to be looked at in a different light as well. Needless to say, it was fun to create these songs anew, and I’ve therefore decided to call this collection ”The Great Wide Open – Reimagined.” I chose to deconstruct six songs from my most recent full-length album and then focused in on the essence of each song. These are not simply re-mixed; they are brand new recordings. The original recording of ‘Wolves’ is very high energy featuring lots of electric guitars, bass and drums. The new ‘Wolves – Reimagined’ ‘arrangement is almost entirely orchestral and acoustic which has a completely different emotional feel from the original version. ‘Separated Hearts – Reimagined’ is a beautiful ambient piece of music that ebbs-and-flows, going in reverse. ‘A Speck Of Light’ was another big song that I re-recorded with a very intimate piano, a solo-cello and a whole bunch of synthesizers creating ‘A Speck Of Light – Reimagined,” says Christoffer Franzen.

The Great Wide Open (Reimagined) was produced, recorded and mixed by Christoffer Franzen, and released on Deep Elm Records.

The Great Wide Open

The new full-length album from Lights & Motion is called The Great Wide Open. 

“It’s been more then three years since Lights & Motion last released a full-length album. And that’s been on purpose because I felt like I didn’t want to rush this writing process. I wanted to spread it out over a long period of time and really let it bloom organically, allowing myself to see where these songs would take me without putting a deadline on it. I found myself daydreaming about being away at different places, seeing new parts of the world and making up stories in my head…and trying my best to achieve that through music. Good music has always had the ability to transport me to other places, and that is how I have lived much of my inner life. I wanted to build a rich world of sounds, lights and colors that maybe could have that same effect on other people too, as an escape from their everyday life. Very early on in the process I decided that this album would be called ‘The Great Wide Open’ and I tailored my creative process to sit on top of those four words, which for me, have such an imaginative power not only physically, but spiritually too. I was looking for an escape too, and I found refuge in creating these songs that act as snapshots of time and place. As we’ve just left a decade behind us, I look back on it and it’s been such a blur of amazing experiences and creativity. It was the decade where I finally found the courage to write and release the kind of music that I always wanted to create. As well, it’s had its personal highs and lows. It’s therefore fitting that I begin this new decade by releasing an album filled with songs that have becoming very near and dear to me, and that I hope will take on a life of their own now that they’re getting ready to leave the solitude of my studio,” says Franzen.

Franzen continues, “At the end of the day we are all just trying to connect, and that’s really what this record is all about for me. My biggest hope and ambition is that you will listen to this and find yourself discovering new places, even if you’re still lying at home in your bed or taking a walk around your neighborhood. There is a quote from Peter Pan that I keep returning to in periods of self-doubt and that really resonates with me, which goes, ‘The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease for ever to be able to do it.’ So take flight, whatever that means to you. The images you receive from music will definitely be different from the ones I receive, and that is a wonderful thing because our experiences are our own. I feel really grateful to have had the chance to write another long-form collection of songs, and now we arrive at the part which I enjoy the most; sharing them with the world.”

The Great Wide Open was produced, recorded and mixed by Christoffer Franzen at Studio Evelyn in Gothenburg. Mastered by Dave Cooley at Elysian Masters in Los Angeles.

While We Dream 

This mini-album from Lights & Motion is called While We Dream, and was released on October 26, consisting of 6 songs.

 “I wanted to explore the abstract concept of dreaming, and how that might sound for me. I have always been very interested in what happens when we dream, and this was a very creative way for me to get into that mindset”

Produced and Mixed by Lights & Motion. Mastered at Elysian Masters in Los Angeles.

Bloom

This mini-album from Lights & Motion is called Bloom, and was released on February 2, consisting of 5 songs.

 “I wrote this mainly during two very long and dark Swedish winters, where I found myself really longing for spring and the changing of seasons.”

Produced and Mixed by Lights & Motion. Mastered at Elysian Masters in Los Angeles.