After a 17 month break from releasing music, La Fleur’s Power Plant imprint begins 2019 with conviction, as the label boss delivers an outstanding two-track work.
A passion project since 2010 for the Swedish artist, Power Plant has allowed Sanna La Fleur Engdahl a chance to explore her artistic passions, free from any creative constraints.
She begun the Power Plant ‘Elements’ fashion line in 2016, collaborating with designer Stacey DeVoe to create a collection focusing on androgynous design and geometric cuts. While her passion for the visual arts has seen her source talented painters and illustrators for the label’s cover slicks, including Olaf Hajek, Hans Arnold and Dan Hillier, a process she revels in. In 2012 she would curate and exhibit Arnold’s work at a gallery in Stockholm as part of the record release party for her ‘Eavesdropper’ EP.
Maintaining her connection with her Nordic roots, La Fleur secured the talents of respected Swedish-French designer David Karcenti to create the cover for her latest EP, ‘Aphelion’, after the artist first worked with Power Plant during its conception, designing the original logo. His beautiful sleek design grounded with nature makes a perfect accompaniment to La Fleur’s original work.
Refusing to put any deadline to her creative process, the ‘Aphelion’ EP as we know it begun to take form towards the end of 2017. “I wanted to take a step back and really think about what I wanted to do with the label and allow the project to take shape naturally, so it took some time,” she says.
The stirring ‘Hunting Grounds’ was birthed first, a brilliant masterclass of groove-drenched dynamics brimming with personality and spirit, characterised by a vocoded vox stabs and a killer synth line, that already saw it highlight her sets for Cercle and last year’s acclaimed Essential Mix. Always one to conjure a visual aesthetic to match her musical expression, she says: “I wanted to create an atmosphere of being in the wilderness and evoke a sense of open space.”
‘Aphelion’s’ foundations are built on deftly crafted drums, before the Swede’s distinct flair for melody sees sublime chords fill the space. “Aphelion is the point in the orbit when the planet is the farthest from the sun, so I wanted to give this an otherworldly vibe with the chords and the melody loop.”
After a brief hiatus last year, La Fleur is buoyed by the plans set for the label in 2019. “I’m excited to begin a new era for Power Plant, focusing on fresh artists and label events and deeper sound explorations. There are no limits or boundaries!”