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'The Romance of Sir Florimund' is a story of self-fulfillment and finding your way in life as a young adult. It tackles themes of ambition, frustration and the tendency to put insurmountable demands on oneself, but it also deals with joy, fascination and the hope for goodness and love. Love for friends and family, love for oneself, and the search for true romance, or "fin'amor". The story is told in chapters, and it's a sort of cross between an album and a book. It was inspired by, and created through, the legends and stories of king Arthur and the knights of the round table. It's equal parts metaphor and equal parts genuine. Made in honor of the revelation that dawned on me while creating this project, that life can indeed be a fairytale if you allow it to be. Fear is always fear, love is always love. Wether the source of your angst is impeding life choices, or a fierce and dangerous dragon at your castle gates, doesn't really matter. The feelings are just as real and just as dire regardless of the source, and so in a sense, we're all heroic knights in our own stories. Or at least we can be, if we decide to view ourselves that way.

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And so I decided to be just that. And Florimund became a representation of myself, not an alter ego exactly, but a continuation. The only thing that sets us apart is that he exists in a romantic chivalrous legend, whereas I exist here and now. In Florimund's world my strive to find myself became a hunt for the accolade, for knighthood, and the obstacles of my 21st century life metamorphosed into epic adversaries, fiercesome beasts and diabolical marvels. A sense of wonder and even fun, facetious at times, arose from all of this, and I could look at my life differently. I came to understand that I too am part of a story, and my own struggles aren't hopeless or devoid of value. Everything is serious, and yet it's all a comedy at the same time. Wrapping my world in romance and chivalry made me see myself more clearly, and it made me understand that there's valor in.. just living, and being human. Florimund is me, and I am Florimund. And in the end, all that means is.. that I'm just myself. We are epic just as we are, and all the drama, glitter and splendor exist in our lives as well, it just manifests itself in a different way, and if you're observant you can learn to see it.

 

In order to create this piece of work I read many of the of the old medieval arthurian tales to immerse myself in the atmosphere and to find inspiration, and as I was reading these old stories I found myself relating to these characters in an almost symbolic way. These men and women were at times brazen, brutal and larger than life, but they were also kind, just and brave. Fictional, perhaps, but born out of real feelings which made them feel very human and tangible. Sometimes angelic, and other times demonic in their demeanor, these characters were made to illustrate ideas, and I found their simplicity refreshing. They just are, and their defined, yet complex, roles made for powerful tools in the storytelling. I love the layered approach of modern characterization, but it's nice with something different once in a while. Complexity in simplicity can sound contradictory, but it's not. Simplicity in shape can make for integrity in structure. An ornate and beautiful castle can be built out of just bricks, right? Yet every brick in itself is incredibly simple, but together they form a fantastic and detailed whole.

 

And what I personally find so wonderful about the arthurian legends is not that it paints a world without mistakes or suffering, because after all it did still spring out of the cruelty of medieval times, but what I like is that they convey a meaningful ideal that reflects the best in people. The chivalrous concept is an ideal that transcends their own world, showing the world as they wished it to be, not necessarily as it was. Medieval europe rarely looked anything like these mythical stories, but the fact that people of the time were so inclined to create stories where goodness is celebrated and lifted, is something that I find very inspiring. To us today this ideal might seem lacking, but you have to view it through the context of the world in which it was created. In these stories we see a world where no knight kills another without first offering mercy, a world in which doing the right thing is lauded and evil deeds reap no lasting rewards, when the reality outside of the stories was quite often the exact opposite. The stories are more complex than this, of course, and are not devoid of problematic elements and are still ripe with violence, but there's this inherent sense of hope, and a belief that goodness prevails, which I found very compelling. Put into context, they're quite fantastical, and while reading them I could feel the wonder and awe experienced by all of the people who've read these stories through the many hundred years since they were first put to paper. That is unfathomable, and the stories are still just as exciting today as they must've been back when. That's what I love, how the joy, catharsis and sense of adventure penetrates time. It's a mixture of history, fantasy and time-travelling.

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The album was thus crafted within this framework, the translation of my life into an epic and chivalrous romance, and I found the experience to be very powerful. Aside from the theme of the poems, I also looked to traditional music when writing the music and especially when recording the vocals. The album is packed to the brim with references to the original stories, some of them employed in very complex ways (sometimes so layered that I've since forgotten the true extent of them myself, woops) since I wanted to dive deep into the theme and execute it with thought and care. This album and book are the result of that endeavor, and I hope you'll enjoy it, and perhaps it'll raise your interest in the old tales and stories and teach you something new. I implore you to look up words, characters of events mentioned in the songs. Many are of my own making, but most are from, or rooted in, the actual original tales. You'll find there's an entire ocean of lore and wonder to dive into there, and my album is but a love letter to it all. And before anyone asks: Galahad is my favorite character, which is yours?

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All of the song lyrics can be found in the book, which can be purchased through my bandcamp, and the album itself can be found on streaming platforms or bought as a CD, also from bandcamp. Follow the links above on this page, or on my homepage, to make your purchase. Below you can find the music videos I made for the album, as well as a slideshow of pictures associated with it.

 

And to whoever out there who reading this right now: I want to say thank you. Thank you for taking the time, and thank you for caring. Not just about my work, but about art in general, and about depth. I could've shrunk this text to a simple paragraph or two, and you could've decided not to read it, but here we are. And if you've read all of it: good! Don't be afraid to immerse yourself in things, it's in the innermost spaces that the treasures reside. That's why I created such a massive album, to challenge the notion that stories have to be compressed. Stories don't need to be small and easy to digest, they can be sprawling, intricate and beautiful, even convoluted and chaotic at times. If you decide to listen to the album, or buy the book, all I want to say is that you have my blessing to feel any and everything. You're allowed to cry, feel the rapture or just laugh at how absurd some of the songs are. You're even allowed to despise it and be annoyed at its flaws. Perhaps it won't speak to you at all, or perhaps you'll find it very unique and precious. All I know is that it's precious to me, and that if it's been so meaningful to me, then perhaps it can be precious to someone else as well. When I started working on it I didn't think I'd be able to finish it before I'd grown as a person, but in the end it was through making this project that I found myself. Strange, isn't it? Sometimes we just need to cut through the fear and bee on our way, lest we'll remain in the very same place at the end of the day.

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But I digress: Now, let me close this tremendously long text by saying: The art speaks for itself, in the end it truly does. But perhaps my ponderings could nuance the experience a little bit and immortalise my twenty three year old self (who I might come to look back on with wonder, or annoyance, maybe a bit of both. Time will tell. So: Hello there my future self, do you still agree with everything written here? Why don't you send me an intradimensional letter and let me know what you think). Hah! Well, I better be off now, cause great love awaits, and I've no intention of staying in place.

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(If you do listen to the entire album, all 24 songs, then please do write and tell me. I'd love to know. You can always send me an e-mail at alexanderlejonriddare@gmail.com. It would make my day)

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Well wishes, and good tidings to you.

~ Alexander