Ultraflex, the project of Norwegian artist Farao and Icelandic artist Special K, are back with a slinky, hooky electropop song ‘Baby‘. Its entwined featherlight vocals alternate from spoken word whisper to intoxicating melodies that urge you to live in that moment on a night out and examine the bonds of fleeting and more long term relationships. It sounds a bit like Pet Shop Boys mingling on the dancefloor with Annie, which is a very good thing!
The lyrics in ‘Baby’ liken dancefloor-flirtation to a duel; you have nothing to lose except perhaps your reputation (which is, admittedly, long since lost). The narrator claims not to be afraid – which, honestly, sounds like a lie – however, bravery is not about fearlessness, but as John Wayne put it: “courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway”. Accompanying the song are never-before-seen wedding photos of the band (including a future baby) and a steaming hot music video, straight out of Cairo’s nightlife.
Speaking about the track, the band said:
“Although the song is about romantic endeavours, we realised afterwards that it is also about our artistic collaboration. It emphasises the importance of taking risks (otherwise “you’ve already lost”) and indicates that whatever happens tomorrow, we’ve got each other right now, and that’s what counts – the energy of the moment is worth whatever the future brings, whether it’s happy-ever-after or heartbreak.”
It follows on from their debut album release Visions of Ultraflex in 2020 and recent single ‘Relax‘.
With concert options being limited in the time around Visions of Ultraflex, the band instead prepared a highly visual promo package and sculpted a well-curated yet wild internet presence. Music videos were made to every song on the album, either by the band themselves or in collaboration with other video artists (including a video trilogy in collaboration with OKAY KAYA). This quickly became an important part of Ultraflex’s identity, along with heavily choreographed, stylized and visually interactive concerts.
During the pandemic, Ultraflex performed on Icelandic live Television, as well as playing a sold out show in Reykjavík, doing a live stream for Berlin’s CTM Festival, a commissioned piece for Oslo Classics, screened a short film at Eurosonic and, last but not least, played a packed concert in Cairo. That is where the music video to ‘Baby’ was born.
Ultraflex was elected to be a part of Keychange 2022. Through the organisation they will play at MaMa Festival in Paris and take part in conferences in London and Hamburg this year. They are also booked for Iceland Airwaves and Vienna Waves and are playing in Berlin on April 23rd. Later this year, Ultraflex will also tour in Norway, Germany, England and Iceland.
