Juniper is the first solo project of Finnish saxophonist Linda Fredriksson. Following rawer escapades like Mopo and Superposition, among others, Juniper (2021) has a more subdued sound. To heighten the atmosphere of a living-room album, it was built around noisy LoFi, at-home demos that were basically composed on an acoustic guitar. The recording with a complete band took place in two different studios, three houses, two summer cabins and four work areas. Sometimes with the aid of professional studio equipment, sometimes with no more than an iPhone microphone. Although Fredriksson does the vocals for only one song, (Lempilauluni), Juniper does have a strong singer-songwriter-album feel, influenced by artists ranging from jazz heroes like Eric Dolphy and Pharoah Sanders to Neil Young, Feist and Sufjan Stevens. According to leading British magazine Uncut the result is: “Intimate indie-folk, with stunning results.”
