FLOCK is Hey Elbow’s immersive exploration of collective creation—an album that exists at the intersection of ambient soundscapes and jazz-inflected improvisation.
Artist: Hey Elbow
Album: FLOCK
Get the vinyl: https://adrian-recordings.myshopify.com/products/hey-elbow-flock-blue-transparent-vinyl
Bandcamp: https://heyelbow.bandcamp.com/album/flock
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/6Z3gArtv4rBjov952UhKNu?si=JMaU0Xd7Q4eRA93UIUIP4g
Tidal: https://tidal.com/album/490731515/u
File Under: Ambient • Drone • Improvisation • Jazz • Electronic • Choir
ABOUT THE ALBUM
FLOCK is Hey Elbow’s immersive exploration of collective creation—an album that exists at the intersection of ambient soundscapes and jazz-inflected improvisation. Originating as a multidisciplinary live project, FLOCK began with an open collaboration between three musicians, three dancers, and a set designer. Each participant entered the process not as an interpreter, but as a co-creator, shaping the work through shared presence, movement, and responsiveness.
From this collaborative environment, the music was refined and distilled into a recorded album that carries the imprint of bodies in motion, spatial awareness, and human interaction. At its core, FLOCK is rooted in improvisation as a practice of deep listening and trust. The album reflects on how individuality functions within a group: when to assert one’s own voice, and when to yield to the collective flow.
Hey Elbow will perform the album live at the INTONAL festival in Malmö the 24th of April, not to repeat a composition, but to reassemble it in light of the moment. Sound moves not to finish but to open.
Artwork: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/gdpwo6je3ye7kjpbo1do9/HEY-ELBOW-FLOCK-ALBUM-COVER-FRONT.jpg?rlkey=uk6xwst0ykhjy3hciu31hmd0o&dl=0
Design: Will Ek Uvelius
Through specially composed material and open musical structures, Hey Elbow allows each musician’s personal expression to surface while remaining guided by the ensemble as a whole. Ambient textures, spacious electronics, subtle rhythmic shifts, and jazz-inspired interplay coexist in a sound world that is fluid, patient, and attentive. Silence, pulse, and timbre are treated as equal elements—mirroring the dynamics of bodies navigating shared space.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Formed in 2013, Hey Elbow consists of:
Ellen Pettersson – horns, electronics, synths
Julia Ringdahl – vocals, guitar
Liam Amner – drums
With approximately 150 concerts worldwide and three previous releases — Every Other (2015), C0C0C0 (2018), and We Three (2020) — the trio has steadily refined a distinct and exploratory musical voice. FLOCK, their fourth full-length album, stands as their most conceptually unified work to date: an ambient-jazz-drone release shaped by collaboration, curiosity, and the delicate balance between leading and following.
