Swedish DJ and producer La Fleur, aka Sanna Engdahl, has been a leading figure in the electronic music world for more than a decade, both through her Power Plant label and performances at the likes of Awakenings, Creamfields, Sonar, Amnesia Ibiza, fabric, Watergate and Printworks London.
Remarkably, despite it now being 14 years since the release that established her career – 2010’s Flowerhead – she had yet to release a full-length album, a situation that has been rectified with the release of Väsen, on [PIAS] Électronique, her debut long-player. Check it out here.
The release of the nine-track album (the Detroit-tinged Your Move is our favourite) also marks La Fleur’s return to music after a self-imposed hiatus, in which she utilised her Masters in Pharmaceutical Science during the pandemic, working as head of operations for pharmaceutical services at emergency hospitals in Stockholm.
Commenting on the release, La Fleur said, “I’ve always drawn inspiration not only from music, but from changing elements in my life. It’s only now I feel these tracks are ready for the world to hear.”
909originals caught up with her.
Hi Sanna, thanks for talking to us. Let’s start with the new album, Väsen. What inspired you to break your three-year musical silence and work on the project?
The album project has been ongoing for the last three years, and the first draft to my album was ready in 2020, but when the pandemic hit it didn’t feel right to release. Then I moved back to Stockholm after almost 14 years in Berlin.
I let myself reset and rest from many years of intense touring. I spent weekends with my daughter and ultimately rejuvenated my career as a pharmacist, working as head of operations for pharmaceutical services in the emergency hospitals in Stockholm.
The three-year musical silence wasn’t exactly intentional, it just happened and in my head, heart and studio, music was produced and ever present but I just had to find myself in my sound again for it to feel right to release and let anyone else hear it. We have a saying in Sweden; den som väntar på något gott, väntar aldrig för länge, which translates to ‘the one who waits for something good, never waits too long’.
Some of the track titles on the new album seem like chapters in a book, or questions you are asking yourself – Your Move, Free My Mind, Stay With Me, All I Ever Wanted. Is there an autobiographical element to the album?
Yes definitely, each track on their own tells a story, while together, they also tell another longer story. They are coming from within.
However, I also think many can relate to the titles you mention because we all have been there one way or another, I am curious to hear what people will find within themselves when listening to them.
The title, Väsen, translates to ‘essence’. How does this title encapsulate the album’s themes?
Väsen means ‘essence’ or ‘being’ but also ‘noise’ in Swedish. And this is what this album is about, me as a being in my essence, making some noise. I would say all the tracks are essential noise to me, coming from within, ha ha.
Let’s rewind back a couple of years, and your decision to go back to Sweden and the medical profession. Was that a difficult choice to make?
Even if I used to say Berlin was my longest sustainable love affair, I felt I had been there, done that and was longing to move back to Sweden.
It’s the same as when I moved to Berlin; I wanted a change of scenery. I decided to move for three months, but instantly when I had moved back to Stockholm, I felt it was the right choice. Picking up the pharmacy profession, however, I wasn’t planning on, but I got asked to help at the hospitals during the pandemic and it all happened very naturally as well.
Power Plant is 14 years old this year. How has your approach with the label changed from when you founded it?
Time flies when you’re having fun! Power Plant really has grown by my side. Starting out as a vinyl only label, me doing my own distribution to record stores, growing and releasing music and remixes by some amazing artists such as Ian Pooley, Chloé Caillet andJordan Peak among others.
It has always been a platform for me to express myself freely musically and visually. New music is coming soon on the label – excited to share that with you soon!
The label has always had a strong visual element. What illustrators do you work with, and how does their work reflect the music therein?
I’ve worked with Olaf Hajek, Hans Arnold, Dan Hillier to name a few, and their art has always been a complement of telling the story with the music.
I’ve also had exhibitions in connection to releases and I loved that part of the creative breeding ground Power Plant has been for me.
It was arguably 2010’s Flowerhead that established you as a producer – and gave you the ‘La Fleur’ name, is that correct?
No, I was born Sanna La Fleur Engdahl. La Fleur is an old family name, going back to the 1750s when my ancestor was taken as a slave from North Africa, through France and ended up in Sweden, working for the Royal family.
So, La Fleur has been there from the very beginning, and always felt like it was my artist name.
What other releases from your archive have been significant for you?
My track and collaboration with Sasha, Förbindelse, was also a great deal and felt important to me.
But besides that, even though I’ve had some high-profile releases on remarkable labels such as Cocoon, Watergate, Truesoul and Kompakt, the releases and tracks that have been of utmost importance and significant to me have been the ones I’ve released on Power Plant, my own record label.
Power Plant has, for me, always been where I’ve been able to shine and be free as a producer and A&R, to regain the independence of curation and selection, for my own stuff but also releasing music coming from other artists.
What role does meditation and mindfulness play in your creative process and life as an artist?
It’s something I exercise on a daily basis. It gives me space, it keeps me present and helps me focus on the right things and listen to my intuition.
Being surrounded by nature, close to family and my daughter, is the ultimate inspiration and source of a healthy balance in a life that oftentimes takes me to borderline mental and physical situations and constraints.
I don’t need to sit on a mat to meditate, I’ll just go outside, into the woods, and listen to the trees.
How do you navigate the balance between artistic integrity and commercial success in today’s music industry?
I’ve never compromised on quality in order to reach commercial success. Without glorifying myself, it’s just never been my intention from the beginning of it all to become a major commercial success.
Yes, of course, if in the end it is making big money, that’s a welcoming and rewarding bonus of years of hard work that starts with being true to yourself and what you believe in as an artist.
What does the rest of the year have in store for you?
Releasing my first album is something that’s been on my mind since I started as a DJ and producer, and now I am finally here. Sometimes good things take time, and they are ready when it’s time. I couldn’t be happier to finally have arrived here.
There will be some amazing remixes coming out as well – this year is all about the music.
La Fleur ‘Väsen’ is out now on [PIAS] Électronique. Get it here.
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