18 September 2026

ZENON – Syn (2026, LP/CDR, Sekvens Records)

RELEASE INFO:

Label: Sekvens Records

Format: LP, Album, Limited Edition, Black Vinyl, 200 copies

Format: CDR, Album, 50 copies

Release Date: 4 Sep 2026

Filip Zenon Ramberg returns with another chapter in his very personal musical journey, but this time the landscape feels softer, dreamier and perhaps a little more open to the light. After the darker, heavier and more adventurous psychedelic/progressive terrain of “Arven” (2023)[REVIEW], “Syn” moves towards a more delicate meeting point between psychedelic rock, folk, jazz and dreamy pop, without losing that strange, slightly otherworldly character that makes Zenon instantly recognizable. The title itself, “Syn” — meaning “vision” — feels perfectly chosen for an album built around six kaleidoscopic songs where electric and acoustic guitars, open tunings, jazzy drums, piano and synthesizers create a constantly shifting scenery. There is a strong sense of wandering through a half-awake dream, where folkish intimacy can suddenly meet psychedelic textures and subtle jazz movements. “Syn” is produced by Per Christian Berg. Filip Zenon Ramberg is on guitars, drums, piano, and synthesizers; Michelle Uller on vocals; and Martin van Houtum on bass.

The journey begins with “La meg bli”, a slow and soft opener where sweet female vocals in Norwegian immediately establish a mysterious atmosphere. There is something strangely elusive in the music, a kind of psych-a-something folkie motive that never fully reveals its intentions, floating gently beneath the voice. “Skyggen” brings a little more light into the picture, with a happier, more rhythmic pulse, a cool melody and another lovely vocal performance, while the electric guitar adds an interesting edge. This is where Zenon gets closer to the Poppy side of Psych, and in my mind there is even a faint resemblance to a let-loose, more psychedelic version of The Cranberries. With “Så et bilde”, the mood turns inward again, unfolding as a melancholic ballad beneath a strange trip-hop-psych soundscape. The female vocals carry plenty of emotional weight here, while folkie and jazzy colours quietly intertwine around them, creating a beautifully uneasy atmosphere. “I dans med sol og måne” is the album’s longest journey, opening with dreamy female vocals over a slow acoustic folkie background before gradually transforming into a full dream-a-delic scenery. It is relaxing, spacious and beautifully slow-moving, a piece of dreamy pop-psych that takes its time to breathe, eventually reaching a darker and more experimental electric ending without abandoning its folkie-poppy path. “Det eldste språket” returns to a slower acoustic environment, with wondrous female singing surrounded by a delicate blend of Pop, Folk and Trip-Hop, once again drenched in melancholy. As the track progresses, the psychedelic element slowly creeps closer, especially towards the end, where the interesting electric guitar sound gives the otherwise gentle landscape a more mysterious dimension. Finally, “Minne fra en drøm” keeps the same soft, slow, and lyrical folkie-poppy atmosphere, but moves a little closer to Folk-Psych. The emotional, bittersweet female vocals alternate with female narration, giving the song an almost intimate storytelling quality, as if we are listening to a fragment of a half-remembered dream.

“Syn” is not simply another step after “Arven”; it feels more like opening another door into the same personal universe — a gentler, more melodic and dreamy vision, but still unmistakably Zenon. It is an album for slow listening, for drifting rather than rushing, and Michelle Uller’s voice becomes the perfect guide through these hazy, bittersweet visions. A gentle but genuinely Musical journey — one that reveals its colours little by little… TimeLord Michalis