– The atmosphere is quite dark, Paal says. – I think the new record takes the pulse of the times we are in. The corona period has given me time to think about experiences I´ve dealt with in recent years, and much of it has been sad. So it´s a slightly personal record, also for Gøran. We work very close, and one of the ambitions on this particular album was to try to make it stand out more from earlier releases, and take the interpretations one step further.

There is no getting away from the fact that Flaata´s records are full of dark and sad song, depicting endless heartache, betrayal and disappointment. He himself says he is more or less automatically drawn to minor-keyed melodies with sad lyrics.

Nevertheless, the name of the album is positively titled “New Green Grass Will Grow”, and will be released October 21th. It contains eight new recordings in addition to three short instrumental tracks that tie them together. The two original songs were written by Paal and Gøran, while the rest of the album consists of cover songs.

For the most part, his career has evolved around interpreting other people´s songs. Flaata has chosen music from the top shelf of music history. In the years 2012 to 2016, Paal has recorded three records dedicated to three songwriters he is particularly fond of: Chip Taylor, Mickey Newbury and Townes Van Zandt. He has also recorded immortal songs by Jimmy Webb, Josh Haden, Elvis Costello, Kris Kristofferson, Ewan MacColl and several others.

– I have never had such great ambitions to write my own songs. It´s a different field, says Paal and points out that he has great respect for those who master the songwriting profession.

Together with the multi-instrumentalists Gøran Grini and Freddy Holm and the drummer Glenn Vidar Solheim, Paal adds even more well-known and lesser-known songs to his already extensive repertoire, among these are Randy Newman´s “I Think It´s Going To Rain Today” and Jacques Brel´s “If You Go Away”. Paal´s interpretations help to define a personal, separate universe.

The more you recognize yourself in the lyrics, the better it is. We are people who feel and smell and see, and it is important to use what you have in you, which you can recognize yourself and which others can recognize, Paal says