Frode Strømstads is the force behind Norwegian group I Was A King, whose self-titled second album, released by Control Group in 2009, featured guest appearances by Sufjan Stevens, Daniel Smith, and Gary Olson.
For this issue’s CD, Esopus invited 12 musical acts to create a song inspired by an artist of their choice. Inspiration could be drawn from any part of the given artist’s oeuvre, life, and/or legacy; the only rule was that the song be named after the artist in question. Despite spanning different musical genres and subjects ranging from the 16th-century sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini to young Brooklyn painter Esao Andrews, all of the songs on Esopus 14: Artists cohere beautifully, providing dynamic new interpretations of the selected artists, their lives, and their work.