For a while, there was a house on the outskirts of Copenhagen.
Hidden behind overgrown vines and filled with decades of forgotten objects, artworks and stories, it served as a temporary refuge for artists, dreamers and people caught between chapters of their lives. Since the 1980s, generations of collectives had passed through its rooms, each leaving traces of themselves behind. What emerged over the years was more than a building: it became a living archive of friendships, traditions, creative exchanges and shared histories.
When Belgian-Dutch songwriter Elis Floreen moved into the house in 2020, she unknowingly stepped into the story that would shape her debut album.
Written during her years in Copenhagen and inspired by the now-demolished artists' collective she called home, ‘The House’ is a tribute to a place that no longer exists and the community that once flourished within its walls. As the songs gradually took shape, Floreen found herself documenting not only a building, but an entire ecosystem of people, memories and encounters that might otherwise have disappeared with it.
At its heart, ‘The House’ explores what it means to find home in other people rather than in a place. Through vivid, often surreal storytelling, Floreen celebrates the personal folklore that surrounds us: the rituals, habits, characters and shared histories that quietly shape our lives. Across the album, moments that might seem ordinary at first glance take on a mythic quality, while fleeting encounters leave lasting marks.
"There was always a sense that the house belonged to everyone who had ever lived there," says Floreen. "When it disappeared, I realised I wasn't grieving the building itself, but the world that existed inside it."
That feeling resonates throughout the record. Characters drift in and out of songs, humour coexists with melancholy, and wonder sits comfortably alongside loss. Rather than mourning what has vanished, ‘The House’ celebrates the fragile beauty of temporary places and the communities that emerge around them.
To bring these stories to life, Floreen collaborated with producers Jo Francken and Pieterjan Maertens, known internationally for their work with Belgian artist Tamino. Together, they shaped the songs into a richly detailed sonic landscape where acoustic instruments intertwine with subtle electronic textures, orchestral arrangements and unexpected sonic colours. Children's voices, layered harmonies and a diverse cast of collaborators create a musical world that feels as vibrant, unpredictable and interconnected as the house that inspired it.
Drawing inspiration from songwriters and musical storytellers such as Paul Simon, Kate Bush and Aldous Harding, Floreen combines adventurous songwriting with emotional immediacy. The result is an album that feels both intimate and expansive: rooted in lived experience, yet reaching beyond autobiography towards something universal.
A finalist in Belgium's De Nieuwe Lichting and a graduate of Copenhagen's Rhythmic Music Conservatory, Floreen has spent recent years developing a distinctive artistic voice between Belgium and Denmark. With ‘The House’, she introduces that voice in full: curious, compassionate and deeply attentive to the stories people leave behind.