For their second album ‘Infinite Wellness’, the Berlin-based Nordic twosome ULTRAFLEX have got naughty.

Kari Jahnsen and Katrín Helga Andrésdóttir first came together in 2020 for a sexy sport and fitness inspired debut long player entitled ‘Visions Of Ultraflex’.

Compared to their debut, the approach to ‘Infinite Wellness’ feature more variations in style while being pop and more experimental simultaneously. There is more of a Mediterranean feel but there are inflections of funk, soul and even jazz, but it is all pushed passed through the ULTRAFLEX filter.

With a dose of ingles, opening song ‘Relax’ is a crystalline and gently funky. salute to Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. ‘Baby’ though the song is about romantic endeavours although it is also all about ULTRAFLEX’s creative chemistry; the end result is a bright and breezy romp with a solid electro-disco backbone.

With jazzier cocktail grooves and “Mascara down your cheeks, Bacardi in your drinks”, ‘Rhodos’ celebrates those favourite sunny destinations such as Mallorca, Ibiza and Rhodes, inspired by their own experiences of avoiding sunburn, binge drinking and laughing at pasty boys with beer bellies.

With a fluent flirtation of body language, ‘Mi Vuoi’ featuring Italian performance artist Kuntessa places steel drums and sax chatter over a clubby trance house setting to display their faux innocence and devious charm. With a more R ’n’ B slant and inspired by Usher’s ‘Climax’, the soulful and moody ‘Melting Away’ is less boisterous and adds ULTRAFLEX’s girly club rap.

With chilled sea air vibes, ‘Ultrasex’ is a provocative play on the duo’s name with the resulting groove, saxophone and ‘wah-wah’ recalling a vintage erotica soundtrack. Meanwhile ‘Under The Spell’ begins with nonchalant spoken words but sparkles as our heroines get seduced.

Closing with the gorgeous sweetness of ‘Run’, the laidback cuteness gets its point across in just 2 minutes.

Balancing out their electronic template with more live elements like drums, saxophone and guitar, ‘Infinite Wellness’ shows development in the ULTRAFLEX sound while continuing with the coy playfulness that made their first album so appealing.

‘Infinite Wellness’ is released by Street Pulse Records as a vinyl LP and download, available from https://ultraflexband.bandcamp.com/album/infinite-wellness-album

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Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photo by Blair Alexander
7th October 2022