Formation
In early 1993, guitarist and singer Roine Stolt had written material for his third solo album The Flower King and sought for musicians to perform it. He had wanted to release a progressive rock-style album for a while and felt the time was right to pursue the project. The album features Stolt on vocals, guitar, bass and keyboards, Jaime Salazar on drums, and Hasse Fröberg on vocals, and was recorded in Sweden between May 1993 and January 1994.
In preparation for Stolt's concert tour to support the album's release, Stolt, Salazar, and Fröberg were joined by Stolt's brother Michael on bass and Tomas Bodin on keyboards. The five performed their first gig on 20 August 1994 at an outdoor festival in Uppsala, Stolt's hometown and the city where The Flower King was recorded. After they decided to become a full time band, they officially adopted the name The Flower Kings, named after Stolt's album. Stolt had produced a list of potential titles for the record, one of which was "The Flower King", and chose it because of its positive meaning and its reference to the hippie era of the 1960s.
Activity
After performing a series of concerts through 1994, the band entered the studio in December 1994 to record their debut album, Back in the World of Adventures. The recording process was gradual, finishing in September 1995.
In 2000, Michael Stolt was replaced by Jonas Reingold. Two years later, Salazar was replaced by Zoltan Csörsz. Daniel Gildenlöw of Pain of Salvation joined the band the same year as a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist.
Other contributors have included Hasse Bruniusson (percussion) and Ulf Wallander (saxophone).
Stolt has written the vast majority of the material the band has recorded, with Bodin contributing most of the rest. The music is best described as symphonic progressive rock, bearing a strong resemblance to the music of Yes, King Crimson, Gentle Giant, and early Genesis, with jazz fusion and blues influences. The band's lyrics are almost uniformly positive and uplifting, affirming such values as love, peace, and spirituality, and furthering their association with Yes.
Their 1999 album Flower Power contains the eighteen-section, almost 60-minute "Garden of Dreams".
In June 2007, they released The Road Back Home, a compilation of remixed songs from 1994 to 2006, plus "Little Deceiver" (a previously unreleased track) and the full version of their cover of "The Cinema Show" by Genesis.
Zoltan Csörsz was replaced by new drummer Marcus Liliequist for one album, but returned for the 2007 album, The Sum of No Evil. He was subsequently replaced by Erik Hammarström in 2008.
In 2008, Ola Heden, previously of Reingold's side project Karmakanic, joined on guitar, vocals and keyboards.
In November 2008, the band were the opening act of the Ecco Prog Fest in Moscow.
After touring in 2008, The Flower Kings were inactive for four years. Stolt felt the band had varied levels of focus in their direction and had started to feel lost. They reunited in 2011 to work on new material after Stolt felt it was the right time and sensed eagerness from the other members to work together. This marked the arrival of German drummer Felix Lehrmann. Banks of Eden, the group's eleventh album, was released in June 2012 and was recorded with analogue recording techniques and styles reminiscent of the height of vinyl records. This was followed by Desolation Rose in October 2013.
The line up of Stolt, Bodin, Reingold, Fröberg and Lehrmann played together for the last time in 2015. 2016 and 2017 saw the bandmembers busy with other engagements.
In December 2017, the first part of a career-spanning box set titled A Kingdom of Colours was released. This first box, with 10 discs, covers the period from 1995 to 2002 and includes the studio albums from Back in the World of Adventures to Unfold the Future. The second box set, titled A Kingdom of Colours 2 and covering the albums Adam & Eve through to Desolation Rose, was released in June 2018.
In September 2018, Stolt announced a new album named Manifesto of an Alchemist. The album did not feature long-time keyboardist Tomas Bodin, and as such it is credited to "Roine Stolt's The Flower King" rather than "The Flower Kings"
In August the same year Roine Stolt presented a new band called "Roine Stolt and friends play The Flower Kings". The band featured Stolt, Fröberg and Reingold with new keyboard player Zach Kamins and new drummer Mirko De Maio. Roine Stolt stated that he was done being in a group and wanted to tour as a solo artist like Roger Waters or Steven Wilson. Tomas Bodin was not a part of this group and made his displeasure quite public. The band toured with Spock’s Beard in November and December 2018 and continued to do shows in 2019, this time under the name "The Flower Kings Revisited".
In July 2019, "Revisited" was removed from the band name, making it clear that this line up was now "The Flower Kings". The band went on to release the double albums Waiting for Miracles in 2019 and Islands in 2020, the latter having been recorded entirely remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On 24 March 2021, Roine Stolt announced two big projects. The Flower Kings are working on a brand new album "in the same innocence" of Stardust We Are. On 19 April 2021, Roine officially teases that Stardust We Are is getting a brand new vinyl remaster.
On April 8th 2022, InsideOut and Roine Stolt announced that Back in the World of Adventures and Retropolis were getting "remastered and partly remixed". The release date for both was placed on May 27th 2022. Also Stardust We Are and Flower Power are getting remixes and remastered in June.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flower_Kings
Studio albums
The Flower King (1994)
Back in the World of Adventures (1995)
Retropolis (1996)
Stardust We Are (1997)
Flower Power (1999)
Space Revolver (2000)
The Rainmaker (2001)
Unfold the Future (2002)
Adam & Eve (2004)
Paradox Hotel (2006)
The Sum of No Evil (2007)
Banks of Eden (2012)
Desolation Rose (2013)
Manifesto of an Alchemist (2018)
Waiting for Miracles (2019)
Islands (2020)
By Royal Decree (2022)
Monkey Business
The Flower Kings Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I've built a new house – that touch the sky
I'm not a monkey anymore
I've straightened my back and that's a fact
Keep my eye on a new horizon
where sex and violence is my sugar and spice
I'm not a loser anymore
I'm not a loser anymore
my hands on the wheel, all dressed in steel
Keep my mind on a higher ground
while the primal instincts are going down
Looking at all God's creatures
I'm not the brightest one
One in an angry crowd
come down to wave the gun
I'm not a fighter anymore
I'm business hype and I need to score
I'm not a fighter anymore
Right at the peak I walked out the door
Now I'm building a new religion
It's "me and I" so help yourself
I'm not a hunter anymore
I have dinner at eight, then time for rape
I'm not a hunter anymore
I wrote the law, but my feet got claws
Now I'm crawling the mud to get back home
to the pleasuredome
Looking at all God's creatures
I'm not the brightest one
One in an angry crowd
come down to wave the gun
The Flower Kings' song "Monkey Business" is a commentary on human evolution and the way we have moved away from our primal instincts. The lyrics suggest that we have traded our animalistic natures for civilization, but in the process, we have lost some of our essence. The singer acknowledges that he no longer considers himself a "monkey" but has built a new house, touched the sky, and straightened his back. He has, in a sense, evolved. Yet he realizes that he still craves "sugar and spice" – he is still driven by sex and violence.
The singer juxtaposes his newfound "success" with his primal instincts. He acknowledges that he used to be a "loser" but now has his "hands on the wheel, all dressed in steel." He is no longer a "fighter" but instead, a "business hype" who needs to score. He has built a new religion centered around "me and I" and is not a "hunter" anymore. He now has dinner at eight and time for "rape." He has written the laws, but his feet have gotten claws. He is crawling in the mud, trying to get back to the "pleasuredome."
Overall, the lyrics reflect on the tension between our animalistic natures and our civilized selves. The singer seems to yearn for more simplicity and connection with nature, but at the same time, recognizes the benefits and comforts that civilization brings.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm not a monkey anymore
I have evolved from my primitive state and attained a higher level of consciousness.
I've built a new house – that touch the sky
I have achieved great success and reached new heights in my endeavors.
I've straightened my back and that's a fact
I have overcome my weaknesses and insecurities to become a stronger person.
Keep my eye on a new horizon
I am focused on my future goals and aspirations.
where sex and violence is my sugar and spice
I am drawn to the excitement and thrills of indulging in taboo desires.
I'm not a loser anymore
I have overcome past failures and achieved success.
from second to first, just to quench my thirst
I am ambitious and competitive, always striving to be the best.
my hands on the wheel, all dressed in steel
I am in control of my life and have the power to make my own decisions.
Keep my mind on a higher ground
I strive to maintain a moral and ethical outlook on life.
while the primal instincts are going down
I resist giving into my base desires and instead focus on intellectual pursuits.
Looking at all God's creatures
I observe and reflect on the natural world around me.
I'm not the brightest one
I am aware of my own limitations and do not consider myself to be exceptional.
One in an angry crowd
I am just another person caught up in the chaos and violence of the world.
come down to wave the gun
I am capable of violence and may be tempted to act out in anger or frustration.
I'm not a fighter anymore
I no longer engage in physical or emotional conflicts.
I'm business hype and I need to score
I am focused on success in the business world and constantly seek to achieve higher levels of success.
Right at the peak I walked out the door
I left behind my previous success in order to pursue a new and more fulfilling path.
Now I'm building a new religion
I have created a new way of thinking and being that is unique to myself.
It's "me and I" so help yourself
I express a self-centered philosophy, but encourage others to do the same.
I'm not a hunter anymore
I no longer pursue others for my own pleasure or gain.
I have dinner at eight, then time for rape
I indulge in hedonistic pleasures, regardless of the consequences.
I wrote the law, but my feet got claws
I have gained power and authority, but am still subject to my own base desires.
Now I'm crawling the mud to get back home
to the pleasuredome
I have fallen from grace and must now work to regain my former status of indulgence and excess.
Contributed by Kaylee I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.