phenstrom is the immersive audio/visual tale of a nomadic would-be-shaman on a psychedelic journey to find himself through gravity-defying tracks and kaleidoscopic video art. Since 2009, Stephan Lofstrom (the mind behind the character) has taken painstaking care to craft the story of this wild-eyed orphan turned snake-oil salesman on his fantastical quest, from humble roots as a member of a roaming pack of medicine-workers to a world-weary time traveler.
Offering up an avante garde alternative feast of lush electronic instrumentals, pounding drums and soaring futuristic guitar work paired with earnest and expressive vocal work rooted in Stephan’s Indigenous heritage, all performed in character as phenstrom himself. His music invites you to shuck off the mundane and wander into a wild fantasy full of strange creatures and uncanny characters.
phenstrom follows a medicine man estranged from his family. A pack of merry travelers, phenstrom’s family taught healing methods and learned from shamans along the way. He took what lessons he could from his family and set out on the road. Claiming to be a healer of all ailments, he bottled a formula for the masses dubbed ‘phenstrom’s tonic cuntcocktion’
‘phenstrom’s tonic elixir is born out of one's own self hatred and narcissism mixed together with pizza, psilocybin cubensis, blood, sweat, tears, iron, essential vitamins, herbs, spices, fruits, vegetables, marijuana, an ounce of red wine, a dash of testosterone and a cup of estrogen’ … it tastes awful. Trust me.
…as the campaign slogan went “the cure all, one stop fix to all ailments is the first over the counter psychedelic drug”. phenstrom made little profit from one stop to the next, outrunning law men and nomads looking to steal the formula. Until one day, while traveling a vast field, he came upon a bright colorful forest…”That looks like a staircase” he thought.
Having started as strictly an auditory story, phenstrom has now evolved once again with a little help from strange acquaintances along the way (witches, wise men & wizards). Having just trekked through the royal forest and stumbled upon ‘A Path To Pyramids Inverted’, phenstrom took to the plains again. The valleys and the open road he had learned from and called home, would now be his mentor.
Along his travels he encountered many hills, caverns & mountains. All of which were valuable lodging conditions and safe havens from the wild animals. On a particularly rainy night in his geological position, phenstrom headed for a cavern landing on a very high mountain top. It proved to be almost fatally challenging but he climbed and grabbed for shelter. Upon walking further into the cavern it seemed it was much more than a cavern landing, it was a deep and vast cave. With each swivel of his head, a new promise of visual feast and delight. Truly this was a Cave of Wonders …find your way out of the cave.
