Frida ensam (Frida Alone) is the second studio album by Anni-Frid Lyngstad. It was first released by Polar Music in 1975 while Lyngstad was a member of the pop group ABBA and produced by her then-fiancé and fellow ABBA member, Benny Andersson. The cover photoshoot for the album was shot by Ola Lager and designed by Rune Söderqvist, the two primary visual architects behind ABBA’s most iconic album sleeves.
Polar Music enlisted ABBA’s trusted in-house creative duo for the project: photographer Ola Lager and art director Rune Söderqvist (who later created ABBA’s famous Arrival helicopter cover). Unlike the bright, theatrical, and synchronized group imagery ABBA was known for in 1975, the Frida ensam shoot was designed to highlight solitude and vulnerability. The title translates to “Frida Alone,” reflecting both her status as a solo artist stepping away from the group and the introspective nature of the album’s ballads.
Photographed in an intimate interior setting in Stockholm, Frida is dressed in a soft, flowing white dress while seated on a couch and bed. Lager used soft, natural-looking lighting and warm, muted tones to frame Frida in quiet contemplation. Outtakes from the 1975 session, including several striking black-and-white portraits, show her posing casually without the heavy stage makeup or flamboyant costumes required for ABBA’s international television appearances.
The photoshoot and final album assembly took place during a brief lull in ABBA’s skyrocketing global schedule. Recording had stretched over 18 months (from early 1974 to October 1975) around sessions for Waterloo and ABBA.
Released by Polar Music on November 10, 1975, the album allowed Frida to explore eclectic covers (such as David Bowie’s “Life on Mars?” and Stephen Sondheim’s “Send in the Clowns”) alongside the original Swedish recording of “Fernando.” The understated, mature album cover reinforced her image in Sweden as a serious, independent vocalist rather than just one-fourth of a pop group.
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