Interview
(Progressive Newsletter Nr.50 12/04)
excerpts from an interview with Jacob Holm-Lupo (Guitar,Vocals, Keyboards, Bass)
For some reason, it always takes a long time between each of our albums. I guess this has been the longest wait. The fact is that the album was finished a year ago, but partly because of some contractual issues, we had to wait until now to release the album. But part of the reason why things take time with White Willow, is that we are more of a project than a band, and everyone has other commitments, with bands, jobs and families.
"Storm season" is the very heavy and dark, more guitar orientated, maybe the most progressive sounding album of White Willow up til know, without forgetting the typical elements of the band. What lead to this more heavy style that already started with "Sacrament"?
Well, after "Sacrament" I felt that we had gone as far as we could go in the "sensitive symphonic" direction, and when I started writing new songs, I realized that I wanted the next album to be much more intense, emotional and direct. "Sacrament" was a beautiful record, I think, but a little distant and cerebral. The things I wanted to express in my new songs needed a more powerful, hard-hitting backing. I've always been a hard rock fan - Blue Öyster Cult is maybe my all-time favorite band, and everyone in White Willow plays and listens to a lot of Scandinavian metal, so I realized it was time to bring those elements into White Willow. That said, White Willow will always be White Willow, so I think our style is still very much intact, and what's heavy for us might be lightweight compared to metal bands. We are NOT metal...
How did the new band members influence the music of White Willow?
Hugely. I think especially Lars Fredrik's "wall-of-sound" keyboards, and all his crazy ideas, along with Marthe's very deep and heavy bass guitar had a huge impact on the sound of the record. Also, Johannes' switch from bass to rhythm guitar helped build the foundation of the "new sound". For every White Willow album I try to bring in some new players whom I believe will bring something new and fresh to our sound - I think a band needs to be re-invigorated from time to time...
Even though Tirill Mohn isn't in the band anymore, she arranged the strings on the current album, while some musicians of White Willow participate on her solo album. Can you tell a little bit more about this interaction between her and White Willow?
Well, Tirill has been in and out of White Willow a couple of times, and we are good friends. She is an immensely talented composer and arranger, and I knew that she could come up with some beautiful string parts for the album - and she did! There's a sort of loosely knitted community here with musicians that involve themselves in each others projects - there's Tirill, and our flautist Ketil's band Orchard, and Lars Fredrik's band Wobbler - we all contribute to each others ventures.
How did you chose the other guest musicians on the album?
Sigrun Eng, the cellist, is from Tirill's band, and I loved her playing on Tirill's album, so I asked her to join the recording. Finn Coren, who sings on "Soulburn", is sort of a legend here in Norway - he's made some great records based on the poetry of William Blake and Yeats. He's probably my favorite singer here in Norway, and again some White Willow members - Ketil and Lars Fredrik - were helping him out with his new album, so it was a nice trade.
Who had the idea for this wonderful dark and sombre artwork?
I'm glad you like it! The artwork was actually done by a German, Bjoern at Killustrations, and most of those images are his ideas. The front cover is loosely based on an idea that was originally developed by myself and Marie Sjøvold, who took the band picture.
Your album has been mastered by Alan Douches, who worked also with Sepultura, Monster Magnet and Yes. In which way did his mastering change or improve the album soundwise?
Well, we're used to having a very transparent, audiophile mastering. Alan uses all analogue equipment, and the result is a very thick, dense sound - which we already had on our premaster tapes - but which he emphasized further in the mastering. I don't know if it is necessarily an improvement over past records, but it's different, which is what we wanted... Generally, sound-wise, we were looking for a more live, less polished sound this time.
As already mentioned some of the band members of White Willow are also active in other bands and projects. You can tell some more about their current activities?
Well, Lars Fredrik is currently in the studio recording the debut album of his band, Wobbler. It'll be released by The Laser's Edge, and I think it's going to be a killer album! Totally over the top prog. Ketil will be playing some flute on it, and I have helped out a bit in the studio, but the music is very different from White Willow. Johannes is busy with numerous projects, I can't really keep track of them. Ketil just finished recording the new Jaga Jazzist album in Germany, and he is also writing material for what will be the first Orchard album, featuring himself and previous Willow keyboardist Brynjar Dambo. Tirill is writing songs for her follow-up solo album, and I am compiling songs for my own solo album which will feature collaborations with Willow members past and present.
Kristian Selm © Progressive Newsletter 2004