Interview
(Progressive Newsletter Nr.32 10/00)
excerpts from an interview with Jacob Holm-Lupo (Guitar,Vocals, Keyboards, Bass)
Well, I think the main difference between Sacrament and the two earlier albums is that Sacrament is performed by a band. In a band situation it is much easier to create more intense dynamics, with the different members communicating and playing off each other. We were also conscious about wanting to make this a more "extreme" record in terms of changing betwen very soft and very heavy sections and contrasting "light" and "dark" parts. Having a well rehearsed band made this easier to achieve. On the other hand we didn't want the record to be anything like gothic metal - in fact I wanted this to be a lighter, more colorful album than Ex Tenebris, which was quite bleak. Another thing that made a difference this time was that we had more time to just play around with arrangements in the studio, which resulted in some quite experimental instrumentations in places. I feel quite happy about these new "territories", and hope to go even further into them in the future.
In contrast to "Ex tenebris" which seem to be more a studio project, White Willow now has developed more into a band with a solid line-up. How did the new members of the band influence the style of White Willow?
I don't think it is easy for a single person to influence the style of White Willow, because our sound is so clearly defined, and my vision of what the band should sound like is very concise. But I think certain elements of our sound were developed further by certain members of the band. Bassist Johannes Sæbø is into heavier kinds of music, and did a lot to bring the bass guitar to prominence as a driving force both rhythmically and harmonically. He contributed a lot to songs like "The Crucible" and "The Reach". Our flautist Ketil Einarsen also contributed a lot in terms of arranging, with his knowledge of baroque arranging techniques and a very fine harmonic sensibility. Aage Schou, our drummer, has helped give the band a looser, groovier rhythmic edge. Everyone brings something of themselves to the band.
On the one side your music has its roots from scandinavian folk music, as well as 70's Progressive Rock. On the other side there's always some kind of openness in your songs, keeping them fresh and new. Are you therefore more influenced by the 70's or by todays music and what's the 'secret' behind keeping your own style?
Difficult question! In the beginning, I was influenced by the music I had listened to while growing up, which was stuff like King Crimson, Genesis, Joni Mitchell, Nick Drake. But my main influence has always been my own "visionary" world, where I find ideas and inspiration. As long as I stay true to this "vision", I think I will always have my own style. Of course, I also listen to a lot of new music, and get inspiration from new sounds I hear. One reviewer said that parts of Sacrament sounded like Portishead. I think there would be a lot more of that kind of feel to the music if we were on a larger label that didn't specialize in "prog". If I was free of any genre restrictions, I would probably make music that sounded more contemporary than White Willow does right now. I like a lot of the post-rock/lo-fi folk that comes out of places like Chicago these days. I love The Sea and Cake and Archer Prewitt, and a great Californian band called Radar Bros. who sound like a cross between Pink Floyd and Elliott Smith. There is so much good music being made today. Air's The Virgin Suicides came out while we were mixing Sacrament, and we all loved it and used it as a reference disc for our own mixing. So yes, I suppose we are quite open to new music.
The music of White Willow is typically scandinavian, very melancholic, very dramatic. Do you think if you would live in another place, another country with not such a long dark winter, your music would be different or are theses feelings deep in your heart not dependent on your surroundings?
Hmmm... yes, I am inflenced by my surroundings - the seasons are very pronounced here, the dark winter days, the endless summer nights, the explosion of spring, the mellow and melancholy autumn. If I lived somewhere else, who knows. But being the person I am - very romantic and emotional - I think other surroundings might inspire me as well. But I need nature. I could not make music in a big city. I need a big sky, hills, fields, forests...
Looking at your influences I found two very interesting bands, namely the hard rock legend Blue Öyster Cult and P.F.M. Even though their influences are not so easy for me to find in the music of White Willow, maybe you can tell me what they gave into the music of your band?
P.F.M.: Their complex arrangements were an important inspiration, especially on "Ignis Fatuus". Also their incorporation of acoustic and classical instruments and the symphonic sweep of their sound. Great band! Blue Öyster Cult: Very mysterious lyrics! Really strong songwriting - "(Don't fear) The Reaper", "Astronomy", "The last days of May" - and with Buck Dharma one of rock's most inspiring guitarists.
Can you tell me a little bit more about the side projects of the band members and into which musical directions they tend to go?
Me and drummer Aage both play in a band called Sariel, which is really heavy, freaked out music. Kind of a mixture of Black Sabbath and Mahavishnu Orchestra, plus symphonic keyboards: Mellotron and Hammond organ. It is more of a good time, fun band than White Willow, which is very serious. In Sariel we don't care about good taste, we sing about demon birds and human sacrifices...Johannes is in another band called Charlie's Drugstore, which is more of a pop-rock band with catchy refrains, and Ketil plays with a really great jazz band called Geir Lysne's Listening Ensemble.
What are your plans for the next future and anything more you'd like to say?
White Willow's plans include hopefully playing at NEARfest - The North-Eastern Art Rock festival - in Philadelphia, USA in June 2001, plus maybe a small tour of the East coast. Before that we will play some gigs around Norway, Sweden, possibly France and Spain, and maybe Germany? Eventually we will record another album, but before that I have to write a metal rock opera for Ken Golden's other label, Sensory, as well as write music for a renaissance music ensemble from New York called Virelay. This last project is a collaboration with Andrew Keeling, who records for Robert Fripp's label DGM and has worked on arrangements for Fripp's music. And, hopefully, we will record an album with Sariel in the near future. Always busy... Apart from that, I just want to thank you for an interesting and stimulating interview. And I hope all the readers will go out and buy our record...
Kristian Selm © Progressive Newsletter 2000