Norway’s Karisma Records have welcomed fellow Scandinavian Prog Rockers RITUAL to its Roster, and will be releasing the band’s sixth full-length album in 2024.
RITUAL is a progressive rock band from Stockholm, formed in 1993. Influenced equally by progressive rock and hardrock of the 70s and contemporary bands like The Police, XTC and It Bites, RITUAL forged their own distinctive brand of progressive music.
The characteristics of the band’s sound were already prominent on their eponymous debut album, released in 1995: song based, melodic and intense, with a great stylistic variation, and plenty of folk music influences seeping in. The latter feature is not least due to the band’s frequent use of acoustic instruments like bouzouki, mandola, whistles and the Swedish nyckelharpa (a keyed fiddle).
Songs like “Seasong For The Moominpappa” also showed something that would become a hallmark of the band: lyrics inspired by Tove Jansson’s novels about the Moomins. This culminated in the album “The Hemulic Voluntary Band” from 2008, where five out of six songs drew inspiration from Tove Jansson, including the 26-minute long “A Dangerous Journey”.
Over the years, RITUAL have established themselves as a confident and powerful live band through numerous tours around Europe and appearances at international festivals such as Rites Of Spring Fest in the USA and Baja Prog in Mexico.
The band is currently putting the finishing touches to the upcoming epic “The Story of Mr. Bogd, Part I” and RITUAL’s lineup of Patrik Lundström on lead vocals and guitar, Fredrik Lindqvist on bass, mandola, dulcimer, recorder and vocals, Jon Gamble on keyboards and vocals, and Johan Nordgren on drums, percussion and vocals, had this to say about teaming up with Karisma Records:
We are very excited to enter the warm cabin of Karisma Records and I think we will feel right at home there. As a band from Sweden, the Scandinavian connection feels reassuring, and Karisma’s line-up of good bands and artists feels absolutely right.
We want to collaborate with people who are dedicated music fans and who believe in what we do in RITUAL, and we feel that Karisma lives up to this and has the right focus. We look forward to releasing our sixth full-length album under the Karisma Records label!
One of Norway’s most interesting bands, MADDER MORTEM, has always defied any attempt at genre-labeling. Fronted by Agnete M. Kirkevaag’s unique, wide-ranging voice, it can be said that they pretty much define the “All Things To All Men” category, drawing fans who profess a liking for genres that range from Prog to Metal, Rock to Extreme.
But make no mistake, this is not a band that wanders aimlessly through the genre minefield. MADDER MORTEM know exactly what they are doing and where they want to go, and have had almost 30 years to hone their very considerable skills. Skills that will be used to good effect on what will be the band’s 8th full-length album, which will be titled “Old Eyes, New Heart” and will be out on Dark Essence Records on January 26th 2024.
And while we wait for the release day, Dark Essence have brought us the first single from the album. Titled “Towers”, the band had this to say about it:
Drawing inspiration from grunge, post-metal and 70s rock, “Towers” is about how people sometimes create defences in their heads to protect themselves. However, those defences can become too strong over time, and what was once built to lock out, becomes something that locks in.
It has been five years since MADDER MORTEM released their seventh full-length album “Marrow”, and it has been a long, hard journey, beset by turmoil and heartbreaking loss, which culminated in the death of Jakob, father of the band’s vocalist Agnete and guitarist BP.
Jakob had always been a huge supporter of the band, and his backing was fundamental to the launch of MADDER MORTEM’s career. Being an artist himself, Jakob had worked on two paintings for “Old Eyes, New Heart”, and, thanks to the band’s long-term collaborator artist and video producer Costin Chioreanu, who was able to adapt Jakob’s work and provide additional design, the cover art was completed.
Even though Jakob didn’t live to see the finished album, he would have been immensely proud to see his art on the cover, and the album is dedicated to his memory.
Track listing for “Old Eyes, New Heart” is as follows:
Coming from the Dark
On Guard
Master Tongue
The Head that Wears the Crown
Cold Hard Rain
Unity
Towers
Here and Now
Things I’ll Never Do
Long Road
“Old Eyes, New Heart” was recorded and produced by BP M. Kirkevaag, and shows MADDER MORTEM’s lineup of Agnete M. Kirkevaag on vocals, BP M. Kirkevaag on guitar & vocals, Anders Langberg on guitars, Tormod L. Moseng on bass and Mads Solås on drums embracing a multitude of directions, spanning from post-metal heaviness to soft Americana grooves and everything in between.
It is an album full of surprises. Lyrically and musically, “Old Eyes, New Heart” deals with hope, disappointment, and the ambivalence between them. It is music from old hearts and deep roots, with new eyes open to the unlimited possibilities of 12 notes, but always with the desire to write a good, honest song. Which makes it unmistakably MADDER MORTEM.
“Old Eyes, New Heart” will be available in CD, Digital, and Limited Edition LP formats in White Vinyl (limited to 250 copies) and Blue Vinyl (limited to 250 copies), and can now be pre-ordered from:
In the second instalment of the trilogy that make up his “Chronicles”, the intrepid Father Robin continues on his journey through the fantastical world of Airoea, this time making a trip to the underwater city of Oriasaleah and over the Sea of Ayrouhr to the Grand Reef , where he inevitably faces grave danger at the hands of the island people.
What awaits him there will be fully revealed on the 8th December, when “The Songs & Tales of Airoea – Book II “Ocean Traveller – Metamorphosis” by Prog Rockers THE CHRONICLES OF FATHER ROBIN (TCOFR for short), is released on Karisma Records.
But before then, the label has granted us another insight into Father Robin’s latest adventures with the release of the single “Ocean Traveller”, a firm favourite of everyone who hears it
“Ocean Traveller” can be downloaded or streamed from a variety of sources at
Having risen from the ashes of FANGORN back in 1993- 94, THE CHRONICLES OF FATHER ROBIN sprang into existence when WOBBLER frontman Andreas W. S. Prestmo was joined in a new musical endeavor by childhood friends Jon and Henrik, with whom he shared an interest in folk tales, mythology, fantasy literature, psychedelia and adventurous music.
Featuring members from some of the most revered progressive rock bands from Norway, WOBBLER, JORDSJØ, TUSMØRKE, and seasoned post-rockers THE SAMUEL JACKSON FIVE TCOFE set about creating a whole world which they bring to life with the kind of lush and varied soundscapes that evoke memories of the golden era of progressive rock.
Like most good things, “The Songs & Tales of Airoea” Trilogy did not happen overnight, but rather over a period of three decades. Time enough to perfect the use of a variety of instruments, such as flute, mellotron and glockenspiel, alongside more traditional rock instruments, coupled with a production that is both dynamic and organic.
The resultant Airoea trilogy forms a concept album that features 18 songs spread out over the three albums, with Book II following on directly from Book I which was released in September of this year. Contributors on the trilogy include the likes of Thomas Kaldhol (MT. MELODIÉ, THE SAMUEL JACKSON FIVE), Lars Fredrik Frøislie (WOBBLER, IN LINGUA MORTUA, WHITE WILLOW), folksinger Aleksandra Morozova (MT. MELODIE, OSLO PHILHARMONIC CHOIR), Kristoffer Momrak (ALWANZATAR, TUSMØRKE, LES FLEURS DU MAL), Håkon Oftung (JORDSJØ) and illustrator Lars Kvernberg.
“The Songs & Tales of Airoea – Book II will be released in CD, Digital and LP formats, and the entire Trilogy is available as a Deluxe Limited Edition Triple Coloured Vinyl Box Set on Old Oak Records.
Tracklisting on “The Songs & Tales of Airoea – Book II” is as follows:
07. Over Westwinds 08. Orias & the Underwater City 09. Ocean Traveller 10. Lady of Waves 11. Green refreshments 12. The Grand Reef
The 1st December will see Karisma Records release the final three albums from the Back Catalogue of Prog Rockers ARABS IN ASPIC, and, as a prequel, the label has released, the title track from the band’s sixth album “The Magic of Sin” as a digi single.
The single, can be downloaded or streamed from a number of services at:
“The Magic of Sin” itself was an album that marked a turning point in the band’s career, setting the parameters, both musically and structurally, for the direction that ARABS IN ASPIC would take going forward. Like all the albums in the Back Catalogue re-releases, it has been re-mastered by Jacob Holm-Lupo (WHITE WILLOW, OPIUM CARTEL, SOLSTEIN etc), and features artwork by the band’s long-time collaborator Julia Proszowska.
Following on from the 2021 re-release of the first three albums from the band’s back-catalogue, those included in this, the final trilogy of releases, are:
“Pictures in a Dream” which was originally released in 2013, and will now be available in CD, Digital and Limited Edition Blue/Yellow marble Vinyl formats.
2015’s “Victims of your Father’s Agony” which will be available in CD, Digital and Limited Edition Yellow/Blue Marble Vinyl formats.
And, of course, the afore-mentioned “The Magic of Sin”. First released in 2017, it is a very special album for ARABS IN ASPIC, for reasons too numerous to go into. Suffice it to say that its re-release deserves a special treatment. Thus, aside from the usual CD and Digital formats, “The Magic of Sin” will also be available in the form of a limited first pressing of the LP version in orange/black marble vinyl which comes in a unique tri-fold cover revealing more of Julia Proszowska’s striking cover art. If its combined with the original “Syndenes Magi” LP, all five panels of the painting will be visible.
All three albums will also be available as a Limited Edition Box Set vinyl titled “IV – VI”
All versions of all the albums can now be pre-ordered from:
With a lineup consisting of Jostein Smeby on Guitars + vocals, Stig Jørgensen on Organs + vocals, Erik Paulsen on Bass + vocals, Eskil Nyhus on Drums + cymbals and Alessandro G. Elide on Percussion + gongs, and based in Trondheim, Norway, the band’s roots can be traced back to the Golden Era of rock.
Given that they have seven full-length albums to their name (their seventh, “Madness and Magic” having been released on Karisma Records in 2020), ARABS IN ASPIC are certainly not newcomers to the prog scene. Indeed, they have been at the forefront of 70’s inspired progressive rock and proto-hard rock for fifteen years.
ARABS IN ASPIC’s unmistakable sound is mix of loud, heavy guitars and drums, 12 string acoustics, funky bass and percussion, screaming Hammond organs, soft Rhodes, Mellotrons and 70’s Synths, topped with plentiful vocal harmonies. It’s an all-encompassing sound that includes aspects of classic rock, funk, pop, prog, heavy rock, bossanova, and a capella.
ARABS IN ASPIC’s next live appearance will be on the 11th November, alongside Dark Essence Records artist LUMSK, at the Verkstedhallen & Lobbyen in Trondheim, Norway.
Good news for those who are curious to find out what Father Robin gets up to next on his travels through the fantastical world of Airoea because Karisma Records have just announced the release of “The Songs & Tales of Airoea – Book II” from Prog Rockers THE CHRONICLES OF FATHER ROBIN (TCOFR for short).
“The Songs & Tales of Airoea” Trilogy itself unfolds over a period of three decades in an archaic alternate world. In Book II (“Ocean Traveller – Metamorphosis”) Father Robin journeys to the underwater city of Oriasaleah and over the Sea of Ayrouhr to the Grand Reef, where our intrepid explorer faces grave danger at the hands of the island people.
The album opens with the sacral and atmospheric track “Over Westwinds”, and carries the listener further on a dynamic musical journey that uses lush and varied soundscapes, which evoke visions of the golden era of progressive rock. An abundant, and well-thought out, use of a variety of instruments, such as flute, mellotron and glockenspiel, alongside more traditional rock instruments, is neatly packaged in a production that is both dynamic and organic, making “The Songs & Tales of Airoea” Trilogy a gem waiting to be discovered by fans of progressive rock.
For those eager or curious for a taste of what Book II will sound like, Karisma Records have today released a single from the album. Titled “The Grand Reef” it can be downloaded or streamed from a variety of services at:
TCOFR features members from some of the most revered progressive rock bands from Norway, WOBBLER, JORDSJØ, TUSMØRKE and seasoned post-rockers THE SAMUEL JACKSON FIVE, and their concept Trilogy was thirty years in the making.
The result in a cohesive triple concept album that features 18 songs in total which are spread out over three albums. With Book I having been released in September of this year, Book II will appear on the 8th December in CD, Digital and LP formats. The complete Trilogy is available as a Deluxe Limited Edition Triple Coloured Vinyl Box Set on Old Oak Records.
Contributors on the Trilogy include Thomas Kaldhol (MT. MELODIÉ, THE SAMUEL JACKSON FIVE), Lars Fredrik Frøislie (WOBBLER, IN LINGUA MORTUA, WHITE WILLOW), folksinger Aleksandra Morozova (MT. MELODIE, OSLO PHILHARMONIC CHOIR), Kristoffer Momrak (ALWANZATAR, TUSMØRKE, LES FLEURS DU MAL), Håkon Oftung (JORDSJØ) and illustrator Lars Kvernberg.
Tracklisting on “The Songs & Tales of Airoea – Book II” (which follows on directly from Book I) is as follows:
07. Over Westwinds 08. Orias & the Underwater City 09. Ocean Traveller 10. Lady of Waves 11. Green refreshments 12. The Grand Reef
Emerging from the remains of the band FANGORN back in 1993- 94, THE CHRONICLES OF FATHER was formed by WOBBLER frontman Andreas W. S. Prestmo, who was joined by childhood friends Jon and Henrik, with whom he shared a joint interest in folk tales, mythology, fantasy literature, psychedelia and adventurous music.
When Karisma Records released WIZRD’s debut full-length album “Seasons” in the autumn of 2022, they introduced to the world a band who chose to include all the best, and most interesting, aspects of Rock, Indie, Jazz and Prog within their sound – and then proceeded to break a few rules. The result was an album that was filled with beautiful vocal harmonies, stunning melodies, quirky jazz grooves and a rock’n’roll drive to die for.
Now, having begun work on their next album, WIZARD and Karisma Records have once again come together, this time to release a cover of the seminal BLACK SABBATH track “The Wizard”. As the band explains:
Hello hooray! While we are busy recording our second album, we thought it would be good to bring you all a little nugget. This song was a part of our set list a few years back, when we did some shows where the audience could vote and choose in advance what kind of artists we should do a cover of. We all love Black Sabbath. Duh, who doesn’t!? This track is a blast to play, and somehow we feel some kind of kinship to it…and not only because of the title!
We hope you will enjoy it. Here it is; “The Wizard” by Black Sabbath, à la WIZRD!
“The Wizard”, which is only available in Digi format can be downloaded or streamed from a variety of services at
WIZRD’s lineup is comprised of Hallvard Gaardløs (SPIDERGAWD, DRAKEN and more) on bass and lead vocals, Karl Bjorå (MEGALODON COLLECTIVE and more) on guitar and vocals, Vegard Lien Bjerkan (SOFT FFOG and more) on keyboards and vocals, and Axel Skalstad (KROKOFANT, SOFT FFOG and more) on drums.
Having met whilst studying at the Jazz Conservatory in Trondheim, each of the band’s four members bring with them a variety of influences and skills, thereby allowing them to test the limits of their musical horizons – something they don’t hesitate in doing.
Norwegian fans of WIZRD will have the chance to see the band live before the end of the year when they are scheduled to play the following dates:
A video of the band in the studio, rehearsing the track “All Is As It Should Be”, from their 2022 album “Seasons”, by WIZRD ‘s producer, the Norwegian film score composer and JAGA JAZZIST drummer Martin Horntveth, can be seen below and at https://youtu.be/kzP2VOduRCU?si=V56As-7dRKrZ2HU1
ARABS IN ASPIC are no newcomers to the prog scene, having been at the forefront of 70’s inspired progressive rock and proto-hard rock for fifteen years. Based in Trondheim, Norway, the band’s roots can be traced to the Golden Era of rock, with a sound that is a mix of loud, heavy guitars and drums, 12 string acoustics, funky bass and percussion, screaming Hammond organs, soft Rhodes, Mellotrons and 70’s Synths, topped with plentiful vocal harmonies.
With seven full-length albums to their name, the lineup of Jostein Smeby on Guitars + vocals, Stig Jørgensen on Organs + vocals, Erik Paulsen on Bass + vocals, Eskil Nyhus on Drums + cymbals and Alessandro G. Elide on Percussion + gongs, include, within their sound, aspects of classic rock, funk, pop, prog, heavy rock, bossanova, and a capella.
When ARABS IN ASPIC signed to Karisma Records for the release of the band’s seventh full-length album “Madness and Magic”, it was the labels intention to also release the entire ARABS IN ASPIC back-catalogue. With the first three albums having been released in 2021, Karisma is now ready to release the next three albums on the 1st December, not only as individual albums, but also as a limited edition box set which comes just in time for Prog fans wishing to give (or receive) something special for Christmas.
First up we have “Pictures in a Dream”, ARABS IN ASPIC’s fourth album, originally released in 2013 on Black Widow Records. The band’s love of experimenting with sounds and recording methods is at the forefront, along with some rather unconventional use of microphones to capture the sound in the studio itself, rather than directly from the source. For example nine microphones are used on the Hammond organ alone. The inevitable result of this was the need for a lot of tweaking, and not so much control, and very much a different kind of sound for 2013.
The re-release itself is based on all of the original recordings, but everything has been re-edited and remixed from scratch, thereby removing some of the pitfalls that came with having so many microphones in the room. Some of the vocals/lyrics have been replaced with lyrics from the archives, along with some new ideas, and a few instrumental overdubs, rendering the album even better than its predecessor.
Remastered by Jacob Holm-Lupo (WHITE WILLOW, OPIUM CARTEL, SOLSTEIN etc) “Pictures in a Dream” also sees the band changing the song sequence to make a new listening experience that creates quite a different mood.
“Pictures in a Dream” will be available in CD, Digital and Limited Edition Blue/Yellow Vinyl formats. With artwork by Julia Proszowska, and RUPHUS vocalist Rune Sundby guesting on two songs, tracklisting is as follows:
Rejected Wasteland / Pictures in a Dream (feat. Rune Sundby)
Let Us Pray
You Are Blind
Felix
Ta et steg til siden
Difference in Time
Lifeguard@sharkbay
Prevail to Fail (feat. Rune Sundby)
Hard to Find
Vi møtes sikkert igjen
Next up is the fifth album from ARABS IN ASPIC “Victim of your Father’s Agony”, which first saw the light of day in 2015, again on Black Widow Records, and which has now also been re-edited and remixed from scratch, with a change in the song sequence and instrumental overdubbing, and once again Jacob Holm-Lupo can be found at the remastering helm. It is possibly the band’s most diverse to date, due to the large numbers of songwriters on this particular release.
This new version of the album starts with a short instrumental inspired by the band’s first concert in France which took place at sunset, 300 meters from the most beautiful beaches of the Atlantic and in front of 2000 ecstatic prog nerds. “One”, is an oldie that didn’t quite fit on the previous couple of albums, but has been a staple in their live shows since 2009.
“Italian Class” started as an instrumental called “The Turk and the Italian Restaurant”. With no proper Italian vocabulary, the band cobbled together bits and pieces from the most well known Italian nursery rhymes and performed the song live at a festival, where some found it brilliant, and others were offended or embarrassed on the band’s behalf! “Sad Without You” is about the sudden realization that you’re eventually going to lose your loved ones, whilst “The Flight of the Halibut” features no less than 16 lead guitars in unison.
With artwork by Julia Proszowska, “Victim of your Father’s Agony”, will be available in CD, Digital and Limited Edition Blue/Yellow Vinyl formats, and tracklisting is as follows:
Saint-Palais-sur-Mer Part 1
One
Italian Class
God Requires Insanity
Saint-Palais-Sur-Mer Part 2
Sad Without You
Flight of the Halibut
Tv3
Victim of your Father’s Agony
And then we have what will be the sixth and final re-release, “The Magic of Sin”, which was originally titled “Syndenes magi” and was a turning point in the career of ARABS IN ASPIC. After “Pictures in a Dream” and “Victim of your Father’s Agony” the infrastructure of the “new Arabs” was set. They had lots of songs ready to go, but, after attending a spectacular KING CRIMSON gig in Oslo, the band decided that their new material wasn’t up to par, and they had to do better.
Returning to his home in Trondheim, Jostein Smeby wrote what was to become the 12-minute song “Syndenes Magi”. He called up cover artist Julia Proszowska and asked her to write down some keywords for a concept album. She delivered an excellent selection of keywords about anxiety, which inspired the composition of the rest of the album. Originally written in English, countless attempts to make the vocals blend in with the music failed and Smeby tried to write a verse in Norwegian instead, and there it was! Re-writing the rest of the lyrics in Norwegian, “Syndenes magi” was released on Apollon Records in the fall of 2017, and received a lot of international attention, despite having only Norwegian lyrics.
Regarding what has now become “The Magic of Sin”, which was once again remastered by Jacob Holm-Lupo in his Dude Ranch Studios, Jostein Smeby commented:
When it comes to the remix of the album, that is the hardest project we’ve ever done. We were really happy with the record – so if it was going to get remixed, then the result had to be even better. The band wasn’t entirely in agreement about a remix at all, but the composer had some unfinished business regarding English lyrics.
I tried singing the original English lyrics again. And it sounded just as bad as last time. What do you do then? Well, you delete all the Norwegian vocals and work until it gets better. Working with the remix and remaster of «The Magic of Sin» has taken more than twice the amount of time than writing, recording and mixing the original version took.
Obviously, since “The Magic of Sin” is something of a very special album to the band, for so many reasons, its new release also merits something a bit special, so, aside from the usual CD and Digital formats, the album will also be available in the form of a limited first pressing of the LP version in orange/black vinyl which comes in a unique tri-fold cover revealing more of Julia Proszowska’s striking cover art. If its combined with the original “Syndenes Magi” LP, all five panels of the painting will be visible.
Tracklisting on “The Magic of Sin” is as follows:
The Magic of Sin
Down in Darkness Pt 2
Down in Darkness Pt 3
All three albums will also be available as a Limited Edition Box Set titled “IV – VI”
All versions of all the albums can now be pre-ordered from:
ARABS IN ASPIC’s next live appearance will be on the 11th November alongside Dark Essence Records artist LUMSK at the Verkstedhallen & Lobbyen in Trondheim
“Salighet”, the fourth full-length album from Norwegian Prock Rockers JORDSJØ, sees multi-instrumentalist Håkon Oftung (TUSMØRKE, BLACK MAGIC, THE CHRONICLES OF FATHER ROBIN) and drummer KRISTIAN FRØLAND continue on their musical journey that draws its inspiration from Nordic jazz and folk music, classical 1900s music, and sensory expanding 60s and 70s rock.
With “Salighet” set to hit the streets on the 6th October, and with the possibility of the album becoming one of the most significant Prog albums of 2023, Karisma Records have treated JORDSJØ fans, old and new, to a another glimpse, with the release of the single “Ura”, which can be downloaded or streamed from a variety of platforms at
JORDSJØ explained how a mountain hike led to the creation of this particular track:
“Ura” (The Stone Pile) is based on a poem written after a mountain hike surrounded by fog and rain, and the feeling of losing track of the trail you follow. Even in familiar places where you have wandered countless times, nature can behave in ways that make you lose your way. Life itself can sometimes be perceived in the same way, and new roads and directions can appear out of the fog. The poem was written in the same form as old folk songs, so composing music and rhythms in the same fashion was a very natural process.
As to “Salighet” itself, by melding progressive rock with fantastic melodies and an added Folkish twist, JORDSJØ sets out to explore the various forms of ecstasy. The album’s grand dynamics and dramatics serving as a counterpoint to the mundane reality of everyday existence.
The desire to find mystery and alternate realities amongst all that is banal in our day to day lives is expressed through JORDSJØ’s music and lyrics – the colourful symphonic folk-rock sound bringing to life a dance or a a mountain hike, a fairytale or religious pondering or any other kinds of inner travels.
Mastered by Magnus Guldbrandsen at Jelöy Sound Mastering, and with artwork by Sindre Foss Skancke, track listing for “Salighet” is as follows:
01. Invokasjon 02. Sankeren 03. Salighet I 04. Salighet II 05. Ura 06. Danseritualer fra Jordsjø – Prosesjon & Ekstase 07. Stjernestigen
“Salighet” will be released in CD, Digital, LP, and Limited Edition Transparent vinyl formats, and is now available to pre-order from:
On the 3rd November Karisma Records will release “Ignis Fatuus” the 1995 debut album from Norwegian Prog legends WHITE WILLOW, which will be the first of six out of the band’s seven studio album back catalogue that the label will release.
WHITE WILLOW was formed in 1992 by guitarist Jacob Holm-Lupo, who at that time was a member of the POLICE/BRUCE HORNSBY-inspired pop band THE ORCHID GARDEN, and keyboard player Jan Tariq Rahman from local jazz-rock/prog rock band DUGGVÅTE DVE.
The two musicians had come together to see if they had any kind of songwriting chemistry, and, whilst sitting on the floor playing acoustic guitar and clavinet, the resultant track “Snowfall” proved that they did, indeed, have something going for them.
The band’s debut album “Ignis Fatuus” took the global progressive rock scene by storm, with 5000 copies selling out in record time, whilst stellar worldwide reviews and fan mail came pouring in and earned WHITE WILLOW the accolade as “one of the most significant progressive groups of the current era” in Billboard’s “Guide to Progressive Music”.
Indeed WHITE WILLOW’s popularity was such that when the band attended the Los Angeles’ Progfest ’95, for what would be only their second ever live performance, they found themselves playing in front of an audience that numbered in the thousands and who had come specifically to see them.
The songs on “Ignis Fatuus” range from almost pure pastoral folk-rock, as on “Snowfall” and “Till He Arrives”, to out-and-out prog rock, as on “John Dee’s Lament” and “Cryptomenysis” (the latter featuring a guest appearance from VED BUENS ENDE’S Carl Michael Eide). It also included unusual experiments like the renaissance-inspired hymn “Song”, based on the poem by Christina Rossetti.
Whilst WHITE WILLOW didn’t, at the time, consider themselves a prog-rock band, more a folk-rock band that dabbled in symphonic arrangements, “Ignis Fatuus” nevertheless became a classic amongst prog connoisseurs, and the prospect of its re-release has caused quite a buzz on the scene.
The “Ignis Fatuus” re-release has been meticulously remastered by Jacob Holm-Lupo himself, and features the original classic cover art.
Tracklisting is as follows:
1. Snowfall 2. Lord of Night 3. Song 4. Ingenting 5. The Withering of the Boughs 6. Lines on an Autumnal Evening 7. Now in these Fairy Lands 8. Piletreet 9. Till He Arrives 10. Cryptomenysis 11. Sighs 12. John Dee’s Lament
“Ignis Fatuus” will be released in CD, Digital and Limited Edition Double LP in orange/blue vinyl. It can be pre-ordered from:
Whilst WHITE WILLOW has now become exclusively a studio project, helmed by Holm-Lupo and often featuring guest appearances from prominent musicians such as Norway’s guitar hero Hedvig Mollestad, or internationally renowned klezmer clarinetist David Krakauer, the band’s history has been somewhat complicated.
Band members have come and gone over the years with only Holm-Lupo having remained with the band since its inception, whilst WOBBLERS Lars Fredrik Frøislie has been a mainstay since 2001.
WHITE WILLOW’s sound too has undergone changes, but it’s safe to say that it is frequently centered around female vocals and an expanded instrumentation that usually includes a host of analogue synthesizers, mellotron, woodwinds and strings, in addition, of course to traditional rock instrumentation.
As well as “Ignis Fatuus”, Karisma Records will also be releasing the following WHITE WILLOW albums:
Ex Tenebris – 1998 Sacrament – 2000 Storm Season – 2004 Signal to Noise – 2006 Terminal Twilight – 2011
Norwegian Prog Rockers JORDSJØ are back with a brand new studio album that sees the duo continue on a musical journey that is inspired by Nordic jazz and folk music, classical 1900s music, and sensory expanding 60s and 70s rock.
Titled “Salighet”, the album will be the fourth full-length work from multi-instrumentalist Håkon Oftung (TUSMØRKE, BLACK MAGIC, THE CHRONICLES OF FATHER ROBIN) and drummer KRISTIAN FRØLAND, and it promises to be one of the most significant Prog albums of 2023, melding progressive rock with fantastic melodies and an added Folkish twist for good measure.
Whilst waiting for the 6 October release of “Salighet”, Karisma Records have released “Sankeren” a single taken from the album, which can be streamed or downloaded from a variety of services at
According to JORDSJØ, “Sankeren”, which translated means “The Harvester”, is a short-form fairytale about a group of travelers who meet a figure who lives only from what he can harvest. As the band explains:
The song is a tribute to living life, and all the things one gathers on one’s journey. Sankeren lives outside society, but is filled with knowledge and inner richness. The music builds on the story – starting and ending with the same theme, while the hectic middle part simulates the effect of the tea Sankeren serves to the visitors before they wake up in a house filled with artifacts from an unknown time.
Within the album itself, JORDSJØ continue their musical journey, scaling the heights and plunging into the abysses as they go, because with “Salighet” the band explores different forms of ecstasy through compositions and lyrics. It could take the shape of dance, a mountain hike, a fairytale, religious pondering or other kinds of inner travels, all enveloped by a colourful symphonic folk-rock sound.
With its grand dynamics and dramatics, the music of “Salighet” serves as a counterpoint to the mundane everyday existence, and expresses a longing for mystery and alternate realities.
Mastered by Magnus Guldbrandsen at Jelöy Sound Mastering, and with artwork by Sindre Foss Skancke, track listing for “Salighet” is as follows:
01. Invokasjon 02. Sankeren 03. Salighet I 04. Salighet II 05. Ura 06. Danseritualer fra Jordsjø – Prosesjon & Ekstase 07. Stjernestigen
“Salighet” will be released in CD, Digital, LP, and Limited Edition Transparent vinyl formats, and is now available to pre-order from:
PATRICIA THOMAS BAND MANAGEMENT 