A little update on our whereabouts:
Lars is working hard to complete the 2nd In Lingua Mortua album, and is also working on no less than TWO Wobbler albums, I believe.
Marthe has some kind of performance/music project called Textfuckers, they recorded a demo at Lars' and are trying to get into Høstutstillingen, and annual showcasing of young artists here in Oslo.
Myself, I am as always busy with The Opium Cartel. The latest news from here is that Espers/BC Camplight/Swearing at Motorists producer Brian McTear will help us out with the last leg of recording and mixing - in his Miner Street Studios in Philadelphia.
I am also mixing some tracks for an album collaboration between Italian electronica artist Giancarlo Erra and No-Man's Tim Bowness - great music!
Jacob
If you drop by here from time to time, and nothing ever seems to change - well, then that's the way it is.
White Willow is on a hiatus, and thus there is nothing very exciting to report. Nothing dramatic is behind the
break we're taking, we're just trying to catch up on other things we've fallen behind with in the past few years
of WW activity. As previously reported, Lars and myself are busy with our new label, Termo Records (www.myspace.com/termorecords, Termorecords.com))
and as I am writing this we are sending In Lingua Mortua's (www.myspace.com/inlinguamortua)debut album to the CD manufacturer.
It will be released internationally in July - FINALLY!
I am also in the midst of the recording of The Opium Cartel's
(www.myspace.com/opiumcartel)
first album, which will feature some exciting collaborators, including Änglagård and one-time-White Willow drummer
Mattias Olsson, No-Man's Tim Bowness, singer/bassist Rachel Haden, known for her work with Beck, Weezer and Jimmy
Eat World - and of course a bunch of White Willow associates including Lars and Ketil.
But that's not all! I am also compiling an archives White Willow release, which, if I can locate all the material,
will focus on unreleased tracks, demos and outtakes from the early days of the band.
And finally - yes, hiatus or no hiatus - there WILL be another White Willow album - I've promised The Laser's Edge one
as soon as I'm done with T.O.C.
So long!
Well, "Signal to Noise" seems to be managing very nicely out there - reviews are streaming in every day - 8 out of 10 in the latest Classic Rock, 5 out of 6 in Scream and Monster Magazine, full score on Progressive World, 10 out of 10 on Metal Coven if memory serves correctly, big feature and "Splinters" on the cover CD of Eclipsed Magazine, and watch out for a big interview in the next Unrestrained. We're also getting a fair amount of airplay around the world, so we're very happy. We're still working Norwegian stages these days, more gigs upcoming, check out the gigs section. And enjoy our new video, here or on MySpace (www.myspace.com/whitewillowband). Oh, and Lars and Jacob have started a new label, Termo Records (Termorecords.com), first release will be In Lingua Mortua's debut album, "Bellowing Sea - Racked by Tempest". We're also working on new White Willow material in the midst of all this, so have no fear!
While "Signal to Noise" is now available worldwide from any quality outlet, our own little Norway has to wait a little while longer. Due to shipping delays we have postponed release in Norway until September 10th. We are also having a release party at Bla in Oslo on the 21st of September. More info on this under Upcoming Gigs.
Who would've thunk it? White Willow is issuing a radio edit of the song "Joyride" from "Signal to Noise" as a limited pressing for distribution to radio in Norway. We encourage White Willow's Norwegian listeners to request the song from their favorite radio station. To round things off, we are also releasing a video to the same song, which likewise we urge you to request - we haven't seen it yet, but we suspect it will be rather entertaining. Another thing we found entertaining was a review of that particular track in the Norwegian music mag Exact, who claims it sounds like "Briskeby (på en særdeles god dag)"... (Transl: Like Briskeby (on a particularly good day).) Yes, whatever. She does a pretty good dance in high heels, Lise does. We'll let you know exactly when rotation starts.
White Willow's fifth studio album, "Signal to Noise", will be released by The Laser's Edge on the 23rd of August this year. The album was recorded at Jailhouse Studios in Denmark, and was mixed and produced by legendary producer Tommy Hansen (Helloween, TNT, Pagan's Mind, Saybia). Cover art is by Killustrations, who also did the "Storm Season" cover.
The line-up features Trude Eidtang (vocals), Lars Fredrik Frøislie (keyboards, electronics), Jacob Holm-Lupo (guitars), Ketil Vestrum Einarsen (woodwinds), Marthe Berger Walthinsen (bass guitar) and Aage Moltke Schou (drums, percussion). Brynjar Dambo, who played keyboards on "Sacrament", guests on one track.
Track listing is as follows:
Night Surf, Splinters, Ghosts, Joyride, The Lingering, The Dark Road, Chrome Dawn, Dusk City, Ararat
The album was recorded in three weeks, in contrast to their usual one-year-of-recording policy. This is reflected in a leaner, more band-oriented sound, and more focused songwriting. The band foregoes some of the hard rock elements of the previous record, while still retaining the force and intensity typical of the band's current incarnation, and blending their distinct symphonic arrangements with a contemporary, direct attitude. And there's still plenty of mellotron!
We are proud to announce that White Willow will be appearing at the Summersend Festival in England. The line-up features bands like Pendragon, Pure Reason Revolution and The Flower Kings. White Willow headlines the second portion of Day 1, on September 30th. It all happens at The Robin Club in Bilston Wolverhampton - yes, we don't know where that is either, but it's in England, for sure. Tickets can be ordered through www.sonicbond.com.
So as you may have noticed, White Willow has a new site up. Just because forandring fryder, as we say in Norway. We've added some more mp3s for your listening pleasure, and we will diligently update the page with live dates and whatnot.