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Every
now and again you stumble quite by chance across an album that really
grabs your attention. 'Signal To Noise' by White Willow is one of
those albums. Simply enchanting and containing some of the most
wonderfully gorgeous tunes that make your very soul just want to leap
with joy, we catch up with the band to find out more about the creators
of this blissful aural pleasure.
MM - Hi
guys, with the release of your new album imminent, how are you all
feeling right now and how are things going with the promotion of the new
album?
WW - Very well,
thank you. We're extremely excited by this album, we feel like we have
something rather special on our hands. And so far the feedback has been
great!
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MM
- Your new album ‘Signal To Noise’ was recorded in only
three weeks, quite a change from the bands one year recording
schedule, why the radical time scale change for this release?
WW -
Mostly due to our producer, Tommy Hansen, who was so proficient
and professional and made sure everything was hassle free. It
inspired us to work harder, too. And also we had everything
really well worked out in advance, we just walked straight into
the studio and recorded the songs as they are.
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MM
- The album itself is an overall mellower affair than your last release
‘Storm Season’, was this a conscious decision or did it just evolve
that way once you started working on it?
WW - Every White
Willow album we try to do something new. It's just too tedious to repeat
ourselves. So although we have a signature style, a certain way of
writing and arranging songs, we try to flirt with new genres and new
production techniques on each album. On the last one we played around
with heavier guitar tones, more riffs and things like that. On the new
one, we wanted a more translucent, fragile sound, and also we didn't
want to repeat the hard rock moves. Instead we went for a more
contemporary, direct sound. So yes, I guess it was a conscious decision.
MM - Would you like to take us through
the tracks on the new album ‘Signal to Noise" and share any
thoughts or stories behind the songs?
WW - "Night
Surf" was a song I wrote while I stayed a few nights in a
lighthouse on the south coast of Norway. It was a really beautiful and
inspiring place, and I had my Powerbook and a guitar and a mic, and I
wrote and recorded it there, slightly drunk as far as I can remember. A
lot of what's on the album version is kept from the original demo.
"Splinters" began with the melody and guitar chords, that I
thought was real pretty, and then it developed into this little epic
about loss and regret...
"Ghosts" was an instrumental I wrote just to demonstrate how
the recording program Logic works for a friend who was visiting. I wrote
it in 5 minutes, and then liked it so much I developed it into a band
piece. It's sort of a dark, haunting piece.
"Joyride" came about when I was playing around with some
chords on the guitar, and I was thinking "This is almost
something", and then my two year old son came along and placed my
fingers someplace else on the fretboard and everything just came
together. A classic pop song that I probably should give my son partial
credit for.
"The Lingering" is a slightly tormented song about lost love.
I wrote it, of all places, on a plane back home from a gig up north. I
had a hell of a time remembering all the guitar parts until I came home
and was able to record it. Probably the tune that is most similar to the
previous album.
"The Dark Road" was the first song I wrote for this album, and
it sort of set the lyrical tone for the album. It's a slightly
Dylanesque tune about friendship and helping each other out of the
darkness.
"Chrome Dawn" started out as a kind of jazz tune, but got a
bit rockier towards the end. To me it's music for driving long, lonely
stretches of highway at night.
"Dusk City" is sort of sci-fi-like, a bit inspired by the
Samuel R. Delaney book "Dhalgren". It mixes a sort of trippy
verse melody with a really intense, heavy refrain.
And finally "Ararat" is a miniature instrumental I wrote for
my wife, who is half Armenian. The piece is inspired by Armenian doudouk
music.
MM - If you had only one chance to turn people on to White Willow, which
song off the new album would you have them listen to, to get a feel for
what you guys are all about?
WW - Maybe "Splinters", which
has both the melancholy and the majestic touch that characterizes a lot
of our music.
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MM
- What was it like going into the studio to work with the
legendary Tommy Hansen on the new album? Was he a hard
taskmaster to work for, or is he on the same wavelength as you?
WW - We
were definitely on the same wavelength. It was awesome working
with him. He is so experienced, and knows the answer to every
problem. And his ears are so good. And he's always one step
ahead of you. Scary. |
MM - Stepping back in
time slightly, would you like to tell us a little about when the band
was first formed and how it evolved to its current membership.
WW - We began in
the mid-nineties, just as a bunch of friends that wanted to play prog
and folk-rock and fiddle around with strange instruments like mellotrons
and krumhorns. Gradually it's turned into more of a band, and for the
past three albums we've been a proper band, albeit with a changing
line-up. Most of the current line-up remains from the previous album,
but with Trude Eidtang as the new singer, replacing Sylvia Erichsen who
wanted to concentrate on singing jazz.
MM - I see that you’ll be playing the
Summersend festival here in the UK this September, how did you come to
get involved with the festival?
WW - One of the
guys involved in the festival, Stephen Lambe, is an old friend of White
Willow, and he was the one who convinced the festival board to invite
us. We're real excited, as we've never played in the UK before.
MM - Do you have any more tour dates
scheduled for this year?
WW - Mostly in
Norway, but we're hoping to travel a bit in Europe and the US too. Too
early for any set dates yet, though.
MM - What bands did you grow up with and
how have they helped in creating the style of music you perform now?
WW - I grew up
with all the classic prog bands, King Crimson, Genesis, Camel, that kind
of stuff, as well as singer-songwriters like Nick Drake and Joni
Mitchell. Even though I grew up in the 80's, I mostly listened to 70's
stuff back then. I also was quite into melodic rock like Journey and
Styx, so all these influences went into White Willow.
MM - Can you tell us 5 things required
for a happy healthy & enjoyable artistic life according to White
Willow?
WW - Is health
and happiness compatible with prog...? Well, I believe the key to
artistic happiness is to make the music you wish you could go out and
buy. When I make a White Willow album, I always strive to make an album
I wish existed, but that I know doesn't exist yet. Then if I succeed,
that makes me happy! So, 1. Doing what you enjoy. 2. Not giving a hoot
what anybody else thinks you should do. 3. Not expecting to get rich
from what you do. 4. Always keeping an open mind towards new music from
any genre. 5. Letting music excite you.
MM - What is the biggest challenge you
have faced along your musical way?
WW - The
challenge is always keeping the boat afloat financially. White Willow
takes up a lot of time and resources, and at the same time I have a
family that I need to care for. And making our kind of music isn't
exactly lucrative.
MM - Do you think the internet has
broadened the world of music for the better or worse?
WW - Absolutely
for the better. I think it broadens people's horizons. It used to be
that unless you were a music geek like myself, the only music you heard
about was what was on the top 40. Now anybody can find anything on the
Internet. That's a good thing.
MM - Does your native Norway have a big
Prog Rock scene or did you have to venture further into Europe to get
your big break?
WW - We had to go
to the US for a label and an audience. But things are changing now.
Norway has some great progressive acts, like Wobbler, Circles End or
Enslaved. The music scene is quite fertile here right now.
MM - Ever since the bands debut release
‘Ignus Fatuus’ the band have received critical acclaim from each
release after that, how hard is it to keep coming up with such renowned
albums time after time?
WW - It can be a
bit intimidating at times. We've been real spoilt with good reviews, and
since each album is so different from the previous, I always think THIS
is the album everyone is going to hate, finally. But it hasn't really
happened yet, thankfully...
MM - Has any live video footage been
recorded over the years? Would you releasing a VHS/DVD be a possibility
for the near future?
WW - A few concerts in Norway and the
US have been filmed, but not very professionally. A live DVD is
definitely on the top of our list of things to do right now.
MM - What is the biggest misconception
people tend to have about you because of the music you make?
WW - Well, I
guess because we play prog people think that we must be very
instrumentally proficient. But I'm anything but a technical player
myself, and I don't know any music theory, so if people come to me to
discuss mixolydian scales or whatever, they've come to the wrong place.
MM - Tell us one thing about yourself
that not many people know.
WW - Err... I
don't like ELP...?
MM - Finally thanks for taking time out
to take part in this interview with us, do you have any parting words of
wisdom for all your fans out there?
WW - I just want
to thank you for an entertaining interview, and I look forward to coming
to the UK to play for a few of you!
MM
- Don't just take our word for it, this band create some of the most
gorgeous songs known to man-kind. You can check them out on My
Space at www.myspace.com/whitewillow
. Thanks again to White Willow for taking part in this interview
with us and the very best of luck with their forthcoming appearance at
the Summersend Festival. |