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WHITE WILLOW BAND PAGE
 WHITE WILLOW
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CURRENT NAME
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White Willow | |
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FORMER NAMES
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- | |
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ORIGIN
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Norway | |
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STATUS
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Active | |
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FORMED IN
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LABEL
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Laser's Edge, The | |
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GENRE
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Progressive rock | |
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STYLE
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LYRICAL THEME
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| BAND ADDED | 2005-01-12, 00:00 | |
| LAST UPDATE | 2005-01-12, 00:00 | |
Biography | Band members | Discography | Shows | Forum
| Band biography |
White Willow has existed in various incarnations since 1993. The first line-up consisted of Jacob Holm-Lupo (guitars), Jan Tariq Rahman (keyboards), Audun Kjus (flute), Sara Trondal (vocals), Peter Albers (bass guitar) and Henning Eidem (drums). The band transformed from the psychedelic folk ensemble The Orchid Garden into White Willow as a result of guitarist Jacob Holm-Lupo and keyboard player Jan Tariq Rahman's wish to pursue a more dynamic sound. The admiration for 70's artists such as PFM, King Crimson, Joni Mitchell and Nick Drake was common to the founding members of the group, and coloured White Willow's first recorded output.
With a loose and constantly varying line-up (including a second singer, Eldrid Johansen, and violinist Tirill Mohn), White Willow released its first album, Ignis Fatuus, in 1995 on the American label The Laser's Edge.
The album was something of a hit in the "progressive" music community, and led to White Willow's appearance at the prestigious Progfest festival in Los Angeles the same year. Since then the album has been included in "The Billboard Guide to Progressive Music"s canon of the 100 best progressive releases of all time. The record also proved to be an inspiration for other Norwegian bands travelling similar territories to White Willow and was an important part the the so-called "Scandinavian wave" of progressive music in the 90's.
After continuing changes in the line-up and disagreements over future musical directions, Jacob Holm-Lupo terminated White Willow "the group" and continued more as a project. Having finally found the prefect voice for White Willow in Sylvia Erichsen, Jacob assembled a line-up consisting of himself, Sylvia and Jan Tariq as well as bass player Frode Lia and drummer Mattias Olsson. The result was White Willow's second album, Ex Tenebris (1998). The album showed that White Willow was finding its own voice, mixing classical, gothic, acoustic, ambient and progressive elements, and gave the group a wider following outside of the "progressive" scene.
For the third album, Sacrament, Jacob recruited a stellar team of musicians. Sylvia, Jacob, flautist Ketil Einarsen, keyboard player Brynjar Dambo, bass player Johannes Sæbøe and drummer Aage Schou rehearsed new material for about a year before proceding to record Sacrament. The work paid off, as the album proved to be White Willow's most cohesive and succesful yet. With a punchier sound, intense interplay and mature songwriting Sacrament has proven to be the favorite among most fans. The band showcased most of the album along with old favorites at the important NEARfest festival in Pennsylvania in 2001 along with bands like Porcupine Tree and The California Guitar Trio. Sacrament appeared in many lists of "Albums of the year" in various magazines and Sylvia topped several "Best singer" lists.
The most recent twist in events in the history of White Willow is the release of "Storm Season". The album heralds the arrival of keyboardist Lars Fredrik Frøislie and bass player Marthe Berger Walthinsen, who both leave their mark on the record, Lars with a multitude of analogue keyboards and Marthe with a deep, heavy bass sound. From the previous album Jacob, Aage, Sylvia, Ketil and Johannes remain, with Johannes switching from bass to rhythm guitar. "Storm Season" is the first album to seriously introduce White Willow's sound to a non-prog audience - while somewhat paradoxically being their most uncompromising and unapologetic work yet. Already the album is being hailed by critics as White Willow's best and most mature offering yet, with a heavier, fuller sound, emotionally charged performances and probably their most self-assured songwriting to date. Lyrically, the record deals with extreme and turbulent emotional states - naturally with a somewhat darker undertone than "Sacrament".
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