Many of you might remember that one of my favorite releases of 2011 was Norwegian art/prog rock band White Willow‘s Terminal Twilight. Full of stunningly beautiful moments and hypnotizing melodies, it’s an album that many horror fans might find appealing as there are definitely influences from Goblin, Tangerine Dream, and Vangelis. To say that I return to the album frequently is an understatement. I’d honestly not be surprised if I listen to a song or two from it every week.
That’s why I’m so excited to hear that the group is releasing their next album after 5 years (Terminal Twilight came out towards the end of 2011) in the form of Future Hopes, which will come out in the first months of 2017. Much like its predecessor, Future Hopes will feature a lot of synthesizer work, with the new release utilizing the Yamaha CS80, an instrument that was heavily featured in the Blade Runner soundtrack.
Founding member Jacob Holm-Lupo explains:
‘Future Hopes’ is loosely tied together by a science fiction concept, a ‘love among the ruins’ story. ‘Future Hopes’ is our seventh album, and a sequel of sorts to our two other conceptual albums, ‘Terminal Twilight’ and ‘Storm Season’. We’re extremely excited and impatient to share the music, which features both our new singer, Venke Knutson — a well-known artist in her own right here in Norway with several Top 10 hits to her credit — as well as guest appearances by guitar wizard Hedvig Mollestad (Hedvig Mollestad Trio) and world-renowned clarinetist David Krakauer. Returning from the Terminal Twilight line-up are Mattias Olsson (Necromonkey, ex-Änglagård), Ellen Andrea Wang (PIxel, Manu Katché Group), Lars Fredrik Frøislie (Wobbler) and Ketil Einarsen (Kaukasus, ex-Jaga Jazzist).
Direct from the official press release:
Musically the album follows logically from the previous one, but with a bit more instrumental stretching out, especially thanks to Hedvig’s guitar, and the modern production approach of the record. Future Hopes was mixed by the highly respected Norwegian engineer Christian Engfelt, known for his work on the Elephant9/Reine Fiske album, Atlantis and the Todd Rundgren/Lindstrøm collaboration, Runddans, with several of his productions having been Grammy-nominated and/or won in Norway. The record was mastered by Grammy Award-winning audiophile legend Bob Katz, and completed with a specially commissioned painting by Roger Dean.
I honestly can’t even begin to explain just how excited I am for Future Hopes. I encourage every one of you to try Terminal Twilight in the hopes that you’ll appreciate it as much as I do and feel the same anticipation that’s coursing through my veins.