Music
White Willow Announces New Album ‘Future Hopes’: Releasing This Winter
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.
It’s a new day, and you’ve got new John Carpenter to listen to. John Carpenter, Daniel Davies and Cody Carpenter have released the new track He Walks By Night this morning, the second single off their upcoming album Lost Themes IV: Noir, out May 3 on Sacred Bones Records.
Lost Themes IV: Noir is the latest installment in a series that sees Carpenter releasing new music for John Carpenter movies that don’t actually exist. The first Lost Themes was released in 2015, followed by Lost Themes II in 2016 and Lost Themes III: Alive After Death in 2021.
Sacred Bones previews, “It’s been a decade since John Carpenter recorded the material that would become Lost Themes, his debut album of non-film music and the opening salvo in one of Hollywood’s great second acts. Those vibrant, synth-driven songs, made in collaboration with his son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies, kickstarted a musical renaissance for the pioneering composer and director. With Lost Themes IV: Noir, they’ve struck gold again, this time mining the rich history of the film noir genre for inspiration.
“Since the first Lost Themes, John has referred to these compositions as “soundtracks for the movies in your mind.” On the fourth installment in the series, those movies are noirs. Like the film genre they were influenced by, what makes these songs “noirish” is sometimes slippery and hard to define, and not merely reducible to a collection of tropes. The scores for the great American noir pictures were largely orchestral, while the Carpenters and Davies work off a sturdy synth-and-guitar backbone.
“The trio’s free-flowing chemistry means Lost Themes IV: Noir runs like a well-oiled machine—the 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster from Kiss Me Deadly, perhaps, or the 1958 Plymouth Fury from John’s own Christine. It’s a chemistry that’s helped power one of the most productive stretches of John’s creative life, and Noir proves that it’s nowhere near done yielding brilliant results.”
You can pre-save Lost Themes IV: Noir right now! And listen to the new track below…
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