Bill's Prog Blog interviews Jacob Holm-Lupo

Bill's Prog Blog interviews Jacob Holm-Lupo of White Willow/The Opium Cartel/Termo Records: http://billsprogblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/more-than-10-questions-withjacob-holm.html

Free EP from The Opium Cartel

Norwegian prog act The Opium Cartel is giving away a 3-track digital EP featuring an alternative mix of "Beach house" as handled by Mike Senior (Wet Wet Wet, The Charlatans, Nigel Kennedy) plus two bonus tracks from the vinyl edition of "Night blooms": https://rcpt.yousendit.com/842061357/ed2ee79dc0b806f0dfa05a585a7610d1

Rhys Marsh and the Autumn Ghost - You'll never fall

Trondheim-based singer/songwriter Rhys Marsh and the Autumn Ghost will release his sophomore album "Dulcima" on October 5 via Termo Records (While Willow, The Opium Cartel) and the first single "You'll never fall" is being offered as a free download: http://rhysmarsh.com/downloads/youllNeverFall.zip
Hear another two tracks from the record at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/rhysmarsh

Termo to release new album from Rhys Marsh and the Autumn Ghost

Termo Records, the label run by Jacob Holm-Lupo and Lars Fredrik Frøislie of White Willow/The Opium Cartel, will be releasing the new album "Dulcima" from fellow Norwegian act Rhys Marsh and the Autumn Ghost on October 5.

MP3: The Opium Cartel - Better days ahead

"Better days ahead" by The Opium Cartel starts out like melancholic art-rock, but quickly changes direction once the palm-muted guitar and moog comes in. From there it goes in all sorts of directions; prog to pop to psychrock and back to art-rock yet again. It works well though, even the cowbell on the chorus and the wacky tone-bending synth breakdown somehow make sense in context of the whole. Nothing feels forced, it all just flows. I discover new sounds almost every time I listen too, which makes it all that much better. For example, the pizzicato strings at the halfway point. And the Edge-like guitar licks that come in soon thereafter. It seems so convoluted to talk about it, but they make it sound effortless.

The Opium Cartel - Better days ahead

Sirius playlist week #19

Here's the playlist for this week's radio show Sirius XMU:

01. Penny Century - Just because (feat. Mattias Alkberg)
02. TALK 1
03. Piroth - Fog dancers
04. Shogun Kunitoki - Riddarholmen
05. Elenette - Start; alla program; spel
06. TALK 2
07. The End Will Be Kicks - Sweets and filth
08. Viola - Nobodylovers
09. Pan Sonic - Maa
10. Antifilm - Here comes the son
11. TALK 3
12. Ingenting - Slapp in solen
13. Pixie Carnation - Fresh poems
14. David Åhlén - Spirit fall
15. TALK 4
16. The Fine Arts Showcase - The teenage order
17. Pinto - We breathe too much
18. The Opium Cartel - Better days ahead
19. Dag för Dag - I am the assassin
20. TALK 5
21. Aerial - All refrain

Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XMU. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.

Jo Wang's 'Symposion' available again

Termo Records, the record label run by White Willow/The Opium Cartel, has unearthed a few copies of affiliated artist Jo Wang's classic 1990 album "Symposion and will be offering it for a limited time. More info at the label's website or head to myspace for samples.

Top 10 update

The time has arrived: It's a Trap's top 10 albums of 2008
Our top songs of 2008 podcast will go up tomorrow.

And don't forget to check out some other recent top 10s from our various guest contributors:

Niklas Åström (And the Sound)
Jacob Holm-Lupo (The Opium Cartel/White Willow)
Tobias Hellkvist
Rasmus Kellerman (Tiger Lou/Araki)
Karin Ström

Top 10s for 2008: Jacob Holm-Lupo (The Opium Cartel/White Willow)

Here's the playlist for this week's radio show:

01. Logh - Saturday nightmares
02. TALK 1
03. Pay TV - Miss Capitalist
04. TST - No teenage future
05. Dmitry Fyodorov - Wolfbrigade
06. TALK 2
07. The Opium Cartel - Flicker girl (ft. Rachel Haden)
08. Bjorn Ulvaeus & Benny Andersson - Någonting är pa väg
09. On Volcano - Out of sight
10. TALK 3
11. Lemonator - Heart burns
12. Loudpipes - Downhill blues
13. The Greencoats - Honey
14. TALK 4
15. Christian and Karla-Therese Kjellvander - Two souls
16. Detektivbyrån - Neonland
17. Knife and Ape - Upset blues
18. TALK 5
19. Cut City - Replacement
20. Culkin - Twin Lakes annual
21. Last Days of April - Playerin
22. TALK 6
23. Viking Truckers - Love on the road

Reminder: my show on Sirius Left of Center (channel 26) airs Sundays at 11pm ET with repeats on Monday.

MP3: The Opium Cartel - Flicker girl

One of the perks of running this site that I enjoy most is developing relationships with artists I admire. It's not just interacting via email interviews, but moreso the conversations that go on off the record. Stuff like talking Broder Daniel with Gustaf Kjellvander or even shooting the shit with the dudes from The Swedish Model, discussing the future of physical products. Of course, it's always about the music in the end and so when I get a chance to peep in on the creative process, that's always the best. I'm not much a collector of b-sides and alternate mixes for the most part, but sometimes that really is the best way to get inside an artist's head to see how they work. Moonbabies are a great example -- their songs go through so many variations before arriving at the finished product and it's amazing to hear how many different ways a single piece of music can be expressed. Another great example is Jacob Holm-Lupo and his current project The Opium Cartel. Like Moonbabies' Ola Frick, I get the impression that Jacob labors endlessly in the studio, adding endless layers of instrumentation until he can finally realize the symphony in his head. Ah, the double-edged sword of modern technology! So naturally, when presented the opportunity to share a work-in-progress from him, I gotta jump on it.

If you remember the previous Opium Cartel track I posted last September, this one mines similar territory, though is a bit quieter/folksier. I still hear a bit of the same dark, atmospheric vibe that's in all of Jacob's work dating back to White Willow, however the guest vocals from Rachel Haden (currently on tour with Todd Rundgren, believe it or not) push it closer to Kate Bush avant-pop territory. It starts off twinkly, but slowly progresses into, well, progressive territory. This mix isn't even close to refined so I'm sure the finished version will be even bigger (Jabob: "None of the TOC tracks have actually been mixed yet, and this one suffers a bit from that, as it has like a million tracks"), but it's pretty damn good as-is, so listen up and let your mind fill in the blanks for its as-yet untapped potential. The song and the main melody are in place and that is what's most important.

Errata: the lineup for this recording is Jacob and Rachel plus frequent collaborator Mattias Olsson (Pineforest Crunch, Molesome, etc.) and flautist Ketil Einarsen (Jaga Jazzist). Expect a late 2008/early 2009 release.

The Opium Cartel - Flicker girl (ft. Rachel Haden)

MyFriends: The Spurts, Virak, Easy, Seda, That Dude Prince, Evocation

Norway's The Opium Cartel has posted yet another track on myspace, this time it's a cover of Brian Eno's "By this river": www.myspace.com/opiumcartel

Norwegian atmospheric rock act The Opium Cartel has a new track up on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/opiumcartel

MP3: The Opium Cartel - Three sleepers

New (exclusive?) track today from Norway's The Opium Cartel, the solo project of Jacob Holm-Lupo (White Willow). On this particular track, he's joined by fellow WW member Sylvia Skjellestad on lead vocals, so if you're at all familiar with that band, this will probably sound quite similar. But whereas WW displays a strong prog influence, The Opium Cartel is far, far mellower no doubt largely due to the influence of producer and fellow collaborator Mattias Olsson (Pineforest Crunch, Änglagård, Nanook of the North, etc). For recording nerds like myself, it's possible to let Mattias' signature warm synth sounds and excellent layering skills overwhelm the track, but it can also be enjoyed as a fine atmospheric pop song. I'm reminded a bit of fellow Norwegian artrockers The 3rd and the Mortal, but it's probably a bit more akin to David Sylvian or Kate Bush as this style of prog/pop is far more weighted towards the pop side of things. Y'know, the kind of thing that appeals to 'serious' music types and high-minded critics without alienating the general listening audience. It's possible to geek out on it, but can be readily enjoyed by anyone as the the overall prettiness of the music is by far its strongest asset.

The Opium Cartel - Three sleepers