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ROP28.ulver.indd 82 7/4/12 10:50 AM The boys get ready to doctor some cult classics… SEBASTIAN LUDVIGSEN/PRESS SEBASTIAN

Once heroes of black metal, Ulver refuse conventional of bands. In fact it’s hard to think of any other collective who’ve to stand still. They’ve paid tribute to William shape-shifted quite so dramatically Blake, explored techno and now present over the past two decades. their spin on 60s psych. Kristoffer Rygg It’s easier to say where they haven’t been. They began as a punishing black explains the Ulver vision. metal combo, before morphing into Words: Rob Hughes a progressive art-rock band with a thing for minimal ambient music, bleeping electronica, improv and illehammer, Norway. symphonic pomp. Some of their nine May 30, 2009. Ulver are studio albums are more alarming than finishing their set at the others. 1998’s Themes From William Maihaugsalen concert hall Blake’s The Marriage Of Heaven And Hell as part of the Norwegian was a hi-concept work that somehow Festival Of Literature. The combined all of the above and more, show has proved a glowing made even more startling by its arrival triumph. As the final note on the back of three albums largely ebbs away, the crowd rises made up of sinus-shattering rock songs into a rapturous standing about archaic Norse legends and ovation. Not that this is mountain trolls. especially newsworthy in itself. The Theirs is a world often viewed in Lband have become underground heroes freefall. As fan Julian Cope has noted: in their native land since forming in “Ulver are cataloguing the death of our 1993. But there’s one curious aspect to culture two decades before anyone else all this: it’s Ulver’s first live gig for over has noticed its inevitable demise.” 15 years. And only the second in their They’re a band who seem eternally entire history. The news had originally It took us 15 restless, as if in dogged pursuit of some been broken via a press release earlier hidden, higher truth. in 2009. The band explained that years to “You’re quite right in describing us they’d been invited to play the festival as restless,” says the band’s founder by artistic director Stig Sæterbakken muster the and leader, Kristoffer Rygg, aka Garm. and, “after long consideration,” they’d will and want “We’re generally interested in all kinds decided to accept. “We had been of music. It would be very unnatural for animals in hiding, uncomfortable with to ‘interact me to work in a 20-year perspective in the world,” Ulver stated. “It took us 15 with society’, just one style or genre. You adapt and years to muster the will and want to stray into different things. To me it’s a ‘interact with society’, that is, perform that is, to natural evolution. But sure, if you take live… We go to the job with great this new album and put it next to the humility and horror.” perform Metamorphosis EP from 1999, that’s a Granted, there’s a knowing sense of bit of a head-shaker. That was basically Ulver, 2012. From left: live… Kristoffer Rygg, Daniel mischief about such a statement. But Kristoffer Rygg techno music.” O’Sullivan, Jørn H Sværen, Ole it’s not exactly the conventional The new album he’s referring to is Alexander Halstensgård and response to the idea of gigging. Then Childhood’s End. A record, described in Tomas Pettersen.

JEROENVRANKEN/PRESS again, Ulver have never been the most typically grand Ulverspeak, whose

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ROP28.ulver.indd 83 7/4/12 10:50 AM It looked inpressive. But where was the rest of the band gonna go? LARS K. LANDE/PRESS

arrival “will end all war, help form a movement, one that became world government and turn the planet disillusioned and quite dark. I was into a near-utopia.” Lovely. It also thinking of a kind of Blakean strain, signals another abrupt turn after the a loss of innocence. I’ve always thought ambient experimental throb, and that this particular era and the occasional noisy attack, of its spirituality of it was very childlike in predecessor, last year’s Wars Of The many ways. Suddenly there was Roses. For Childhood’s End, subtitled Lost Altamont and Charles Manson, cocaine & Found From The Age Of Aquarius, is a and heroin, then Watergate later. So the

cache of covers from the more obscure album title is quite literal. It also ties in O’SULLIVAN/PRESS KERRY corners of late ’60s psychedelia. Here with themes we’ve touched on before. you’ll find hallucinatory new versions The Blake album we did in 1998 I known beforehand, we wouldn’t have of songs by the likes of The Music explores the same idea of shattered recorded it.” We should be thankful he Machine, We The People, The Beau illusions and a lost childhood. They’re only found out later. Brummels, Les Fleurs De Lys and The common themes in our world.” But Rygg’s lightweight admission United States Of America. Alongside The most engaging aspect of There’s also highlights the extent of the self- better known perennials The Pretty Childhood’s End lies in the choice of discipline that governed this whole Things, The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane songs themselves. The Electric Prunes’ a mixtape venture. “There’s a mixtape angle of and The Electric Prunes. I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night) angle of doing something like this,” he says. “It was one of those projects I’d been and The Byrds’ Everybody’s Been Burned “It has to be an album that you can play meaning to do for some time,” explains may be the most familiar choices on doing this. from the first to last track and feel like Rygg. “In my 20s I found myself offer, and therefore perhaps the least It has to be it all belongs together. The dynamic coming up short with new things to memorable, but mostly it’s a head- has been important. I wanted to make like. It wasn’t until the late ’90s when tripping stew of blissfully stoned an album that a cohesive presentation, so they’re not I discovered a true fascination with oddities. Among the highlights is The necessarily our favourite songs from psychedelic music, and even prog. That Trap. First recorded in 1967 by LA fuzz you can play that era. It’s a bit more complex than was when ’60s and ’70s music really merchants The Music Machine, Ulver’s from the first that really – the tracks are tied in a bit took hold, and I’ve been more and more terrific cover is dedicated to the band’s more conceptually.” into it ever since. I listen to a lot more singer Sean Bonniwell, aka Mr Black to last track Most of the album was recorded live, stuff from that era than I do modern Leather Glove, who died last December. and feel like with a modicum of embellishment music, but I had to do some real “I was in contact with him for a while,” later. As ever with all things Ulver, digging around for these songs on the says Rygg, “and spoke to him just a few it all belongs achieving a certain feel was paramount. album. You almost learn to rely on tip- weeks before he passed away. He was “We spent quite a bit of time getting offs, rather than sifting through entire very keen on hearing our version of the together. the sound right. So it’s modern, but it’s albums trying to find that one golden song, but he never got to in the end.” Kristoffer Rygg also very soft-rock sounding.” As for nugget. But they are there if you know There’s also a fittingly charged take the choice of tunes, Rygg admits that where to look. There’s a missionary on The 13th Floor Elevators’ astro- the final tracklisting went right down aspect to all this too, to make an garage anthem, Street Song, alongside to the wire: “We tried and failed quite exclamation mark to that fact that a kaleidoscopic Soon There’ll Be a bit. The last track was only chosen there are fucking golden nuggets before Thunder, first cut by The Common literally about a week into the mixing your Black Sabbaths. Doing my People in 1969. While one of the process. That was [The Music research I found a lot of useful things album’s most unexpected joys comes Emporium’s] Velvet Sunsets. We were from that era. For example, The Electric in the form of Lament Of The Astral listening to some vinyl one night, with Prunes were actually the first band to Cowboy, written by mercurial LA some green – which is usual when you use a wah-wah pedal. Which really producer and arranger Curt Boettcher, listen to this kind of music – and made me think about it in terms of one of the great unsung pioneers of feeling the vibe. Someone put on an being the birth of 99 per cent of what sunshine pop. The mention of this album and Velvet Sunsets came on. We we call modern music. Before that it elicits a voluntary confession from immediately thought: ‘Fuck, we need to was all blues, jazz and pop.” Rygg: “I have to admit something that’s do this!’” It’s also a project that’s mindful of a bit embarrassing. I thought that song Childhood’s End may be the wider societal sweep of the late was from the late ’60s, but then found a commendable addition to Ulver’s ’60s. “It was a sort of cultural out otherwise [it’s from 1973]. Had recorded canon, but don’t hold your

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The Mars Volta at Sonisphere 2011 – never less than mindblowingly intense. AGNIESZKA ZWARA/PRESS AGNIESZKA

first place. It does take a lot of focus Opera houses? Sixties covers? away from what is ultimately most Chamber orchestras? It all seems a long important, which is making new way from Ulver’s formative years on music. I do enjoy playing live, but not Norway’s often-notorious black metal always. We’ve had some truly magical circuit of the early ’90s. Did Rygg ever Psychedelic shack: Ulver moments out there, but it can also be envision this future when he started shed their heavy roots. very distracting. We’re not so at ease in the band as a teenager? “I never

KERRY O’SULLIVAN/PRESS KERRY our role as live performers.” thought beyond making one album,” Rygg’s work rate, meanwhile, he laughs. “When we made that one breath waiting for a tour any time remains unchecked. Around the same [1995’s Bergtatt – Et Eeventyr I 5 soon. That 2009 show in Lillehammer time as the first sessions for Capitler] we formed the two subsequent was followed by a string of sold-out Childhood’s End, which began in 2008, albums in our heads. But beyond that European shows, including the Queen he hooked up with Stephen O’Malley we were probably too young to think Elizabeth Hall in London and the open- Sorry about of ambient doomlords Sunn O))): “We about lineage or legacy. In retrospect I’d air Brutal Assault festival in The Czech recorded some massive jams, and now say we started the band with a very Republic, where they performed to the grim we’ve gone back and started poor singer, but the criteria was very nearly 10,000 punters. There were also faces, we will rearranging and sculpting them a little. different in that day and age. Being gigs in the States and South America It was one of those projects that sort of a band was a more involved way of before the band played another never be The disappeared for a while, so we aim to being part of a culture or outlook on homecoming at the Norwegian finish it with a view to releasing an life that was black metal. It was very National Opera. A DVD of that night is Bee Gees… album. It’ll be very different to what different from what I see now. It might out this summer. But, aside from an Kristoffer Rygg Ulver are doing right now, full of heavy call itself by the same name, but it’s not appearance at Holland’s Roadburn 10 or 12-minute pieces. It’s a what it was. And I’m not really sure Festival this April, 2012 will find Ulver collaboration of minds really.” Then, of I even care. It goes back to what we back behind closed doors. course, there’s the forthcoming were saying about lost innocence. The The band’s website issued a news orchestra show in Norway, which Rygg magic has gone for me, so now I’m bulletin at the end of last year: “We concedes is “sort of a big deal. That trying to find it in other places.” have said it before, and we say it again: may very well turn out to be the festivals are hazardous, people and foundation for the next Ulver album. Childhood’s End is out now on Kscope. See place being out of control. So, sorry Obviously that means it’s going to be www.jester-records.com/ulver/ for info. about the grim faces, we will never be more symphonic, with long The Bee Gees…” shimmering notes. It’s certainly not The Ready-Brek glow But surely the thrill of the live going to be a rock album.” was somehow more stage was something they’d missed sinister in Norway. after all those years? The roar of the greasepaint and all that? “It’s a double- edged sword,” sighs Rygg. “It’s certainly done things to the band that are good, but also things that are not so good. That’s why we’ve decided to ST STENERUD/PRESS ST slow down on that front this year. Ø Roadburn was sort of a pre-release

gig for this album. And apart from THOMAS R a commissioned piece up in the north of Norway in September, which involves a 36-piece orchestra, we have nothing planned at the moment. There’s a lot of relief to get back into studio mode. We see now that there’s a reason why we didn’t play live in the

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