This Week's Playlist #138 - The Wolves edition
5 songs for a tribute to Ulver, and their late keyboard player who left us last week
Hello everyone!
This Week's Playlist - Season 3, Episode 34.
Tore Ylwizaker, the keyboard player for Ulver (Wolves, in Norwegian), passed away last week. The band published a vibrant hommage on its website.
Ulver was instrumental in my musical education. I discovered them in the early 2000s (more about that later) after listening to many mainstream rock and heavy metal bands as a teenager).
I could not find a way to get a hold of any of their albums, so I had to order the only two CDs (“Themes from William Blake” and “Perdition City”) my local record shop could find from his dealer.
It was very different from anything I listened to before, mixing electronic and industrial music in a very avant-gardiste. That was very disorienting at first and completely out of the typical musical patterns I was used to. And while I could not tell if I liked it or not, I ended up coming back to these records a lot in the next couple of years.
Ulver became my gateway to many electronic/experimental music I've been listening to since then. They represent to me a true metal spirit: relentlessly pushing boundaries and moving you out of your comfort zone.
The least I could do is pick up 5 songs about them for this week's rotation.
I hope you enjoy it and see you next week!
There is a YouTube link for each of the songs on the cover, and here are the playlists for each streaming platform:
1. THE GATHERING - A Life All Mine
My first contact with Ulver: Garm (Kristofer Rygg, the singer and main composer) was featured as a guest on this song, the closing track of their 2003 album, "Souvenirs".
This album, while boldly departing from their metal sound, required a lot of spins before I really got into it. However, it ended up being my favourite. It's one of their most progressive sounds, adventuring in new spheres such as trip-hop (and even hip-hop) or electronic music.
2. JEFFERSON AIRPLANE - Today
Fast Forward a decade. Ulver releases a cover album of obscure 60s psychedelic tracks.
It is my favourite original song in the whole album.
3. MOTHLITE - Something In The Sky
We continue with long-time Ulver collaborator Daniel O'Sullivan's solo project, Mothlite.
It is my favourite track on a gentle and relaxed album. Electronic, but somehow organic, too.
4. ÅRABROT - Kinks of the Heart
Årabrot were on my radar of the bands to listen to for a while, but I never took the time to dig into their discography.
This week's playlist was the perfect opportunity: Kjetil Nernes, who essentially IS the band Årabrot, along with his musician wife Karin Park are good friends with Ulver, from the same metal/noise rock music community in Norway.
Here is the main track of their 2021 album, Norwegian Gothic, a noise rock with a very pleasant 90s flavor, somewhere between Mastodon and Fugazi.
5. ULVER - Eos (Live at the Norwegian Opera)
Honour where honour is due.
The opening track of their most seminal album is also the prime of Ulver (& Tore) 's ambient music era (before they embarked on their synthpop sound).
This live rendition of the song is a pure gem.
I vividly remember their gig in Paris on that tour—the opening, the ambience, the video backdrop, and the vocals—probably some of my best live music memories since I started going to concerts.
Until the next time, Godspeed!
Thomas
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