Six Remastered Albums from
the Scandinavian Prog Legends White Willow

Step into the captivating world of White Willow, where progressive rock meets rich, atmospheric soundscapes. With six newly remastered albums, Karisma Records celebrates the music of a band that helped define the Third Wave of progressive rock and continues to resonate with listeners across generations.

White Willow remastered albums

White Willow - Ignis Fatuus CD

Ignis Fatuus

White Willow - Ex Tenebris CD

Ex Tenebris

Cover of progband White Willows album "Sacrament"

Sacrament

White Willow - Storm Season cover

Storm Season

KAR235 WhiteWillow Signal to Noise White Willow Back Catalogue

Signal to Noise

White Willow - Terminal Twilight cover

Terminal Twilight

White Willow

Karisma Records have inked a deal with WHITE WILLOW founder Jacob Holm-Lupo for the release of six out of the seven studio albums from the Norwegian Prog legends whose long history started around 1992 when  guitarist Jacob Holm-Lupo, who at that time was a member of the POLICE/BRUCE HORNSBY-inspired pop band THE ORCHID GARDEN, and keyboard player Jan Tariq Rahman from a local jazz-rock/prog rock band DUGGVÃ…TE DVERGER, got together to assess if they had any songwriting chemistry.  The result was the song “Snowfall”, written whilst sitting on the floor playing acoustic guitar and clavinet, and the rest, as they say, is history.

WHITE WILLOW‘s debut full-length “Ignis Fatuus” was released in 1995 to glowing revues and became a runaway hit on the burgeoning prog revival scene. Just how much of a hit it was came as a complete surprise to the band, who, unaware of the album’s success, showed up later that year at the Los Angeles’ Progfest ’95 for their second ever live performance, only to find themselves in front of an audience that numbered in the thousands who had come specifically to see them. 

From thereon, the band formed part of the spearhead of what was to subsequently become known as the Third Wave of progressive rock, along with other Scandinavian bands like ÄNGLAGÃ…RD (whose drummer would later join WHITE WILLOW), LANDBERK and ANEKDOTEN. The band went on to earn the accolade as “one of the most significant progressive groups of the current era” in Billboard’s “Guide to Progressive Music”.

The history of WHITE WILLOW‘s lineup is somewhat complicated by the comings and goings of its various members over the years, so suffice it to say that only Holm-Lupo has been with the band since its inception, whilst WOBBLERS Lars Fredrik Frøislie has been a mainstay since 2001.  

Whilst inevitably changing over time, WHITE WILLOW‘s sound  is frequently centered around female vocals  and an expanded instrumentation that usually includes a host of analogue synthesizers, mellotron, woodwinds and strings, in addition, of course to traditional rock instrumentation. 

Citing influences that range from the likes of prog stalwarts GENESIS and KING CRIMSON to pop legends ABBA, WHITE WILLOW has, in turn, been quoted as an inspiration by bands ranging from doom Metallers CATHEDRAL and Norway’s ENSLAVED to German neo-proggers FREQUENCY DRIFT whose name is actually taken from a White Willow lyric.

WHITE WILLOW has now become a studio project exclusively, helmed by Holm-Lupo and often featuring guest appearances from prominent musicians such as  Norway’s guitar hero Hedvig Mollestad, or internationally renowned klezmer clarinetist David Krakauer. The band’s latest album to date is 2017’s “Future Hopes” (which is not scheduled for re-release), and which featured a specially commissioned album cover by Roger Dean. 

Karisma Records