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Features - Interview
 Ulver Masters of the Unknown Interview by Sean Butze & Jeff McQuiggan | November 21st, 2007
In the entire history of contemporary music, few bands have managed to successfully achieve a level of artistic versatility and innovation like Norway’s ULVER. Emerging as a folk-inspired black metal act in the early 90’s, Ulver has since explored many other genres including ambient, electronica, trip-hop, and various forms of experimental rock. Over the course of their career, the band has gradually blended aspects of all these styles to create astonishingly unique approaches to modern music. In addition to their studio material, Ulver has also produced several soundtracks for European films.
Ulver’s newest album, Shadows of the Sun, was released just last month and has already received enormous amounts of praise from fans and critics alike. The album is a continuation of the band’s highly experimental ambitions, featuring ambient electronics, haunting vocals, a string quartet, and even includes a cover of Black Sabbath’s “Solitude.” The new album has been hailed by many as the band’s finest work, and has proven to the world that Ulver is just as strong as ever.
Now, for the first time speaking on behalf of Ulver, group member Jørn Sværen offers his thoughts about the band’s career and the newly released Shadows of the Sun.
SF: As anyone who has followed Ulver's career knows, you're a group that has freely explored a diverse number of genres, often completely changing your style and sound from one album to the next. It seems safe to assume that you guys don't really set any boundaries for yourselves when creating your music. In what ways do you think this artistic freedom has enhanced your career, and why do you think there are so few other bands that dare to attempt such massive style changes?
Jørn Sværen: I don't know. Our changes are not a result of a calculated approach. The shifts surface in the process and then the process shifts etc. There's more to it than mere dichotomy. We are restless, we act on instinct. And I don't know if our twists and turns can be said to have enhanced our career. It certainly hasn't in terms of commerce. Our old skin enjoys great success these days, you know. I guess we've lost quite a few listeners along the way, but I hope those who travel with us will be rewarded.
SF: You've done a lot of collaboration with other artists on your more recent albums, and Shadows of the Sun is no exception--Christian Fennesz makes an appearance, as well as a string quartet and a theremin player. Would you say collaboration has become an essential part of Ulver? Would you ever do another Ulver album alone?
Jørn: I'd say no, collaboration is not essential to Ulver. The collaborators come in at a late stage in the process. But we are no instrumentalists, and so we work with people who know the trade when it is needed. It's a privilege of course, to work with people like Fennesz and Pamelia Kurstin, they have worked wonders with our mischief.
SF: We've heard a lot of dark, grim and eerie sounds from Ulver over the years, but Shadows definitely has a unique sense of gentle melancholy. I've heard several people say that Shadows of the Sun is Ulver's first truly depressing album. Would you agree with that? What kinds of inspirations were driving you in the creation of it?
Jørn: Yes, I agree, it's a sad thing. We wanted to make something much more vulnerable and personal, true to how we feel about life at this point. We knew it would have to be solemn, but without the heavy artillery. Sad and simple. Quite the opposiste of Blood Inside, where we introduced all kinds of stuff to blow the thing out of proportion. Now, instead of plugging things in, we have thrown things out.
SF: You had a listening party for Shadows of the Sun in New York before its release date. Is that the closest thing to a live show you have plans to do in support of the album?
Jørn: Yes, that's all. We shy away from the spotlight.
SF: Ulver's first few albums seemed to have a heavy pagan inspiration to them. Are folk/pagan themes still an influence or inspiration for your music?
Jørn: I wouldn't say that folk adds much to our music these days. It's a different thing with paganism, we grew up with it and it has become a part of our lives. It's an outlook more than a passing fancy. If it colours our music, which I suppose it does, it's not a conscious decision.
SF: How did Ulver first get involved doing film soundtracks? Do you enjoy doing them as much as your regular albums?
Jørn: It's a mixed blessing. Making music for film is an exhausting process, involving many people and opinions. Teamwork is not really our thing. But we've learned a lot from it of course, and it's good money. As long as we can do scores instead of having regular jobs, we're happy. As for Lyckantropen, the first film we did, director Steve Ericssson got in touch and asked if we would like to do the music. We tuned in to the atmosphere of the thing and decided to give it a go. That's how it works, people get in touch and we say yes to the projects we believe in.
SF: You mentioned in a recent interview with Pitchfork that you're negotiating a new soundtrack deal for an upcoming film. Can you tell us anything about it?
Jørn: I'm sorry, but nothing is decided yet.
SF: If you just met someone and they wanted an introduction to Ulver, what song or album would you play them and why?
Jørn: I think Shadows. It's the closest thing to how I feel right now.
SF: With regard to the recent shutdown and legal prosecution of OiNk, one of the world's largest filesharing websites, we were hoping you could offer your own thoughts and opinions about music piracy. Do you think it's a serious problem? As a musician, does it bother you than many people obtain your own albums online without paying for them?
Jørn: It's a serious problem for the industry of course, and for us. We've never made much money and now it's tougher than ever. But I understand the drive, we are all thieves, so I guess it's a situation that everybody will have to adapt to. It forces us to think different and that's a good thing. We work with vinyl and other tangible artifacts, and will continue to do so.
Read SF's review of Shadows of the Sun
ULVER Official Website
ULVER on MySpace
Photo credit: Thomas Røst Stenerud
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