New Album "Future Hopes" Announced By White Willow

Laser's Edge has confirmed the release date for "Future Hopes," the seventh full-length from eclectic Norwegian prog quintet, White Willow, unveiling the album's artwork, track listing, and other details on the record. "Future Hopes" will be issued on CD, vinyl LP and digital formats on March 31st, 2017. Audio samples, preorder info, and more will be issued in the coming days.

"Future Hopes" is the band's first album since 2011's well-received "Terminal Twilight" and it sees the outfit exploring some of the most "progressive" territory ventured into to date, with several lengthy tracks and more instrumental passages than the band is usually known for. Musically, the album builds upon the foundation of its predecessor, with a modern approach to production. "Future Hopes" also features a heavy use of synthesizers, including the unique textures of the famed Blade Runner synth, the Yamaha CS80.

The "Future Hopes" lineup, which as always is a loose constellation of musicians with multi-instrumentalists Jacob Holm-Lupo and Mattias Olsson at the core, sees the return of several White Willow stalwarts, including flautist Ketil Einarsen (Jaga Jazzist, Motorpsycho), keyboardist Lars Fredrik Frøislie (Wobbler, Tusmørke), and bassist Ellen Andrea Wang (Pixel, Manu Katché Quartet). The singer is however a new arrival. Venke Knutson is best known in her native Norway

for a string of Top 10 hits and is well established as a solo pop artist. She came into Holm-Lupo's orbit as a guest singer with his other project, The Opium Cartel. Guesting on several tracks and putting a clear stamp on the album is Norway's trailblazing guitar hero Hedvig Mollestad, known from her own Hedvig Mollestad Trio. Holm-Lupo felt the material needed a soloist who could both navigate the tricky, almost jazz-influenced chord and time changes on the album while at the same time retaining a rock edge, and Hedvig fit the bill perfectly.

"Future Hopes" was mixed by highly respected Norwegian Grammy-nominated engineer Christian Engfelt, known for his work on the Elephant9/Reine Fiske album, Atlantis, and the Todd Rundgren/Lindstrøm collaboration, Runddans. The record was mastered by Grammy Award-winning audiophile legend Bob Katz, and completed with a specially commissioned painting by Roger Dean. The CD and digital versions of the album also feature two bonus tracks, including an original tune, "Damnation Valley," as well as a cover of The Scorpions' classic dirge, "Animal Magnetism," re-interpreted as a Tangerine Dream-like electronic piece while still retaining the heaviness of the original. The star on the track is New York-based clarinetist David Krakauer, knows as the world's foremost klezmer clarinetist, with countless credits to his name both with his own projects, in jazz constellations, with many of the world's best philharmonic orchestras and with soundtrack music. Krakauer is a recipient of many prestigious nominations and awards, from DownBeat to the Grammys.

The track listing for the album is:

1. Future Hopes
2. Silver And Gold
3. In Dim Days
4. Where There Was Sea There Is Abyss
5. A Scarred View
6. Animal Magnetism [CD/digital bonus track]
7. Damnation Valley [CD/digital bonus track]