Haavard – Haavard (Double White LP)

If anybody else were to release an album that sounded as remarkably close as “Haavard” to ULVER’s magical acoustic masterpiece “Kveldssanger”, which stunned the Norwegians’ followers with its radiant beauty in 1996 and that also contained a track entitled ‘Kveldssang II’ – that musician would be accused of blatant plagiarism. Yet guitarist and vocalist Håvard Jørgensen is the musical mastermind behind both, “Kveldssanger” and “Haavard”, which means that his debut album as a solo-artist is in part a legitimate follow-up to ULVER’s folkish excursion into acoustic sounds that he realised with the help of many excellent guest musicians – including vocals by Kristoffer “Garm” Rygg. Under the banner of HAAVARD, the Norwegian continues his unique artistic approach that unveils the epic and sublime melodies, which are deeply rooted in his native land’s folklore. Through its acoustic and largely instrumental translation, Jørgensen lays bare the spectacular layers of cinematic beauty that hide underneath Norwegian black metal. Throughout the 90s, Jørgensen was an integral part of Oslo’s fast rising black metal scene. After joining ECZEMA and continuing when the trio turned towards black metal with a new singer under the new name SATYRICON, Jørgensen also became a part of the black scene’s progressive spearheads ULVER. Although feeling somewhat disenchanted with black metal for a while, Jørgensen continued to appear in various formations and for example contributed acoustic guitars to MYRKUR’s “M” (2015) and live album “Mausoleum” (2016). In 2019, the guitarist founded new Oslo black metal act DOLD VORDE ENSD NAVN together with three current and former members of DØDHEIMSGARD. With his passion for the darker side of music re-kindled, Jørgensen decided to pick up the loose ends of the beautiful musical thread that “Kveldssanger” had left behind with his self-named solo-project HAAVARD. Audibly adding many years of experience, “Haavard” again invites us on an acoustic journey into the beating melodic heart of dark Nordic music.

Gatefold 2LP (white vinyl) incl. 4-page insert, etching on side D and protection sleeve (500 copies available)

Track List