On the move
Stelth Ulvang looks forward to Meow Wolf performance
Stelth Ulvang is just outside Spokane, Wash.
He’s stopped at a waterfall and takes 15 minutes to take a scheduled phone interview.
“My wife really wants to go see the waterfall,” he says. “We’ll do that in a bit. We’re having fun touring with Wild Child. Our show in Santa Fe will be the last with the band, and I feel like it’ll be the end of summer camp. Everything is moving so fast.”
Ulvang has been on the go for the majority of the year. Despite being on hiatus from touring with The Lumineers as pianist, he’s kept the run going on tour.
A few months ago, he toured in South Africa and then came back to the States and went on tour opening for Wild Child.
“The South Africa tour was amazing, and we’ve developed a little following down there,” he says. “We don’t make a profit on the tours there. As long as we break even, it’s a good tour. It also gives me a chance to tour there.”
Ulvang released the album “Take Time” on April 3, after working on it for almost four years.
Ulvang describes it as a collection of misfit and sundry songs recorded on his iPhone 6 in hotel rooms around the world, draped in robes for vocal chambers and showers for reverb all absurdly put out on cassette tape distributed at live shows.
“Before my last record came out, I began the work,” he says. “After gathering all of the recordings, it felt ready for release. People are excited about the album, and I just put it out on CD for now. I didn’t put it out on vinyl, and such is my method for self-releasing. I did also put it out on cassette.”
As if that weren’t enough, Ulvang also released “American Boredom” around the same time.
It’s a collection of songs that were written in different countries.
“I wrote this album while on the road with The Lumineers,” he says .”I get a sense of everyone else’s opinion of America right now. It’s also coming from a lot of selfreflection and travel. We’re all aware of the phone and Netflix world and all the chaos. I take a look at America’s climate and how the world views it.”
Ulvang is also looking to returning to Santa Fe.
He was last in the City Different while touring with his other band, The Dovekins.
“I really enjoy the area and can’t wait to perform a lot of the new songs,” he says. “I actually played at Meow Wolf before it was cool. This was back in 2009 and before they got the cool permanent space.”