WHITE WILLOW’S SOLO MUTATIONS
Norwegian art-rock guitarist dips into retro horror soundtracks with Telepath project.
Jacob Holm-Lupo releases Mental Mutations under the banner of Telepath. Following the lead single The Dark Blood Of Fate, the mostly instrumental album will arrive on October 18.
The White Willow guitarist found inspiration in the music of his younger years, notably 70s and 80s horror movie soundtracks.
“With Goblin you have a really active rhythm section and a lot of weird melodies going on,” he tells Prog. “With Fabio Frizzi you have really gorgeous analogue synth textures.” Agreeing that such music is warm despite its horror associations, he says, “John Carpenter, Tangerine Dream soundtracks — it’s comfort music, even if the movies were scary!”
He only decided to run it past Apollon when he realised how much material he’d amassed. “I think it’s common to a lot of prog musicians that the music you make is not necessarily very personal,” he says. “This project is very personal. I learned a lot: mainly, to be a little less self-critical, let things be what they are!”
The most enjoyable element was the short turnaround time of around three weeks. “With White Willow it can take a couple of years,” he says. “Doing things in a shorter timescale means it’s still fresh by the time it comes out.”
Holm-Lupo is currently completing work on a White Willow live album and a studio record will follow in 2020; he’s ready for that challenge after Mental Mutations, which he calls “the best experience I’ve had in a long time.”
For more, visit www.facebook.com/telepathicmutations.