Haavard - Haavard
Yet guitarist and vocalist Håvard Jørgensen is both, the musical mastermind behind "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 and romantic period composition and that are inherent in and an integral part of Nordic black metal. The guitarist respectfully removes all the harsh electronic fuzz and musical rage that generally drives this style. Through its acoustic and largely instrumental translation, Jørgensen lays bare the spectacular layers of cinematic beauty that hide underneath – and Norway's fjords and fjell become clearly visible again in his music.

Throughout the 90s, Jørgensen was an integral part of Oslo's fast rising black metal scene. At the beginning of this musically extremely exciting decade, the guitarist joined ECZEMA, which had been founded by drummer Exhurtum aka Carl-Michael "Aggressor" Eide and bass player Vegard "Wargod" Tønsberg Bakke in 1990. Shortly after Jørgensen had signed up, the trio decided to turn towards black metal and after the later figurehead Satyr had also joined, the four of them continued under the new name SATYRICON.

Jørgensen also joined the black scene's progressive spearheads ULVER, where he remained a member from the first "Rehearsal" demo from 1993 until "Perdition City" (2001). Yet even after officially leaving, he continued to appear as a guest on later recordings.

Although feeling somewhat disenchanted with black metal after 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 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. This album is the 'missing link' between a modern interpretation of folklore inspired Norwegian music and black metal. And although in a paradoxical twist, the latter seems not to be present on this album, it sure is. Beauty easily has all of us fooled.

Release date: November 11, 2022

Style: Dark Nordic Folk

Tracklist

1. Printemps
2. Heartwood
3. Oberon
4. The Chase
5. Snøhetta
6. Emmanuelle
7. Eastwood
8. Niende Mars
9. Kveldssang Ii
10. Sørgemarsj
11. Mot Soleglad
12. Myrull
13. Athena

Line-up
Håvard Jørgensen – guitars, various synth sounds

Guest musicians
Kristoffer "Garm" Rygg – vocals on 'Mot Soleglad'
Torgeir Waldemar and Kristoffer Rygg – backing voices on 'Eastwood'
Anders Møller – acoustic percussion
Ole-Henrik Moe – violin and viola on 'Heartwood', 'Snøhetta', 'Eastwood', and 'Sørgemarsj'
Evan Runge – violin on 'Printemps', 'Oberon', 'Emmanuelle', 'Niende Mars', 'Myrull', and 'Athena'
Raphael Weinroth-Browne – cello on 'Printemps', 'Oberon', 'Emmanuelle', 'Niende Mars', 'Myrull', and 'Athena'
(Evan Runge and Raphael Weinroth-Browne appear courtesy of Musk Ox)
Tore Ylwizaker – keyboards, Mellotron
Kristine Marie Aasvang – flute on 'Oberon', 'Snøhetta', and 'Athena'
Lars Nygaard – accordion on 'Emmanuelle'

Music written, composed and recorded by Håvard Jørgensen between 2014-2018
Guitar recording at home studio and in Lupercal, Oslo, 2017 and 2018
String arrangements & programmed strings by Håvard Jørgensen
Mixed by Anders Møller at Subsonic Society throughout 2020
Mastered by Vegard Kleftås Sleipnes at Subsonic Society

Artwork by Trine + Kim Designstudio