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NIGHT BLOOMS, The Opium Cartel's debut album is out on now on Termo Records!

BUY IT FROM www.termorecords.com, www.amazon.com, itunes or any quality dealer.

The Opium Cartel is a project led by White Willow's chief songwriter/guitarist Jacob Holm-Lupo. He is joined by vocalists Rachel Haden (The Rentals, Jimmy Eat World, Todd Rundgren), Rhys Marsh (& the Autumn Ghost), Tim Bowness (No-Man), Stephen Bennett (The Fire Thieves, Henry Fool) and Sylvia Skjellestad (White Willow), along with instrumentalists such as Änglagård/Ak-Momo mastermind Mattias Olsson on drums/keys/noise, Lars Fredrik Frøislie of Wobbler and In Lingua Mortua ..s and Ketil Einarsen of White Willow/Jaga Jazzist on flutes.

The album is mastered by Jens Petter Nilsen (Xploding Plastix) and features gorgeous artwork by Japanese illustrator Mako. It's just one of those CDs it's kind of neat to own, to be honest...

REVIEWS:

This is the first CD by the project created by the leader of White Willow, Jacob Holm-Lupo, and by the ex drummer of Anglagard, Mattias Olsson, accompanied by diverse musicians from the Swedish and Norwegian progressive scenes, as well by the likes of Tim Bowness, vocalist with No Man. The album basically follows in the Scandinavian Progressive tradition with full use of analog keyboards such as Rhodes and Mellotron as well as with ethereal atmospheres interspersed with greatly inspired symphonic moments such as "Beach House". Another highlight is the very beautiful version of "By This River", by Eno, Moebius and Roedelius, from the memorable album "Before and After Science" by the one and only Brian Eno. Here it is interpreted by vocalist Rachel Haden of The Rentals and Tim Bowness and it is certainly one of the high points of an album that also mixes some more modern moments, with a certain post-rock flavour, like the track "Better Days Ahead". To summarise, this is a very beautiful piece of work, delicately produced, with layers of artful 70s beauty and subtle analogue recording. It is a sure hit for anyone who appreciates that kind of sound. The album has been released by Termo Records, owned by Lupo and Lars Froislie, a label which has just released exceptional new album by Wobbler, and shows a lot of promise. -ProgBrazil, 9 out of 10 points (Brazil)

Taking a departure from White Willow, Jacob Holm-Lupo has crafted a brilliant album in the name of "The Opium Cartel". Joining Holm-Lupo from White Willow is Lars Fredrik Froislie so you know you are in for some major mellotron! Night Blooms is a perfect album! Beautiful lyrics, beautiful voices and a very soft mellotron laden symphonic approach throughout. Vocals are both female and male and really has a black and white vibe to it matching and reflecting the cover art. Musically this is an ideal headphone art album with tons of great passages and subtle harmonies. You need to own this album right away so go order this puppy ! -James Unger, Wonderful World of Progressive Rock (USA)

The Opium Cartel - Night Blossoms (sic) Termo Records The Opium Cartel is lead by Jacob Holm-Lupo, known from White Willow. The Opium Cartel is his solo project, and he is joined by a host of musicians with backgrounds as diverse as Jaga Jazzist and Weezer. Holm-Lupo creates slow, soaring and melancholy electronica featuring instruments like flute and guitar. Several vocalists put a personal spin on the songs. Holm-Lupo's influences include Nick Drake, Air and Beach Boys, but there are times when you can just as easily believe that he has ingested some Placebo and Muse. Especially the dark and doomy "Beach House" reminds me of Muse. The album spans widely, from the aforementioned "Beach House" to the lighter and more guitar-based "Better Days Ahead". The whole album has a certain fragility, like a crystal goblet you could easily break. It is incredibly beautiful, soothing and delicious. From time to time you are put into an almost meditative state. This is a good album to put on after a long day at work. -Kristine Borge, Vårt Land (Norwegian daily newspaper)

Wonderful! What have we here? Tasteful artwork. An eco-friendly slipcase with an un-kitschy, black and white illustration. A perfect match for the return of Art-Folk, with a touch of a chamber sound, but also interspersed with keys. And on top of that a varied pool of singers. The women range from angelic to folkloric, the men circle the misty landscapes of David Sylvian and Peter Gabriel. This is also the case of the music. One part psychedelia, one part crafty and subdued Art-Pop with ethnic elements. Occasionally the music also sounds like a continuation of The 3rd & the Mortal's story, and sometimes also like a more consistent distillation of the Mind-5 era Art-Folk of Isildur's Bane. Fragile Art-Rock projects sometimes risk falling into boredom, but here there's plenty of musical depth thanks to the plentiful, rich instrumentation and the high class of the musicians involved, but also thanks to the varied compositions of Jacob Holm-Lupo. "Honeybee" does a good job as a downright New Wave song, "Beach House" really rocks the sweat off the plants (sic). Then there's treasures like "Three Sleepers", which could almost pass for modern electronica. Or: Music-Björk/Vocals-Kate Bush. And then you have the Brian Eno cover "By this river", a minimalist suite supported by the wonderful vocals of Tim Bowness and Rachel Haden. It is hopeless to mention every single song, everything here is absolute world class and will please lovers of restrained Art-Pop sounds - that upon closer listenings reveals itself to not be so restrained after all. I'm not a White Willow expert, but I have never heard anything quite so high-grade from that direction. A while back here we discussed the theme of Paintbox as the legitimate successor to "Songs from the Observatory". "Night Blooms" is not the successor, but the complete fruition or culmination of that particular path. Art-Folk at its best! 13 out of 15 points. -Fix Sadler, Babyblaue Seiten (Germany)

The Opium Cartel is the solo project on which Jacob Holm-Lupo, guitarist and leader of the progressive rock group White Willow, has been working for many years. The Opium Cartel's Myspace page has been going for some time now and has hosted demos of the tracks which have come to complete their debut album "Night Blooms" which now sees the light of day. Holm-Lupo, in his first test away from White Willow, has surrounded himself with a close bunch of contributors familiar to connoiseurs of Scandinavian Progressive Rock and the ethereal No-Man. And in fact, Tim Bowness, the most eminent guest of Night Blooms, sings together with Rachel Haden (current Todd Rundgren bass player) on Brian Eno's "By This River" (reimagined with cello and counterpoints of keyboards), the sole cover on the album. Another point of note is the drums and varied percussion of the expert progger Mattias Olsson (from Änglagard). The music of The Opium Cartel could be defined as electric folk music, taking as much inspiration from David Sylvian as from the popular Scandinavian tradition. And so the piano and acoustic sketches in the attractive "Three Sleepers" or "Heavenman" touch you with a sprinking of keyboards and synth bass, but are also enriched with breaths and arches. The same thing happens with the pseudo-dance tracks "Better Days Ahead" and "Honeybee" (where Holm-Lupo adopts an unexpected vocal quality similar to Geddy Lee) which show a slight pop leaning, but always through the sound of synths. Another attractive track is "The Last Rose of Summer" (which can also be found on Sacrament by White Willow, but this time sung by Haden) with a previously unreleased introduction by Ketil Einarsen on the flute that echoes the work of King Crimson. "Beach House" is an elegy of progressive gothic reminiscent of White Willow which in itself carries traces of the lysergic psychedelia of Pink Floyd. The only criticism of the album is that the male vocals give little strength or insight to the tracks whereas the female vocals of Haden or Sylvia Skjellestad in songs like "Skinnydip" and "Fliker Girl" make the pop prog of Holm-Lupo become inspirng and romantic like no other. -Lorenzo Barbagli, Wonderous Stories (Italy)

Attention, masterpiece! OK, that's a bit of a cliched phrase, and quite subjective in the wide field of progressive music, but how can I not be enthusiatic about this album? The Opium Cartel is the new project of White Willow's leader/songwriter/guitarist Jacob Holm-Lupo, and this is essentially a solo album - despite the impressive list of guest artists. Of these there are many past and present members of White Willow, but also from Wobbler, Jaga Jazzist - and Mattias Olsson from Änglagård on keyboards and drums, Tim Bowness (No-Man), Rachel Haden (Todd Rundgren a.o.), Stephen Bennett (Henry Fool) and Rhys Marsh. Night Blooms offers superb, atmospheric prog tinged with folk and pop, and it is typically Scandinavian with its gentle atmosphere, both sensual and bewitching. It is accessible, but profound and intense. Night Blooms requires the full attention of the listener, as repeated listenings brings surprises and new discoveries. That says it all, doesn't it!?! Big Bang Magazine/Cosmos

A solo project from Jacob Holm-Lupo, the mastermind behind Norwegian band White Willow. This is an ambitious project featuring members and ex-members of Anekdoten, Anglagard, No-Man, Jaga Jazzist, Wobbler, and Kaada, among others. It’s a beautiful album of alternative folk songs with, in turn, heavy metal and progressive accents. Nice vocal contributions from Rhys Marsh, Rachel Haden, and even Tim Bowness on one song. These melodies will benefit from repeated listening, but after a first pass I’m already quite charmed. This CD will be getting a lot of airplay on Délire Musical I’m sure. Francois Couture, Deliré Musical, AllMusic.com