Leading up to the release of the new Forty Knives EP on May 12th, Canadian post-punk collective Ultrviolence is sharing their new track “Shadows of The Thief” exclusively with Impose. Driven by a fast-pace drum beat and eccentric guitar chords, frontman and songwriter Nate Jespersen’s vocals come in hot and heavy, bringing the track into a “party in the dark” type of soundscape. The reverb escalates the track into a widely psychedelic sphere, and we find that we can’t stop bobbing our heads.
Check out the track below, and then delve into our quick interview with Jespersen himself!
What was the first album or song you remember listening to, and who introduced it to you?
I remember in the 80s when I was young, my mom and dad had a brand new tape from Elton John called “Too Low For Zero.” We were driving somewhere on a long road trip and i got to experience that whole album, and it was amazing. My family was quite musical back then, my grandfather had jammed and hung around Stompin’ Tom Connors, and my mother sang her beautiful songs to me. I feel very lucky to have grown up in a house filled with music.
What’s the origin story of Ultrviolence, by the way?
It started in 2002 when I found a drummer into similar things. We would play DEATH, and Danzig songs. At the time I was starting to write songs obsessively. Someone had brought me to a studio where they had Aerosmith’s 24-track, and while I was in there the studio manager and Loverboy guitarist told me I’d never make it with my ‘digital music.’ That seemed to resonate with me, I kind of sat there quietly thinking, “Alright, time to get serious and blow these farts away.” From then on it was a slow Bukowski style build-up until 2009, with our first official release under Ultrviolence, it was called IMITATION OF LIFE. Since then I’d say I’ve done quite well. I’m sure I would have released it a few years earlier, but I was grieving the sudden death of my girlfriend just as I began to get into writing music and forming my first band, and it threw me into a bit of a depression and I had to reset and start again.
So Calgary… do you find that being located there has influenced your sound at all?
I think it has. I love to watch people, and to listen to what the cold, icy, air has to say. The landscape is very spread out and isolated, yet populated. It’s the perfect amount of a working town. The cold, desolate weather brings the good and bad out of Calgarians. It all is definitely in the music.
Where do you pull your main influence from?
Life. I’m more just a reaction to the reality of life mainly, and secondly all my talented friends really inspire me.
“Shadows of The Thief” is such driven and hard-punching song. What influenced it?
Thank you! It’s a song that I wrote about being held hostage by other people’s bad intentions or actions. How it can dominate your life, without them being close to you at all. I tried to capture the confusion and pain.
Any fun anecdotes from production?
My producer Jason Corbett from JACKNIFE Sound is a funny and talented man. His band ACTORS were playing The Rickshaw in Vancouver and graciously he invited me to sing my favorite song “LIKE U WANT 2.” It pretty well much made my life, huge fan. We couldn’t stop having fun during recording, it’s a dream. (check that song out, so good!)
Your EP Forty Knives is about to come out in May. What are you most excited about re: that release?
I’m really proud and excited about these songs, and all I want is people to like them. I feel like we make the best most original post-punk we can. It’s all exciting. I believe this EP will have something for everyone, there’s a soundtrack for every life event that we come face to face with.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Thanks to all my fans that make this possible, and all my talented friends around the world. Thanks to my brother at JACKNIFE Sound, and Northern Light Records.
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