Norway’s Haunted by Silhouettes are one week away from unleashing the epic and damn perfect, No Man Isle (May 6, Eclipse Records). (Read our Track by Track review.)
Inspired by poet, John Donne, No Man Isle is a short concept story written by vocalist Mathias Jamtli Rye that focuses on themes of solitary survival, family, independence and societal humanity.
Mathias sat down with Pretty Vacant One to talk about all things, No Man Isle.
PVO: How was writing and recording No Man Isle different from previous work?
Mathias: Making a shorter piece this time around under the pandemic made it possible to really take our time and work meticulously on four killer songs over a longer period of time. The whole process of writing and recording turned out great and I had a lot of fun immersing myself into all the aspects of it.
PVO: What was it like working with Björn Strid on “Selkie”?
Mathias: Working with Strid was fast and to the point. Very professional. We worked remote due to this being in the midst of the pandemic and all. So we sent him the song, lyrics, some guide vocals, and melodies that we wrote. We told him to make it his own and gave him a lot of creative freedom. He made some small tasteful tweaks and adjustments that really suited the song and his voice. We’re so happy with the result! I got goosebumps and a huge smile plastered on my face while listening through the isolated tracks when they first arrived. Big thing for me personally, is to have one of my teenage hero vocalists singing lyrics that I wrote.
PVO: With “Flock” and “Selkie” videos, will fans be able to visually see what happens next in the story or will we be left with the “Selkie” cliffhanger?
Mathias: If we see an increased interest in the music videos and the No Man Isle lore after the release, I guess we’ll take it into consideration. But nothing more is planned so it’s a cliffhanger for now. Since the lyrical and visual concept revolves around a short story I wrote, I personally would be very satisfied with completing the story with an “Icon” and “No Man Isle” video, but yeah, time, resources and so forth. We’ll see. A visual novel maybe?
Music gods, please give us a completed visual novel.
Shelia, Pretty Vacant One founder
PVO: Who did the beautiful artwork for No Man Isle?
Mathias: Niklas Sundin (Mitochondrial Sun/ Ex-Dark Tranquillity) did our awesome artwork and is a graphic designer and musician we have followed for quite a while and it has been discussed between us several times before. Our correspondence was throughout, meticulous and he nailed the vision for the artwork. It was even better than anticipated.
PVO: The EP is an amuse-bouche that will leave fans salivating for more, will there be a full length LP to satiate fans?
Mathias: Glad to hear! Yes, No Man Isle is definitely an appetizer for our new direction and the course we want to set for the next full-length album. The response has been good so far regarding the singles so hopefully people will love the rest.
We gave it 5 out of 5 rock hands, read our Track by Track review.
PVO: What’s on the plate of Haunted by Silhouettes for 2022 and 2023?
Mathias: We’ll kick off a Norwegian tour in May 2022 and we’re working on getting some selected shows outside Norway in the fall. We also have big plans for 2023 as we are celebrating 10 years as a band. So stay tuned with everything that’s coming!
Pre-order or pre-save No Man Isle now.
Watch “Flock”
Watch “Selkie” featuring Björn Strid
Photo credit: Eclipse Records
