Sweden’s Wardenclyffe joined us with a track on issue 100’s covermount CD – and a very fine one it is too. Vocalist Jacob Nordangård gave us some answers as we probed him to find out more about the enigmatic fivesome.
ZT: Where do you hail from, what’s in your band name, and who are your band members?
JN: We come from Norrköping in Sweden. Members of the band are Jacob Nordangård (vocals), Robert Karlsson (lead guitar), Ola Blomqvist (guitar) Micael Zetterberg (drums) and Emil Åström (bass). The members are experienced and have previously been active or are still active in bands like Captor, Misericordia, Godhead Machinery, Terrorama, Griftegård and Dautha. We are named after the Serbian inventor and genius Nikola Tesla’s experimental facility in New York. The logo was designed by Finnish artist and musician Sami Hynninen (Reverend Bizarre / Opium Warlords).
Where are you going musically? Is there a concept to your music, lyrically or aesthetically?
We mix our doom with elements of thrash, death and heavy metal with old plain hard rock. The mixture of different influences from the ‘70s to the ‘90s is what makes the music unique. The name Wardenclyffe is connected to our general thematic approach with thought-provoking lyrics about the connection between world politics, science, religion, occultism, transhumanism, and Artificial Intelligence; researched by me (I have a Ph.D. in Science and Technology Studies). I have since the release of my doctoral thesis complemented my books with a soundtrack by Wardenclyffe. Our song ‘Rockefeller’ was for example included as soundtrack to my book Rockefeller – Controlling the Game.
We strive to combine different art forms like art, theatre and exhibitions with science. Aesthetically we take our influences from the Victorian era of science. Jacob has a special “Tesla-staff” constructed for him by a scrap-metal artist for use on stage.
Who / what influences your music?
We are an original bunch of people and don’t settle for things that are predictable. The music usually comes to me as I walk through the neighbouring cemetery, thinking about a topic I have decided to write a song about. Musical creativity, for me, is a part of the divine connection.
Why did you select the track included on the ZT covermount to represent you? How does it fit in with the rest of your material?
‘Georgia Guidestones/Evilution’ is the first song that has been released from our upcoming album Temple Of Solomon. It was released together with my new book ‘Den globala statskuppen’ (which will be available in English as ‘The Global Coup D’état’ later this year) at an event on board of an old steamship in Stockholm on 21 of December 2020.
The song is about the mysterious ‘American Stonehenge’ Georgia Guidestones and its message for humanity about a drastic reduction of population and control of evolution. The second part of the song is my interpretation of the true meaning of the United Nations Global Goals. The song is more raw and aggressive compared to the other tracks on the new album. It reflects the times we are living in and the lyrical theme connects to the findings in my new book (about the geopolitical background to the pandemic).
Tell us a bit about how you go about writing and recording.
We recorded the new tracks in Studio Hufvudstaden together with producer Kristian Karlsson. He is himself a member of both PG Lost and Cult Of Luna. The songs are mainly written by me but other band members as Ola Blomqvist and Emil Åström have also contributed with material. The whole band works together, developing the songs during rehearsals and the pre-recording sessions to arrange and complete them. Robert Karlsson adds solo arrangements. Our producer Kristian Karlsson has also added elements, like Hammond organ and Moog. Some songs are given an extra dimension through background vocals by Stella Tormanoff and Martina Sjöström.
How has the recent pandemic affected the band – has it prevented you from live performance – focused you on writing more… Do you see if ever ending, and what do you really miss from before it took hold on life in general?
Our upcoming album perfectly reflects our current situation. The first lines in the opener HAL asks: “How did we end up like this? In the garden of misery”. We are experiencing an attack on all liberties and the creative arts. It is pure madness. We are managed through fear and the masses believe what they are told. It has to end. As we have been working on our album we haven’t really suffered from cancelled live performances, but it affects us in other ways. I have not been able to give talks about my books in continental Europe as planned. We are of course longing to play live or participating at a festival. Meeting people and interacting without the help of digital devices.
What are your plans going forward?
We will release another single (‘Looking For The Green Fairy’) this spring. The plan is then to release our new album Temple Of Solomon together with the English edition of my book ‘The Global Coup D’état’. Probably late May or early June.
How can ZT readers hear more?
Purchase our previous album Control All Delete and the single ‘The Omega Point’ or stream our music from Spotify, Bandcamp or other digital services. We also have some videos on our Youtube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEwu8a8_ZBoMJ94Hm-spWg
open.spotify.com/artist/64Ph0G5dtBVE13TIHIkXLK
wardenclyffe.bandcamp.com
Band name: Wardenclyffe
Formed: 2011
Origin: Norrköping, Sweden
Current release: Georgia Guidestones/Evilution (CD-single released as a soundtrack to singer Dr. Jacob Nordangård’s book ‘The Global Coup D’état’)
Signed or unsigned: Previously on Van Records and now through our own label Pharos Media Productions
Socials: wardenclyffe.se | www.facebook.com/Wardenclyffe-465190890185907
My books: stiftelsen-pharos.org/publikationer.html
