A few weeks ago, ouramazing bassist Ryan performed with Stelth from The Lumineers in Joburg! Tomorrow, our stunning vocalist Bonj will be joining him as a special guest in a secret performance! Pull through - it’s going to be wicked!
Stelth Ulvang is one of the hardest working men in the industry. He is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and a member of The Lumineers, The Dovekins and Spirits of the Red City. He released his record And, As Always; The Infinite Cosmos last month, and is currently on tour promoting his latest project.
Ulvang performed an album release show at Rockwood Music Hall in New York City on Saturday March 7th, in front of a packed crowd. “Honestly, that was one of my favorite performances. That release show was pretty crazy, we just put out this little EP but wanted to make a big deal about it in New York. It was really exciting to play in a place that’s famous –or infamous- for such a bustle of musicians. The Lumineers played at Rockwood in 2011, on my first tour with them, and that’s part of the reason why I wanted to go back. I remembered that they have a piano that they let the musicians play, which is really cool.”
Ulvang plays a number of instruments, including the piano, which he taught himself how to play back in 2005, as well as the clarinet, saxophone, flute, banjo and accordion. “In high school I played the woodwinds, but I got burned out, and I wanted to play the piano. I was inspired by Jerry Lee Lewis-- I wanted to play rock piano, and really just more playful rock – I really liked Beck .I started playing the accordion in 2006, and when I was in New Zealand [in 2012] I was playing a lot more accordion, and I started playing the banjo. I really wanted to learn how to play the banjo because I was obsessed with Sufjan Stevens’ “The Mistress Witch of McClure.” Similarly with respect to the accordion, I wanted to play Yann Tiersen for awhile. So it kind of spans a lot of different eras, as well.”
Ulvang wrote most of the songs on And, As Always; The Infinite Cosmos while he was touring New Zealand in 2012, playing the clarinet and accordion with The Dovekins. The record, which Ulvang describes as orchestral folk/chamber folk, is filled with gems that display all of Ulvang’s talents, ranging from three-part songs (“Out For Yourself”) to jazz-inspired songs (“Clocktower”) and folk songs (“Springtime” and “Carl Sagan; About The Orbits Of Others”). Ulvang analogizes the compilation of songs to a tattoo; “a keepsake of that time and a documentation of that time in New Zealand. All of the songs feel different, because they are sincere for a moment in time, but not necessarily in a style of music.”
Once Ulvang completed that tour and returned to the States, he flew to SXSW to join The Lumineers’ album release tour. Whenever he had down time, he worked with Nick Jaina and other musicians in Portland, OR to record the EP. He explains that the “songs basically all existed in piano and guitar form. I’ve learned a lot from The Lumineers, and they have too, from the Colorado scene about just maintaining the strengths of starting with songs that can be played on the guitar and piano, and can be played in any setting. Creating the songs with the rest of the band had three stages. I invited some of my favorite musicians from Portland and they came in, and it’s nice having full trust in musicians -- letting them write their own parts, and giving them the songs the day of and creating the songs as sort of a “first thought/best thought” approach. Then I got together with Richie Greene, and we worked on orchestrations and built up a bigger sound. So half of the album has a 16 piece orchestra.”
Ulvang is currently on tour with some of that band, making their way around the country for the past few months. When Ulvang is not performing with his current band, he tours with The Lumineers and Spirits of the Red City (he is currently performing both as the opening act and playing the accordion in the band). As he heads back into the studio with The Lumineers to record their next album this summer, Ulvang admits that he will have to work on balancing all of his projects. “I’ll probably play with Spirits of the Red City a little less, and play my own stuff a little more. And then after we record, we’ll go back out on tour again. I’m exited to go to new places. I don’t know what’s next on the list – but I’m looking forward to going to new countries.”
You can keep track of Ulvang by visiting his website (http://stelthulvang.com) and following him on Twitter @StelthUlvang.
Stelth Ulvang, pianist for the Lumineers, kindly asked us to do a house show in Chapel Hill with him. It was an amazing night, filled with great music and new friends. Thanks to everyone who made it happen!
