Esben Willems of Monolord Announces Solo Album

Esben Willems of Monolord and Slower fame just dropped his debut solo single, “Cabaret Street,” and announced his first solo record.

The album will be called Glowing Darkness, and it will lean less into sludge and more into post punk. It will be released March 29 via Majestic Mountain Records.

“I’ve always been fascinated, inspired, and driven by limitations and I’ve always encouraged others to do what they can with what they have,” say Willems about the album. “But, I’ve not been to good at following that advice myself, so this album is just that. A collection of misfit song ideas that kept lingering, songs I eventually felt I wanted to record.

“And I wanted to do it all myself; instead of asking more capable friends to contribute on instruments I feel lost in space on—and I have the luxury of knowing quite a few insanely talented humans—I wanted to push my own limits and see what I’d be capable of within my plenitude of limitations and self-doubt. It might to some extent be rudimentary and rough, but that’s also what I like about it. A companion sentiment through the whole process—and any creative process—is that we all have so much in common, so if I like it, someone else probably does as well.”

“As Lt. Dale Cooper from David Lynch’s Twin Peaks once said, ‘I have no idea where this will lead us, but I have a definite feeling it will be a place both wonderful and strange.’”

Glowing Darkness was performed, produced, mixed, and mastered by Willems at Studio Berserk Gothenburg. It features photography from Jonas Andersson and layout by Rickard Höök. Pre-orders are available here prior to its March 29 release date.