From Silence To Somewhere was released on October 20th. We were very excited about this, nonetheless also a bit worried. We were not blind to the fact that our previous album, Rites at Dawn, was six years old. Six years is a long time for a band that definitely considers itself a "living & touring band". New album, new label, new guitarist...it felt almost as a comeback. Well, we´re back. Stronger than ever in our own opinion. The promo video / behind the beards video pretty much sums the recording process up.
Our new label, Karisma Records has been great. Huge thanks to Robin, Martin, Kristine, Bjørnar, Maja & Patricia for all support!
As a pre-release thingy we made a video to showcase the album. Made by our own Andreas Prestmo it tried to highlight the different moods of the effort. We think it was great and Andreas dug deep to provide the film material. Including this guy as an aperitif. Do we cater for a South-American marked?....Probably.
We played some of the songs from the new album live before the release, and we admit that the Crescendo Festival in France in 2015 was a testing ground as well as a teaser. Those of you with keen ears may hear changes in arrangement in this clip compared to the final recorded version.
The reception of the album has been great so far. We knew we had something, but it didn´t sound like Rites, and a lot people loved Rites. We like to think of From Silence To Somewhere as Rites 2.0. It´s where you go when your morning has gone. When your young soul has realised it´s mortal consequences. It´s mature and...well, it´s edgy and complex, as mature folks usually are. Here´s some feedback:
"It's almost hard to fathom just how good From Silence to Somewhere is, easily one of 2017s best progressive rock releases from a band that just can seemingly do no wrong. Glorious stuff from top to bottom, and highly recommended!" - Pete Pardo, Sea of Tranquility
"From Silence to Somewhere... seems lifted straight out of the golden age of progressive rock...It’s an oddity in today’s landscape, but it’s just like unearthing a never-released-before album from that epoch." - Dæv Tremblay, Can this even be called Music?
"This mammoth piece of writing does so many cool things with theme & variation and song structure. The heady philosophy, focusing on the perpetual existence of matter and identity via reincarnation, reverses the opening lyrics’ progression, rephrasing them at the conclusion for a rebirth of the song’s very concept: “From the mould, the mother womb… to rise again up from the tomb.” - The Prog Mind
"Unlike many progressive rock bands, Wobbler don’t play progressive rock…they ARE progressive rock." - Progressive Music Planet
"Creative and retro without being in any way derivative, this gentle yet at times dark album is a sheer delight. Analogies may be drawn between The evocative “From Silence to Somewhere” and both old and new prog, but this is a highly original work and deserving of a lofty place in the prog annals." - Andrew Doherty, Ave Noctum
To top it off we needed a proper release concert. We didn´t want to do a simple version of it so we invited the very talented Håkon Oftung from Jordsjø and Tusmørke on flute as well as the great violinist Åsa Ree of Meer and Brevkongen to be part of it. "Invited" sounds like we were in control, but alas, we were not. They both expanded on our arrangements (the clever f*ckers) and caught us when we were not up to snuff. For instance, the arrangement on In Orbit in the final section for violin & flute is Håkon´s. We had not heard it before the concert, and it turned out great. Åsa´s solo on Foxlight is truly her own. You should´ve been there.
As for sales, it has been a mighty ride, and as a band in our genre we don´t need to hold back. We´re not AC/DC or Åge Aleksandersen, but we´ve got fans all over the globe and combined you are our source of existence, and for that we truly thank you! As for continued inspiration goes we´ve been name dropped by a sci-fi author! Bobbysocks has not been...but....Michael Cobley´s Orphaned Worlds supposedly made it with us (and some other bands) We´re greatful! See you all later!
