Ulver (band)

Ulver
Ulver, 22 February 2010, Kraków
Background information
Origin	Norway
Genres	Black metal, folk metal (early) Experimental, dark ambient (later)
Years active	1993–present
Labels	Kscope, Jester Records, The End Records, Century Media, Head Not Found, House of Mythology
Associated acts	Arcturus, Borknagar, Guapo, Mothlite, Æthenor, Head Control System, Ved Buens Ende, Sunn O)))
Website	www.jester-records.com/ulver
Members	Kristoffer Rygg Tore Ylwizaker Jørn H. Sværen Daniel O'Sullivan
Past members	Sigmund Andreas Løkken (deceased) Robin Malmberg Carl-Michael Eide Håvard Jørgensen Erik Olivier Lancelot Torbjørn Pedersen Hugh Steven James Mingay

Ulver (Norwegian for wolves) are a Norwegian experimental musical collective founded in 1993, by vocalist Kristoffer Rygg. Their early works, such as debut album Bergtatt, were categorised as folklore-influenced black metal, but have since evolved a fluid and increasingly eclectic musical style, blending genres such as rock, electronica, symphonic and chamber traditions, noise, progressive and experimental music into their oeuvre. 1997 marked their international debut with the release of their third album Nattens madrigal through German label Century Media. However, following discord with the label, Kristoffer Rygg formed his own imprint Jester Records in 1998. British composer and multi-instrumentalist Daniel O'Sullivan joined the collective in 2009, and the band performed some of their first live concerts in their 15-year lifespan, including the prestigious Norwegian National Opera.

Ulver have sold in excess of half a million records, been twice nominated for the Norwegian Grammy Awards, Spellemannsprisen, in different categories, won Album of the Year at the Oslo Awards for Shadows of the Sun in 2008, won the NATT&DAG award for Best Live Act in 2011, and earned a global reputation for stylistic unpredictability.

Harmony Korine, the controversial director of films like Gummo, commented: "There's a real lineage from a composer like Wagner to a band like Ulver." Author and musician Julian Cope has said, "Ulver are cataloguing the death of our culture two decades before anyone else has noticed its inevitable demise."