Carl Westholm – best known for his work in the doom metal and occult rock worlds, notably as a former member of Candlemass and Avatarium – rejected Van der Graaf Generator on first listen. But as he told Prog in 2016, he later came to regard the band as one of his favourites.
“When I was a kid I listened to Genesis, Yes, King Crimson and Pink Floyd, but it’s only been within the last few years that I’ve discovered Van der Graaf Generator.
It was through my friend Leif Edling, who writes all the music for Avatarium – he and Mikael Åkerfeldt from Opeth can spend hours discussing weird albums. VdGG came up when Leif showed me a photo of Mikael with Peter Hammill. We discussed their old albums and he ended up lending me live DVDs from the Godbluff tour in 1975. It just blew me away – their music has an intensity I don’t often hear.
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The first album of theirs I heard was H To He, Who Am The Only One from 1970, but my favourite is Godbluff. It’s not over-complicated, and Peter Hammill’s vocals are like a more intense David Bowie. I love the organs and choruses and everything.
Their most famous song, A Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers from Pawn Hearts, is a bit too weird and too demanding for my tastes, so that’s why H To He… and Godbluff are a bit easier to digest.
I hadn’t thought of creating textures with so few instruments before
It’s funny; someone had told me about Van der Graaf in the 80s and I remember watching some short clips on compilation videos with friends. When David Jackson started playing saxophone, we laughed and skipped to the next band.
I didn’t get it at all – but now I actually prefer the saxophone line-up, rather than the one with Graham Smith’s violin. The very reason I dismissed them all those years ago is exactly why I like them now!
For many years I was the king of digital keyboards, and just stacked everything on top of itself. When we recorded Avatarium’s The Girl With The Raven Mask, I focused almost entirely on organ and my electric Fender Rhodes piano to create a bigger sound. That was something I learned from listening to Godbluff.
Peter Hammill plays the clavinet almost throughout the whole thing – and nothing else. I hadn’t thought of creating textures with so few instruments before so that inspired me.”
