Biography
Kristoffer Rygg was born in Oslo, Norway and later raised in Cascais, Portugal. He formed the experimental band Ulver at age 16. Through his work with Ulver, Rygg would go on to become an important part of later metal subcategories, including avant-garde metal. Rygg is also the former vocalist of Borknagar (1995–1997) and Arcturus (1993–2003), both of which comprise central musicians from the early Norwegian black metal scene. Upon resigning from Borknagar, he recommended ICS Vortex as his replacement.
Rygg possesses a wide range of vocal textures and styles, ranging from baritone, countertenor, crooning and even black metal style screaming. He often records multiple tracks of himself to create dense male choirs on albums such as the majority of the vocals on Kveldssanger.
In 2005, Rygg collaborated with Portuguese musician/producer Daniel Cardoso in the project Head Control System. The music was described by the label as "groovy rock/metal with progressive edges and cinematic components." Their first and only full-length, entitled Murder Nature was released on 4 April 2006 through The End Records.
In recent years Rygg has been involved in freeform/improvisational project Æthenor which includes notable musicians such as Stephen O'Malley of Sunn O))), Daniel O'Sullivan of Guapo and David Tibet of Current 93. In April 2008 he played five concerts with Æthenor. It was his first time on stage in over a decade. Rygg has since participated in several mini-tours and concerts with Æthenor. Their triple residency at the Oslo jazz club Blå resulted in the much-acclaimed 4th album En Form for Blå.
In 2009, fifteen years after their only concert back in 1993, he decided to reintroduce Ulver live in concert. The first show was hosted by the Lillehammer Norwegian Literature Festival Norwegian Festival of Literature, and initiated by the late author Stig Sæterbakken. A year later, and after a series of shows around Europe, Rygg stood in front of a full house at the main stage of Oslo's National Opera & Ballet. A video album from the event was released commercially, and includes liner notes by Rygg and Sæterbakken. [1]
Rygg owns and operates Jester Records, an underground label specializing in experimental music, including Ulver, which has since their early metal days metamorphosed into a musical composite difficult to categorize. He has acted as guest vocalist, lyricist, engineer, producer, and remixer for a large list of artists, including Alkaline Trio, Mindless Self Indulgence, Genghis Tron, Darkthrone, Mayhem, Emperor, Ihsahn, Dimmu Borgir, The Gathering, Merzbow, Carpenter Brut and Sunn O))).
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