For friends of WHITE WILLOW ! The Opium Cartel is a project put together by songwriter / guitarist / producer Jacob Holm-Lupo from seminal Norwegian art-rockers White Willow. With something of a split cult following, White Willow has influenced both the modern psych-folk scene (their 1995 debut, "Ignis Fatuus" is considered one of the forerunners of the psych-folk revival) and the extreme metal scene (fans include Norway's Enslaved and Emperor, Engand's Cathedral and US group The Soil Bleeds Black). Musically, this is partly a back-to-the-roots dip into the folk-rock that originally inspired Holm-Lupo (Mellow Candle, Fairport Convention, Trees), although the album touches on a variety of genres, from electronically impaired folk (Heavenman, Three Sleepers) via garagey power-pop (Honeybee) and art-pop (Skinnydip) to proggy excursions (Beach House).