Danish indie rockers Virak make a stirring return as their debut album Threads is re-released through Forward Backwards Recordings. First unveiled in 2008 as a CD-only release, Threads now finds new life on digital platforms and vinyl LP, inviting a fresh wave of listeners. This release carries special weight as a posthumous tribute to frontman, guitarist, and songwriter Martin Ejlertsen, who later founded Black Light White Light in 2009. That band’s four studio albums earned them a devoted global following, with tours across the UK and US, glowing praise from CLASH Magazine, Louder Than War, and Artrocker, and spins on BBC Radio 6 Music with Lauren Laverne and DR.DK. Virak, active from 2002 to 2009, featured Martin Ejlertsen on vocals, guitar, and keys, Christian Kühne on bass and keys, and Peter Dyring Olsen on drums. Drawing inspiration from Mogwai, Spiritualized, Low, Elbow, and Sophia, Virak wove together instrumental post-rock, slowcore, progressive rock, and seventies acid rock into a sound uniquely their own.
Threads opens with the lead single ‘Where It All Begins,’ a raw and aching farewell to what might have been. The song’s off-kilter guitar lines and the band’s haunting vocals create a standout moment that will resonate deeply with fans of Radiohead, The Strokes, and The Smashing Pumpkins. Recorded and produced by the band in Copenhagen, the album features guest musicians from Under Byen, Slaraffenland, and Amber, as well as a stirring gospel choir. Mixing was handled in London at Alchemy Studio by Kenny Jones of Sophia and Bauhaus/The Smiths, while the 2026 edition received a remaster in the US from Grammy-nominated engineer JJ Golden of Black Pumas. The re-release also marks the digital debut of the band’s earlier EP But Not As We Know It from 2004, co-produced by Signe Høirup Wille-Jørgensen of Speaker Bite Me and Jomi Massag.
Martin Ejlertsen had this to say: “I am very happy and proud… that our music is now being released in formats it has deserved. In this way, I leave behind my music, which can live on—for the joy of my loved ones and hopefully also others, when I am soon no longer in this world. Thank you for listening.“
Stream Threads:
Follow Virak:
Bandcamp – Facebook – Soundcloud – Spotify
Leave a reply