our minds before those first three albums were even finished. We already knew we were going somewhere else after Nattens madrigal. Due to logistics, we had to wait almost two years until that one got released, and in the interim we had amassed a huge array of influences. We were out of our teens and our outlook was becoming more complex." "One of the original ideas for this album was to have no percussion whatsoever. We ended up having to use it but we limited it as much as we could. We usually have some sort of mental picture of what we're going to do and set out all sorts of guidelines for ourselves to get there. But as soon as we get working, the process takes precedence. The control room gets out of control, in a manner of speaking. We start with lots of belief in ourselves and our abilities, and end up in nothing but mistrust and dissolution.” Discussing the influence aesthetic for Shadows of the Sun and the influence of chamber music, Rygg commented, “There's no specific aesthetic other than a sense of the beautiful itself, I suppose. There's a connection to classical composition, that's pretty obvious. Some Wagner transpositions. Some Schumann warped beyond recognition etc. in there. "Funebre" is largely based on one single bar off Wagner and we have that little Chopin signature thrown in there as well. So yeah, even though we use fewer notes, the classical stamp is all over the record. Beach Boys? It's probably the vocal thing, that I am fond of clean-sung, layered, well-produced vocals and harmonies. That's another rarity these days. I wonder, where did all the sunshine pop go?” In an interview with Pitchfork Media, Rygg commented on the collaboration with Christian Fennesz: “He remixed a song off Perdition City. I wanted Christian to leave his signature on this album simply because I love his stuff, and he has a similar story to ours. He's not at home in his own genre. That "harsh" noise stuff does not appeal to me at all. It lacks the fingerspitzengefühl that turn songs like Christian's "Chateau Rouge" or "A Year in a Minute" into something special. He makes white noise sound like sunlight dappling in the Mediterranean.” Critical reception Upon release, Shadows of the Sun received generally positive reviews from music critics. William York, writing for AllMusic, commented, “Shadows of the