How did Musk Ox come to be in the first place?
Musk Ox unofficially began in summer 2005 when I finished my first year of university but decided I’d rather make music. I had been playing guitar for a few years prior but I didn’t start taking it seriously until I started playing acoustic around that time. That was when I bought my first classical guitar and discovered Empyrium’s “Where at Night the Wood Grouse Plays” and Ulver’s “Kvelssanger”. Those albums had a huge impact on me. All through high school when I was exploring heavy music I always found myself drawn to the acoustic side of metal, especially Opeth’s “Morningrise”. My original inspiration for playing classical guitar was so I could learn how to play fingerstyle like Mikael Akerfeldt. During fall 2005 I started studying classical guitar privately and recording demos but it wasn’t until I was working on the full-length during summer 2007 that I decided on the name “Musk Ox”. You’ve brought the occasional guest musician in to work with you, but have you ever considered col
