Virak’s debut album Threads is out today, May 29, on digital platforms through Forward Backwards Recordings, with a vinyl LP soon to follow. The album is now a posthumous release from frontman, guitarist, and songwriter Martin Ejlertsen. Ejlertsen was diagnosed with ALS in September 2022 and passed away on May 23, 2026, at age 49 after a long struggle with the disease. He called Threads his final musical project before his untimely death. Ejlertsen lived in Lund, Sweden, and leaves behind his wife and two children.
He founded Black Light White Light in 2009 and released four studio albums between 2011 and 2022. The band toured the UK and US, received coverage in CLASH Magazine, Louder Than War, Drowned in Sound, Guitar World, and Artrocker, and had airplay on BBC Radio 6 Music with Lauren Laverne, Absolute Radio, and DR.DK. On their latest album The Admirer, the track ‘Epilepsy’ stands out. Ejlertsen wrote it for his daughter, who lives with the condition, and it is supported by a powerful music video. The album was mixed by Grammy-winning engineer Kennie Takahashi (The Black Keys, Gnarls Barkley, Broken Bells), mastered by Matt Colton (Arctic Monkeys, Depeche Mode, Thom Yorke), and features composer Davide Rossi (Coldplay, The Verve).
The original Virak lineup was active from 2002 to 2009. Martin Ejlertsen handled vocals, guitar, and keys, joined by Christian Kühne on bass and keys, and Peter Dyring Olsen on drums. Inspired by bands like Mogwai, Spiritualized, Low, Elbow, and Sophia, the trio created a unique mix of instrumental post-rock, slowcore, progressive rock, and seventies acid rock. The lead single ‘Where It All Begins’ explores the emotional impact of letting go of something that never got to materialize.
Its unusual guitar lines and haunting vocals make it one of the album’s most emotional tracks, especially for fans of Radiohead, The Strokes, or The Smashing Pumpkins. The album was recorded and produced in Copenhagen with guest musicians from Under Byen, Slaraffenland, Amber, and a gospel choir. It was mixed at Alchemy Studio in London by Kenny Jones (Sophia, Bauhaus/The Smiths) and newly mastered for this edition by Grammy-nominated JJ Golden (Black Pumas). The 2004 EP But Not As We Know It, co-produced by Signe Høirup Wille-Jørgensen, is also available digitally for the first time.
Before ALS, Ejlertsen led an active life as an elite football player and cyclist, all while touring Europe, the United States, and Canada. The Legacy left behind by Ejlertsen will be immortalized through his family and this reissue. being known for being trailblazers in psychedelic rock, its only a matter of time before even more upcoming bands and artists start paying tribute to Virak through their musical influences.
This reissue makes sure his early work is available in the formats it deserves.
Martin Ejlertsen had this to say: “I have been very private about my illness… it has been like a long waking nightmare. But now I probably only have a few months left to live, so it’s about making the best of the last. Having this album project has given me some light in an otherwise completely dark and very depressing time.”
Stream Threads:
Threads Album Tracklist:
1. Little Creeps
2. Souls
3. Who I Am = You
4. Something Strange Happened As We Stood By The Lake
5. Arms Raised
6. Desert Storm
7. Butterfly
8. Violence
9. Melancholia
10. Song Of Everything
11. Where It All Begins
Follow Virak:
Bandcamp – Facebook – Soundcloud
