Krister Mrtsell was in a hardcore band called Soapbox from Umea, Sweden, home to Refused and a burgeoning hardcore punk scene. The Magic Lantern began as an improvisation project with Krister and several friends recording live directly to minidiscs. They began to release a series of limited edition cd-r releases capturing their improvisations and these quickly sold out. This self-titled debut was recorded with six musicians in a Umea apartment. Improvisation is still a main force is the composition of new material, but the songs have solidified and developed from that initial point. Influences range from post-rock, kraut rock, and spacerock to experimental noise, ambient, and even industrial music.