Ivar Bjørnson & Einar Selvik - Um Heilage Fjell

Ivar Bjørnson and Einar Selvik are Norwegian musicians/composers known from their main musical outputs; ENSLAVED and WARDRUNA.

Their collaboration started when commissioned by the Norwegian state to write a musical piece for the 200th anniversary of the Norwegian constitution. This resulted in the work entitled "Skuggsjá" which premiered at Eidsvoll, Norway in September 2014, and the music was ultimately recorded and released as an album in 2016. In 2017 the Ivar and Einar teamed up once again for a new piece carrying the name "Hugsjá" (released in 2018); this time commissioned by the prestigious Bergen International Festival as part of a wider and still ongoing project called Nordvegen. And the Saga continues…

Thanks to extensive research and use of a wide range of old Nordic instruments and lyrics placed in a contemporary soundscape, Einar Selvik has moved musical genre boundaries as well as given a new voice to the thoughts and tools of the past.

WARDRUNA has gained worldwide recognition for its innovative musical expression, and Einar Selvik has even provided music for the popular TV-series "Vikings" and has recently been revealed as the composer writing the game’s original songs for Assassin's Creed Valhalla, alongside the game’s composers Sarah Schachner and Jesper Kyd.

Together with Ivar Bjørnson, Einar Selvik was also the architect of the multi-year, critically acclaimed festival project Nordvegen.

During this year's festival, Einar Selvik will take part in the opening ceremony on 20 May together with an orchestra interpreting one of his most iconic songs “Voluspá” as well as play a full concert in the medieval Royal Hall Håkonshallen in Bergen on Thursday 21 May where he will perform songs over the span of his career including the new Song “Grà”.

The streams will take place as follows: Opening Concert: 20 May, 08.30pm CET Einar Selvik: 21 May, 9.00pm CET

Einar Selvik will perform with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and the Norwegian vocal ensemble Edvard Grieg Kor on 20 May. On 21 May he will be joined by numerous outstanding artists including members of Enslaved, Ivar Bjornson & Einar Selvik and of course Lindy-Fay Hella of WARDRUNA!

The concert will take us on a musical journey outside Wardruna's usually massive soundscape, and instead present a more stripped-down and direct expression where song and instruments such as Kravik-lyre, Bowed Lyre and Hardanger-fiddle play key roles.

Line-up: Einar Selvik vocals, kraviklyre, taglharpe, sotharpe Ivar Bjørnson guitar Iver Sandøy drums, percussion, vocals Silje Solberg Hardanger fiddle, vocals Håkon Vinje piano, vocals Lindy-Fay Hella vocals

See it at https://www.fib.no/en/einarselvik

Today's tune "Um Heilage Fjell" is taken from Hugsjá", the clip is recorded live in Kraków at Klub Studio, February 2nd 2019.



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Port Noir - In This Void

Saturday, clock already hit ten in the evening and I work with the record for tomorrows event, an event which takes place every year on eve of Twelfth Night, it's the hard rock community who is inviting up to feast, a musical party that I have been involved for some years, much fun every year, listening to music, hanging out and drinking a hideous amounts of mead, kind as the Vikings did on this day if they had a party.

Yesterday I had two songs completed, the rest will be created now :) I have my ideas and no it will not be any Viking rock. Although I had a track that might be on ... but I do not think so ... but who knows ... haha. Ingenious as I am, I really like the element of surprise, preferably with something that someone may like but have not heard yet, think it will be a little too open if I pick songs from my own seasonal best list, of course one or two of the tunes will slink through anyway. Well on Monday you guys will know what I played. One thing for sure is it will be hard and fuzzy :)

Well one of the tunes that would be perfect for this evening is the new single "In This Void" with the Swedish Semi Progressive band Port Noir with their debut Puls, they released a grand emotional album, where a high musicality and a well balanced softish tone in contrast to the hard, they really made ​​a fine début.

In November, 2011, on a chilly winter evening the three of us ended up discussing a new project at a local pub in Södertälje, Sweden.

With the same goals, dreams, and without boundaries we decided to meet up and play together. Only a week later, the first time we played music together, we wrote and recorded "Sun dè Man" the same night using our own recording equipment.

Recording a music video came to our thoughts before the song was even mixed. A week later we ended up in a shed which had been used for butchery, to shoot the video on our own. After 15 hours of shooting in minus degrees and a couple of days of editing we released the video on Youtube the 30th of November, 2011.

Since the beginning of 2012 we have been writing and recording demo's for personal use to develop our sound. An EP was supposed to be released earlier this year, but we decided to wait and record it properly with the help of a producer.

In may 2012 we had our first show ever, opening for the swedish metal band In Flames at Debaser in Stockholm. A well received show which really got us as a band together, live is where we truly enjoy what we're doing, which means you will definitely be able to see us perform live as much as we can go out on tours!

In September we entered Dugout Studios in Uppsala together with producer Daniel Bergstrand (In Flames, Meshuggah, Behemoth, Soilwork, Darkane, etc.) to record our debut album which will be released 2013.

Todays tune "In This Void", taken from the their début record Puls. Enjoy!



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Official Port Noir Web

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Wardruna - Helvegen

Wardruna is a Norwegian music group founded by Einar Kvitrafn Selvik. In 2009 Wardruna enchanted their listeners with their mesmerizing debut album "gap var Ginnunga", which also was the first part of a planned trilogy. In the ensuing years the group have spent a lot of time on adapting their music to a live format and establishing a live band. This resulting in a handful of very special concerts, perhaps most notably when they performed in front of the majestic 1100-year-old Gokstad ship at the Viking Ship Museum in Norway.

With the use of the oldest of Nordic instruments and poetic metres as well as lyrics written in Norwegian, Old Norse and Proto-Norse tongue, Wardruna is now, after nearly three years in the making, finally ready to return with the second album in the ‘Runaljod’ trilogy entitled ‘Yggdrasil’. Multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Einar Kvitrafn Selvik has, together with vocalists Kristian Espedal (aka Gaahl) and Lindy-Fay Hella, managed to make ​​a strikingly beautiful and intense continuation of what was started with their first album, but without falling into the trap of merely repeating themselves. ‘Yggdrasil’ is also graced with guest appearances by renowned Icelandic composer Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson and Iceland’s leading rímur singer Steindór Andersen.

The ongoing ‘Runaljod’ trilogy is a musical rendition of the 24 runes in what is often referred to as the elder futhark. Some of the recordings are done outdoors in places or under circumstances of significance to each rune. Wardruna primarily use old and historical instruments such as primitive deer-hide frame drums, Kraviklyra, tagelharpe, mouth harp, goat horn, lur and more. Non-traditional instruments and other sources of sound like trees, rocks, water and torches are also used.

All of these elements are carefully woven into a rich musical landscape and complemented with whispering voices, melodic song and mighty choirs. Although Wardruna’s music share characteristics with music typically labeled as folk, world and/or ambient, none of these genres can really describe their unique style. It truly must be experienced.

This is really an empowering show of how to stretch your excising historical musical instruments to  to make some magic, this is excellent piece of work creating an atmosphere to take the listener out on a real journey with out using the classic tools and riffs. Wardruna’s latest release is a real piece of art!

Todays tune "Helvegen" taken from their latest album "Yggdrasil", Wardruna performing live at Castlefest in Lisse, Netherlands on August 2, 2012.


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Official Wardruna Web

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