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Join me in welcoming Jonathan Barendsma of Gealdyr, a rising star in the dark folk scene. In this conversation, Jonathan and I discuss the importance of music and art as escape and vicarious living for those in difficult situations, a mutual love of soundtracks, and dancing the line between Nordic and Celtic soundworlds.
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In this very special episode I'm joined by fellow musicologist and mentor Ross Hagen to talk heathen musicology and how he and Mathias Nordvig went about approaching "Ancestral North: Spirituality and Cultural Imagination in Nordic Ritual Folk Music" - a musicological book on the nordic pagan music scene. Thanks for the good hang Ross!
"Ancestral North: Spirituality and Cultural Imagination in Nordic Ritual Folk Music offers a detailed exploration of Nordic ritual folk music, a music scene focused on the revival of ancient folkways and archaic music that has found remarkable popularity around the globe. Once the domain of Viking reenactors and neopagan practitioners, the niche sonic and visual aesthetics of this music have found widespread visibility through a new generation of popular films, television series, and video games. The authors argue that many of these musical and media products connect with longstanding cultural attitudes about the Nordic region that conceive of it as wild, exotic, and dangerous, while also being a place of honor, community, and virtue. As such, the Nordic region and its music often becomes a vessel for reactionary escapes from all manner of modern discontentment. However, the authors also posit that spending time re-creating the music of an imaginary past offers participants the possibility for engagement and re-enchantment in the multicultural present."
Link to the Book
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https://seidrblot.bandcamp.com
In this interview, I'm happy to be joined by Visy Bloodaxe of Seidrblot to talk about a range of topics including the music he makes with the band, working with wood, how a love of medieval music led to him learning how to build his own instruments, and finding escape through music in a world filled with noise.Support the Show.
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Do musicians get the final say in what their music is called, and is genre meant to be a literal descriptor of the music we hear?
In the 3 years Iâve been running this channel, covering the music of Wardruna, Heilung, and almost everything in that sphere, I have had endless conversation over what to call this music with many alternatives offered for the sake of âanything but Viking musicâ. Dark folk, pagan folk, nordic folk (the worst option for reasons obvious to traditional musicians), heathen folk, new nordic folk⊠and even the major artists themselves have been outwardly disassociating from the level. But why donât any of the alternatives stick instead of Viking music?
Join me in this conversation about the contentious yet seductive nature of the Viking music phenomenon from the perspective of an ethnomusicologist. Questions here are posed around the nature of genre, the binding themes of this music scene, artist and audience perspectives, and whether or not any of this is about historical accuracy at all, and if that matters to the ultimate enduring label of Viking music.
Or, can we not change how we talk about Viking music at all before we change how we talk about the Viking age itself?
My ultimate hope is that questions brought up in this video start some needed conversations to be carried on as this genre continues to grow, instead of continuing the trend of dancing around the subject as we run on the euphemism treadmill. Because remember, I donât have the answers, only the questions. The answers are what we as a community make them to be.
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Long have I been enchanted by the music of Ăvestaden. The way these captivating musicians utilize instruments typically associated with dark folk (such as the lyre and bukkehorn), but instead put it in a folktronica setting where it somehow just fits so organically is a feat within itself. Solen var bĂ€ttre dĂ€r was on my top 10 albums of 2023 not only because of this incredibly original use of familiar instruments, but also because the songwriting is on another level of melancholy - reaching out to the feeling of nostalgia and yearning for a better time in a way that only music could. So, join me in welcoming Kenneth, Eir, and Levina onto the Nordic Sound Channel for the first (and hopefully not the last) time as they bring us into their musical world.
Thumbnail photo: Klara Bond
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In this installment of the Nordic Sound Channel, I sit down with pagan folk veteran Kati RĂĄn to talk about her two decades in the nordic dark folk scene, the changes she's seen take place over time, and of course, her new album SĂĄla and her approach to the feminine skaldic perspective. Thanks for joining Kati, I'm really glad we got to tread some new ground for the channel in this chat!
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A very different interview this time around talking to a fellow academic! Join me in picking Ruben's brain about his archaeology scholarship on immersive sound in museums and music's ability to cultivate affective attachment to our world and history.
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What a crazy, eclectic month for Nordic music! As good a time as any to try out recording in 4k ;)
All of the new music this month (including singles and others not included in the video) are now featured in the Nordic Sound Channel's Discovery playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3LMGZolMTYQgLu0uFbEHgO?si=b43d29f7017d4917
Join the patreon for the Nordic Sound Journal and the listening circles: Patreon.com/nordicsoundchannel
Written reviews over on Medium at Medium.com/@nordicsoundchannel
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
1:37 Lindy-Fay Hella and Dei Farne - Islet
5:45 UdÄd - UdÄd
9:03 Mads KjĂžller Henningsen, Niller Rasmussen, Clara Tesch - Rundt Segen
11:13 From the Infinite Light - Iterum Nata
13:58 Gjenskinn - Nils Ăkland Band
18:38 Men Guâs hond er sterk - Hamferâ
20:48 OdrĂŒngal - NordstilleSupport the Show.
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In this interview, Iâm humbled to be joined by Lindy-Fay Hella of both Wardruna and Dei Farne to talk about her new album âIsletâ, her undying love for Depeche Mode, and the mysteries of the sea. Thank you for joining, Lindy. As a long time fan, you have no idea how starstruck I am by the opportunity to chat with you about your music and our shared love of birds.
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Hailing from beautiful VĂ€rmland in Sweden, Andreas Axelsson of the project Nattramn joins Jameson to talk about his latest album Gravmarken, his inspiration, and what brought him to the Dark Folk scene. Like myself, he's of the mind that "less is more" and we dive into our philosophies around writing and performing dark folk music.
And he's NOT the singer for Silencer!
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In this interview, I am humbled to invite Jacob Hee Lund for his first appearance on the Nordic Sound Channel. Mostly known as a member of Heilung, Jacob is actually a man of many, many hats and is a seasoned performer in the medieval reenactment scene in Denmark. In this interview, he walks us through his background, his countless music projects heâs contributed to as a percussionist, and offers advice and reflection for young musicians looking to make a full time career. Also, as a veteran of this music scene over the last two decades, Jacob gives us some much needed perspective on the evolution of this genre we begrudgingly call âViking musicâ for want of a more satisfying name. We close with a discussion of his new drum project Thrymskapr and reminiscing on Heilung at Red Rocks. Considering how much we still had to talk about after almost two hours, letâs call it a safe bet that Jacob will be back on the channel before long.
Jacobâs associated bands: Asynje (Viking, electronic, folk); Auroq (folk, early music, fusion); Heilung; Mallebrok (folktronica); Virelai (medieval/ Viking); Fabel (renaissance early music); Fortuna (early, classical music); Huldre (folk metal); Leikarar (medieval); Norerne (Viking music for Moesgaard Viking market 40 anniversary celebration); Wicked strings / Lilly and the wicked strings (gothic metal); Eldjudnir (black metal); Bo-Nordmand (Danish folk music); Maja KjĂŠr si orkester (Danish raw folk music). Heâs also a session musician for EfrĂ©n LĂłpez and EivĂžr.
For those who want to further explore the musicians Jacob mentioned: Jordi Savall (viol da gamba) and Otava Yo (Russian folk)
0:00 Preamble
1:53 Introduction
4:25 Jacobs background
8:20 The drum in early Europe
13:05 Back to Jacobâs background!
34:15 Versatility and working as a professional musician
43:04 Heilung
49:36 Reflections on âVikingâ music scene
54:30 How genres evolve
1:06:00 Collective imagining through music
1:13:58 Thrymskapr and knowing your roots
1:26:55 Heilung at Red RocksSupport the Show.
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PLEASE READ:
This audio was stripped straight from Youtube, so I want to clarify for podcast listeners: I will be keeping up with reviews dedicated to podcast listeners even though this format will be leaving youtube. What this means for you all is, instead of getting audio from youtube videos for the podcasts, I will from here on out be recording these reviews specifically for podcast.
Support music journalism through the Nordic Sound Journal: patreon.com/nordicsoundchannelChange is coming with the spring winds to the Nordic Sound Channel, all for the better. Stay tuned for a larger âstate of the channelâ address, and for a new battery of interviews.
0:00 Preamble
4:16 Torulf
6:00 Akleja
9:05 Tvinna
10:15 Aegir
11:05 Jonna Hinton
12:43 Tyr
14:58: Kati RĂĄn
16:27 Lindy-Fay Hella and Dei Farne
18:29 Korpiklaani
19:38 Afterword
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Live from University of Colorado Boulder, I sit down with the one and only Nicolas Schipper of Heilung after the last stop on their U.S. tour.
In this conversation, Nic tells us about his journey in Heilung as an immigrant from Ecuador, shares his thoughts on the ever-contentious conversation of cultural appropriation, and works through what "music as healing" means to him and his work for Vidaya Community. And, of course, everything in between.
At the end of the video is a q/a section with the audience which also brings us to the beautiful story of Nicolas' body paint he wears on stage, what spirituality means to him through Heilung's music, and more.Support the Show.
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January is usually a slow month for music in the post-holidays hangover. In spite of this, we've been given some pretty awesome singles from a wide range of bands and musicians since the new year. Let's get into the awesome singles Nordic musicians revealed to us so far in 2024, teasing some highly anticipated new albums from some of our favorite bands.
Featuring: GĂ„te, Lindy-fay Hela and Dei Farne, Byrdi, Jonna Jinton, Aftenstorm, Iterum Nata, Robert Santa and Folket Bortafor Nordavinden, and Tvinna.Support the Show.
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And I thought it was hard coming up with a top 5 list in 2022! Little did I know that in 2023, Nordic musicians - Norwegians in particular - would go so hard that I'd be forced to expand it to a list of 10 this year just to feel like I can paint a meaningful picture of this year's Nordic music scene. 2023 was an incredible year to be the Nordic music guy, and I look forward to the years ahead, especially considering how many of the bands towards the top of this list are just getting started.
So, without further ado, let's bid farewell to 2023 and show it our appreciation by revisiting 10 albums that showed Nordic music, and the Nordic sound, as a force to be reckoned with this year.Support the Show.
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To offer at least something festive to the channel, the holiday season gives me the perfect excuse to talk about the legendary Norwegian vision poem Draumkvedet, which has inspired so much music for such an old poem. This is also a little experiment for testing out content that ties folklore and music together because the relationship between the two in Nordic music is just so intertwined that it canât be ignored.
Lastly, as a little easter egg, for those of you who have been around since the days of this being a classical music podcast, some very familiar names of Norwegian music history are going to come back around to emphasize the part they played in Nordic folklore and music history, featuring a wonderful piano sonata. So, letâs dive into Draumkvedet, or the Dream Poem, for a very pagan Christmas story
To look closer at the history of the poem: https://www.visittelemark.com/vest-telemark-museum/our-heritage/the-dream-poemSupport the Show.
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The November 2023 installment of "this monthish in Nordic music" is here with great music from GĂ„te, Mari Boine, Sigrid Moldestad, Sowulo, and Kalandra! Also, some more band announcements for Midgardsblot 2024!
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With this interview, I'm excited to introduce Noiduin as the first Finnish band to come onto the podcast! In this chat, Noiduin discusses their background as musicians, how Noiduin came to be (more romantic than one would expect!), and how Finnish folklore, rune singers, and witchcraft feed into the band's music.
Other finnish musicians/bands recommended by Jemina and Henri:
Nest
Tenhi
Ruumisto
GĂłi
KallomÀki
Karneh
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Reviews of new nordic music that came out in the last month (or a little bit more!) Let me know if this is a format to keep! Featuring: Myrkur, Mari Boine, Gjermund Larsen Trio, Tonskalv, and more!
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Jameson had the opportunity at Midgardsblot to sit down with the wonderful witches of Mio to talk about how the band came to be how the magic happens with their music. Please go support this gem of Oslo's underground scene at mioofficial.bandcamp.com
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