Wardruna: Runaljod – Yggdrasil – new album

 

Well, in this business we use the word “epic” a lot and often in vain, but not in case of WARDRUNA and their self-appointed task of musically interpreting the runes of the Elder Futhark. The second such rendition, containing 11 songs and 24 runes, is due in Europe tomorrow, March 25th, 2013 and in North America on April 2nd, 2013, on Indie Recordings. ‘Runaljod - Yggdrasil’ comes available as regular jewel case CD and as digibook CD with an exclusive 32 page booklet, as vinyl and as digibook sold together with a limited edition necklace. Go, and enrich yourselves here (WARDRUNA store), here (Indie store USA) or via iTunes. The album was produced and engineered by multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Einar “Kvitrafn” Selvik in his own, aptly named (say experts in such things), Fimbulljóð studio. As in case of WARDRUNA's first album, many of the recording sessions were executed outdoors “at carefully selected locations” with instruments or natural sounds that are relevant to the different runes. WARDRUNA primarily use old and historical instruments such as primitive deer-hide frame drums, “kraviklyra”, “tagelharpe” (Viking fiddle), mouth harp, goat horn, “lur”, as well as sound of trees, rocks, water and torches.

 

In 2002 in Bergen, Norway Einar “Kvitrafn” Selvik, whom you might know from JOTUNSPOR, GORGOROTH, SAGH and so on, set out to explore and evoke the depths of heathen Germanic wisdom and spirituality, or, in other words, he decided to combine his passion for and practice of Norse paganism and runes with music. By 2003, WARDRUNA consisted of “Kvitrafn” and singers Kristian Eivind Espedal, better known as GORGOROTH's “Gaahl”, and Lindy Fay Hella. In 2007, the project attracted some attention after it was featured on the soundtrack of documentary by Peter Beste called “True Norwegian Black Metal”. In 2009, WARDRUNA issued their nearly six-years-in-the-making debut album, ‘Runaljod - Gap Var Ginnunga’, on Indie Recordings.

WARDRUNA features: Kvitrafn - music and lyrics, vocals & most of the instruments, Lindy Fay Hella – vocals, Gaahl – vocals & conceptual contributions and Erlend Gjerde - drums