Part of believes that that spiritual experience is what Wardruna aim for. The music seemed to escalate as the mountains dow closer and the cliffs rose higher. The studio production of the Runaljod trilogy is nothing short of breathtaking, the sheer size of the music engulfs you, my favourite moments listening to these albums was the drive us to Pen y Fan and Corn Du in the Brecon Beacons and the drive into Cheddar Gorge. When I try to conceptualise my own ideas I use music like Wardruna's to soundtrack my ideas and help focus and concentrate them. I never want to write cliche songs about love and life, so this is a very important aspect for me as someone who regularly tunes out to monotonous mainstream popular music. The atmospheres, lyrics and melodies have inspired my own song writing endlessly, they made me really think about the messages and stories I want to tell and get the listener to invest in. Despite this, the Old Norse being sung to me connected instantly and I become infatuated by this world the Wardruna was interpreting.įrom a music and production standpoint, in summary, the music is very well written and is produced perfectly. I believe this is what slowly started my interest in old and native languages as Gaelic and Welsh were the first that I had heard that didn't have any root in Germanic languages. I'd always been drawn to folk music similar but slightly different to Wardruna, as my dad introduced me to Celtic music like Clannad and Enya alongside the work of Ronan Hardiman (The Lord of The Dance) and Bill Whelan (Riverdance), I would later go on to discover Canadian singer Loreena McKennit and the Soctish equivalent to Clannad, Capercaillie. When I found Wardruna I was at a particularly strange point in my life where I felt so disconnected with the world, nothing was in sync, and I needed fresh inspiration. I can always seem to find peace of mind when listening to them as well as taking in the imagery that Einar and Lindy create for me. With all the lyrics in Old Norse and Preto-Norse the band creates authentic, atmospheric and unique music.įrom a general listening perspective, my spiritual mind thinks that this was no random encounter, as Wardruna's music has a strange cosmic effect on me. " All of these elements are carefully woven into a rich musical landscape and complemented with whispering voices, melodic song and mighty choirs." (Wardruna, 2013). Einar has also stated that the band use sounds and objects from their environment as unconventional instruments, these consist of trees, rocks, water and torches. To make their music Wardruna rely heavily on traditional nordic folk instruments, which consist of primitive deer-hide frame drums, flutes, kraviklyr, tagelharpe, mouth harp, goat horn and lur. With the Runaljod trilogy of albums being based on the old runes, and most recent release Skald being based on the sayings of Odin and the famous Norse poem Völuspá. Wardruna are dedicated to creating musical interpretations and renditions of the Norse esoteric and cultural traditions. Formed in 2003 in Bergen, Norway by Einar Selvik (a.k.a Kvitrafn) and Gaahl (who were both previous members of Norwegian black metal band Gorgoroth) alongside Lindy Fay Hella.