WARDRUNA: New Album Update

WARDRUNA the Norwegian folk project featuring Einar "Kvitrafn" Selvik (GORGOROTH, JOTUNSPOR, DEAD TO THIS WORLD) and Kristian "Gaahl" Espedal (GORGOROTH, TRELLDOM) will play a special concert on August 27 in Bergen during the Hole In The Sky festival. They will perform at Logen Teater and it will be no ordinary concert: WARDRUNA will play with an expanded lineup; thirteen musicians will make WARDRUNA's already powerful and magical musical expression even more massive.

As previously reported, WARDRUNA recently released its very first self-made music video. Since the inception of WARDRUNA, the band's vision was that videos and other visual elements would be an important part of the project. This is merely the first step in that plan and WARDRUNA intends to continue developing this aspect of the project towards their next album.

As far as the progress of the recording sessions for the next WARDRUNA LP goes, Kvitrafn states: "The recurring question of when the next album will be finished is not easy to answer. I am well underway with the recordings and there is good progress in the work. Having said that, I must add that because of the demanding concepts behind these albums, I cannot rush this process. I hope to be finished with the recordings next summer, but I can obviously not give any promises now. The only thing that matters now is to make music that I am satisfied with, no matter how long it will take."

WARDRUNA's debut album, "Runaljod - Gap Var Ginnunga", was released on January 19, 2009 via Indie Recordings.

Nearly six years in the making, WARDRUNA's debut album is the first part of the planned "Runaljod" trilogy which will musically interpret the runes of the elder futhark. This highly visual music is hard to place into any specific genre, and there isn't really much to compare it to. The style can perhaps be described as a curious blend of folk, world and ambient music, but without being limited by the sometimes restricted scope of these genres.

"Runaljod - Gap Var Ginnunga" has a very profound and unique sound that consists of a wide array of instruments, some of which are rarely used. A few examples: deer hide frame drums, mouth harp, goat horns, lur, Hardanger fiddle and tagelharpe ("viking fiddle"). Sounds of more unorthodox instruments like trees, stones and fire are also incorporated into the music, and it's all topped off with powerful vocal performances from no less than three vocalists.

The album was produced and engineered by Kvitrafn himself in his own Fimbullj studio. Many of the recording sessions were executed outdoors at carefully selected locations with instruments or natural sounds that are relevant to the different runes.