When Einar Selvik founded Wardruna in 2003, they effectively existed in a scene of one. While by no means the first band to explore Scandinavian tradition, they helped popularise it to such an extent that subsequent Nordic folk acts such as Heilung, Nytt Land and Skáld can pop up anywhere from the Royal Albert Hall to Brixton Academy, ArcTanGent to Glastonbury. With an increasing number of acts sharing the spotlight and pushing the boundaries of what this part-traditionalist, part-progressive music can do, there’s an understandable air of expectation around Wardruna’s latest release, Birna.
Much like 2021’s Kvitravn – translated as ‘White Raven’ – Birna’s title concerns a totemic figure of the animal kingdom: the she-bear. Birna isn’t a retelling of an existing narrative, rather an exploration of humanity’s relationship with…
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Prog Italia (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 158