“Kvitravn” is the title of the new album by WARDRUNA, the Norwegian folk band also known to the less accustomed to the genre for having collaborated on the soundtrack of the TV series “Vikings”. The album will be released on Sony Music/Columbia Germany (in collaboration with Music for Nations for the United Kingdom only) on June 5, 2020 and is already available for preorder at this link: https://wardruna.lnk.to/Kvitravn_Album.
The first single will instead be available from February 21.
“Kvitravn“, literally “white crow”, resumes and continues musically the Runaljod trilogy, highlighting a clear evolution of the unique sound of Wardruna. For this new chapter the Norwegian band has used a wide selection of traditional and historical instruments: the Kravik lyre and the Trossingen lyre, the Tagelharp and the Sootharp, the Norwegian lyre Langeleik, the crotta, goat horns, the lur, both of wood and bronze, flutes and the moraharpa.
A collective of folk singers led by Kirsten Bråten Berg, one of the best known spokesmen for traditional Norwegian song, also participated in the realization of Kivtravn. Through the eleven songs that make up “Kvitravn” the Wardruna tell stories of Norse witchcraft, animal spirits, shadows, nature and animism, the wisdom and meanings of some myths, spiritual concepts belonging to Norwegian culture and the relationship between essays and songs.
“Kvitran” artwork available:
Below all the European tour dates announced so far:
March 28 – Oslo (NO) – Sentrum Scene
April 02 – Kristiansand (NO) – Kilden Teater
April 03 – Stavanger (NO) – Konserthus
April 4 – Bergen (NO) – Grieghallen
April 30 – Moscow (RUS) – Crocus City Hall
May 1 – St. Petersburg (RUS) – Yubileyny Sports Palace
May 3 – Poznan (PO) – Hala Ziemi
May 4 – Krakow (PO) – ICE Congress Center
May 5 – Bratislava (SK) – Refinery gallery
May 7 – Belgrade (SRB) – Sava Centar
May 8 – Bucharest (ROM) – Romanele Arena
May 15-18 – Ostrava (CZ) – Colors of Ostrava Festival
June 4 – Manchester (UK) – Albert Hall
June 5 – Dublin (IRL) – Vicar St.
June 6 – Birmingham (UK) – Symphony Hall
June 7 – Glasgow (UK) – Royal Concert Hall
June 9 – London (UK) – Royal Festival Hall
June 10 – Cambridge (UK) – Cambridge Corn Exchange
June 11 – Gelsenkirchen (DE) – Amphitheater
August 1 – Savonlinna (FI) – Savonlinna Opera Festival
August 12-16 – Dinkelsbühl (DE) Summer Breeze Festival
August 12-16 – Midgardsblot (NO) Midgardsblot Festival
September 5 – Selb (DE) Mediaval Festival
September 21 – Reykjavik (ISL) – Harpa
Below is the comment by frontman and multi-instrumentalist Einar Selvik: “Reciting and copying the past is not difficult, it is instead understanding and integrating thoughts, tools, ancient methods with the real purpose of creating something relevant for the modern era. It is truly stimulating and is what has always been the final goal of our work.
Although the album takes its title from a variant of my totemic art name, in this context it has little to do with my person; it refers to the symbolism and legends about sacred white animals that are found not only in the Nordic tradition but also in other cultures of the world. These creatures, spirits, whether ravens, snakes, bears, elephants or lions, are considered by the animist traditions as prophetic animals, divine messengers and guardians who carry with them messages of renewal, purity and constitute a bridge between the worlds “
Wardruna sculpted a polyphonic, rich, and dramatic musical landscape that honors the glorious and ancient past without tricks, bringing to light significant expressions of the Norwegian tradition through intrinsically detailed contemporary compositions.
WARDRUNA discography:
Runaljod – gap var Ginnunga (2009)
Runaljod – Yggdrasil (2013)
Runaljod – Ragnarok (2016)
Skald (2018)
Kvitravn (2020)
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