Wardruna releases new song and video for "Himinndotter"
From the deep woods now emerges “Birna”, Wardruna’s sixth studio album. Through his restless dialogue with nature, main composer Einar Selvik has been searching for the voice of the bear, resulting in this upcoming release, scheduled for January 2025.
Birna – the she-bear in Old Norse – is a work of art dedicated to the guardian of the forest, nature’s caretaker, and her battles here on earth. Slowly driven out of her habitat by modern day societies, she has entered a stage of permanent hibernation. As a result, the forest is gradually dying, longing for its pulse and heart – its shepherd. Birna calls for her return.
“Where the previous album Kvitravn was a step conceptually from the past to the present, Birna even more so seeks to address the here and now and the way forward,” states composer Einar Selvik.
Alongside the album announcement is a new single and music video for Himinndotter, the song constitutes a search and a calling for our lost sister of the woods. Composer Einar Selvik states “Himinndotter (Sky-daughter) is part of a six-song exploration of the bear on Wardruna's upcoming album Birna (She-bear). The title plays on the globally common notion of the bears mythical origin as a celestial being. Himinndotter features a guest appearance of the Norwegian choir Koret Artemis.”
The video for Himinndotter is filmed in Rondane National Park in Norway and is once again directed by Wardruna's longtime collaborator Tuukka Koski, and produced by Breakfast Helsinki and Ragnarok Film.
Watch the official video for Himinndotter below:
“For a long time, I knew the main theme and framework of this album but finding its voice and words was in many ways my main challenge. The more I thought, read, and researched, the more I realised that this album should mainly have contemporary focus. Unraveling the long and entangled history of the relationship between man and Bear and contemplating the present state of how we humans relate to the wild in general.” - Einar Selvik
The rhythm of the bear embodies the very circle of life: When winter approaches, it goes to sleep in its den – back to the womb; its pulse slowing, its body encapsulated in an intermediate death. The heartbeat of the dormant bear, around nine beats per minute, can be felt throughout the “Birna” album. Dvaledraumar (Dormant Dreams) and Jord til Ljos (Earth to Light), a two-song meditation creates a joint hibernation between animal and listener, and we return from the den of the bear more attuned, aware and contemplative of nature’s wonders, just in time for the freshly sprung buds. This cyclical process, so embedded both in nature and the worldview of older cultures, drives Einar Selvik’s every creative work.
The bear frequently figures in the oldest myths of mankind in the northern hemisphere, and many indigenous people still regard this animal as a totem, honouring it with rites and songs. It was once our respected guardian, our guide to edible plants and berries, a creature we both feared and admired. Although the bear from the very beginning has constituted a threat to our own lives and those of our livestock, humans have always identified with the bear in various ways. If you skin the animal, its body underneath the fur strongly resembles that of man, which may be a reason legend has it the bear in fact originated from humans, and for thousands of years we have been striving for its strength and wit. In some cultures, “treading the path of the bear” means pursuing what you’re truly meant to do in life.
Photo (c) Morten Munthe
Wardruna draws inspiration from immersion in nature, and the dialogue that takes place between all creatures, forces and energies present. “When I walk into a forest, I open my senses and listen for whatever nature cares to tell me”, Einar Selvik has explained when contemplating his creative process – his hunting for songs amid trees, air, rocks and sea. Boasting a distinctive new sound, while at the same time building on the musical roots so intrinsic to the Wardruna tradition, Birna truly nurtures the insight that has been at the core of Selvik’s philosophy right from the start: that to give place to something new, you must let something else die.
This resonates in their vision of sowing new seeds whilst strengthening old roots. Einar Selvik, Lindy-Fay Hella and the rest of the group are truly creating something new through something old: They are not mimicking the past, but rather utilising it in crafting their contemporary, authentic and unique sound. Instruments and wisdom from ancient times, coupled with modern day soundscapes and recorded sounds of nature, provide a rare opportunity to tell us something valuable about ourselves. It works as a reminder that we are part of nature, not above it, and it offers a way of remembering, not for memory’s own sake, but to gain both new and forgotten insights.
“The bear doesn’t need my help or any human traditional ornamentation to be its own powerful self. It is quite the opposite if one looks to past bear-traditions worth remembering. We learn, we dream of borrowing its traits and abilities. We fear, revere, and try to walk alongside but on separate paths. Respectfully, claim space and give space. However inconvenient it may be, further taming of the wild can never be the fruitful way forward. For me, it profoundly felt like the right time to give voice to the Birna, mother and shepherd of the vanishing woods.”
“Birna” Tracklist
1. Hertan (Watch the video below)
2. Birna
3. Ljos til Jord
4. Dvaledraumar
5. Jord til Ljos
6. Himinndotter
7. Hibjørnen
8. Skuggehesten
9. Tretale
10. Lyfjaberg
Birna was written and recorded between 2021 and 2024.
Music by Einar Selvik and Lindy-Fay Hella. Lyrics by Einar Selvik.
Birna is performed by Einar Selvik, Lindy-Fay Hella, Eilif Gundersen, HC Dalgaard, Sondre Veland, John Stenersen, Arne Sandvoll.
The album features guest appearances by:
Koret Artemis (Choir), Jonna Jinton (vocals and field recordings), Hans Fredrik Jacobsen (willow-bark flute), Kenneth Lien (Jaw-harp), Iver Sandøy (backing vocals).
Mastered by Tony Lindgren at Fascination Street Studios.
Cover photo by Tuukka Koski.
Cover artwork by Øivind A. Myksvoll.
Biography by Oda Malmin
Along with the new album comes the recorded show of Wardruna’s unique equinox performance at the world heritage site Odeon of Herodes Atticus, Acropolis, Athens. The concert proved to be the pinnacle of an intense period of worldwide touring, ending the Kvitravn cycle in a remarkable way. Spanning over two hours, the show featured outstanding live performances of songs from the group’s discography, such as Helvegen, Kvitravn, Heimta Thurs and Lyfjaberg (that will be featured on the new album “Birna”).
Captured for all eternity by Kolibri Media, Wardruna now presents the DVD and Blu-Ray “Live at the Acropolis”, featuring the full show, additional interviews and impressions of the meet and greet at the Underflow Record Store.
Both the album “Birna” and the BluRay/DVD “Live at the Acropolis” are available to pre-order now HERE.
In support of the new album, Wardruna will embark on an extensive world tour starting on October 3rd at Red Rocks in Colorado (US). In the autumn of 2024 and the spring of 2025, audiences in North and South America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, the UK, Iceland and the band’s home country Norway will witness the awakening of the bear live on stage. More dates will be added soon. The confirmed UK tour dates are:
UK & Ireland 2025 (with special guest Jo Quail):
17 Mar – Liverpool –Philharmonic
18 Mar – Birmingham - Symphony Hall
19 Mar – London – Royal Albert Hall
21 Mar – Bristol – Beacon
22 Mar – York – Barbican
23 Mar – Dublin – Olympia Theatre
25 Mar – Glasgow – SEC Armadillo
