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Solefald
SOLEFALD
«NORRØNASONGEN. KOSMOPOLIS NORD»
(Indie Recordings)
Release date: October 27th/31st
NORSE FOLK
After four years of silence, Solefald return with Norrønasongen, an experimental soundtrack to the fjords and mountains of Norway, and a hymn to the nature of the North. Norrønasongen. Kosmopolis Nord is a prequel to Solefald’s forthcoming album Kosmopolis Sud (set for early 2015), conceived as a hybrid release for the LP format. With a crew totaling ten musicians, Solefald venture into new collaborations and soundscapes.
Cornelius von Jackhelln comments: «Norrønasongen picks up the torch from Norrøn livskunst, illuminating the same barrenness through the prism of Prog Rock, Electro, Folk and Noise. Norrønasongen is our first release with all the lyrics written and sung in our mother tongue. Norse Jugendstil for eyes, minds and ears: Solefald are delighted to be back with the boots on!»
Lars Are Nedland comments: «As long-time fans of the progressive movement of the late sixties / early seventies, it was in the cards that Solefald would dive into the world of melotrons at some point. Norrønasongen is a progressive folk-pop-noise release, and sets the scene for the forthcoming album Kosmopolis Sud by being nothing like it. We’re Solefald after all!»
The songs: The opener Norrønaprogen is a Progressive Rock composition clocking in at 11.30 minutes, owing its sound to the 1970s acts that inspired Solefald’s debut The Linear Scaffold. Det siste landskap is a small suite of new poems by von Jackhelln, written during a bumpy jeep excursion with Sólstafir in the Icelandic desert. The apocalyptic song describes the desolation of Iceland with an ambient pop sensibility. The hymn Norskdom invokes windy treks through the Jotunheimen mountains.
Sturmgeist & The Fall of Rome, a noise outfit from Oslo’s underground resistance, have remixed the centre track Norrønaprogen and delivered a B side of epic noise -Norrøna: Ljodet som ljoma & Songen: Vargen -, in turn added to by Solefald.
Einar Kvitrafn Selvik of Wardruna contributes with skaldic vocals. Mari Skeie Ljones plays the Hardanger fiddle, traditionally held as the Devil’s instrument in Norwegian folklore.
Previously self-described as «two stubborn goats pretending to be a band», Solefald have outsourced the rhythm section to the young talents Baard Kolstad (God Seed, Borknagar) on drums, Alexander Bøe (In Vain) on bass and Petter Hallaråker (ICS Vortex, Rendezvous Point) on guitar. All three performed bravely with Solefald during the 2013 European tour and summer festivals with In Vain.
Norrønasongen takes its name from Olav Aukrust’s (1883-1929) poem by the same name. Written in 1915, the vitalistic poem describes the horrors of WWI as seen from the Norwegian mountains, with metaphors from Norse mythology. With the timing of its release, Norrønasongen marks both the century passed since the First World War, and the 200th anniversary of the Norwegian Constitution. As storms sweep the globe yet again, the poet’s apocalyptic words can be read as a sorrowful warning.
Solefald:
Cornelius von Jackhelln: Vocals, Guitars, Melodica, Programming
Lars Are Nedland: Vocals, Synth, Programming
Guests:
Alexander Bøe: Bass Guitar on «Norrønaprogen» & «Songen: Vargen»
Petter Hallaråker: Guitar on «Norrønaprogen»
Baard Kolstad: Drums & Percussion on «Norrønaprogen»
Mari Skeie Ljones: Hardanger Fiddle on «Norrønasongen», «Norskdom» & «Songen: Vargen»,
Einar Kvitrafn Selvik: Skaldic Vocals on «Norrønasongen» & «Norskdom»
Zweizz: Drum & Bell Hell on «Norrøna: Ljodet som ljoma»
Sturmgeist & The Fall of Rome:
Sturmgeist: Voice
Stridshode/S.F.S.: Noise
Kybermensch: Synth, Beats & Engineering
Written & produced by Solefald.
«Norrøna: Ljodet som ljoma» & «Songen: Vargen» written with Sturmgeist & The Fall of Rome.
Tracks 1, 2 & 5 mixed by Børge Finstad at Toproom Studio. Tracks 3 & 4 mixed by Marius Strand at Strand Studio. Mastered by Marius Strand.
Texts: The poem «Norrønasongen» written in High Norwegian by Olav Aukrust (1883-1929), published in 1915. The poems «Tvisyn», «Norskdom» and «Vidsyn» from Cornelius Jakhelln’s book Trisyn (Det norske Samlaget, 2010). TRACK LIST
SIDE A
I. NORRØNAPROGEN
II. DET SISTE LANDSKAP
(AN ICELANDIC ODYSSEY PART IV)
III. NORSKDOM
SIDE B
(SOLEFALD VS. STURMGEIST & THE FALL OF ROME)
IV. NORRØNA: LJODET SOM LJOMA
V. SONGEN: VARGEN
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