Myrkur – Folkesange

It’s simply a folk album. And it blows my heart up.

I like many things that’s related to folklore as narrative, spiritualism, and different forms of art. I love tales, mythology, traditions, rituals, masks, songs of heroic deeds, folk artwork, traditional instruments, the spiritual connection to nature, Earth, blood, flesh.

I think people would assume me to be a full-on technocrat because I take stand on transhumanism, utmost use of technological advancements, and generally admire achievements of intelligence. And that’s true. But where I position myself is the intersection of these two worlds, sometimes referred to as technopaganism or technoshamanism.

As such I despise all forms of using technology against nature, including erasing wildlife to be superseded by the footprint of human civilization, industrialized farming to serve consumerist gluttony, and warfare where intelligence is exploited to fight against itself. However I have no problem for example with hunting or farming for food and personal consumption as a part of life, as an element of the cycle of nature.

These are thoughts I get when listening to Myrkur. It is an enchanting soundscape to close my eyes to and think that I am an eagle soaring in the bright blue sky, feeling the wind brushing my wings, looking down at a vast forest, seeing the dashing of deers, the wolf pack chasing after them, and finding the thin stream of smoke rising from a couple of chimneys of a small human settlement in the distance.

This kind of music keeps returning to my life occasionally and every time we meet I fall in love. The last and most memorable occurrence was when I got to know Heilung – the live recording of Krigsgaldr still gives me goosebumps any time I watch it.

Burzum – Sôl austan, Mâni vestan

What I like about Burzum is that it’s soothing like My Dying Bride but doesn’t have the doom edge to it. I love listening to The Angel and the Dark River, the only caveat is that it sets my mood and mindset to a specific place. Burzum leaves me where I am, it just provides calmness and space for me to float in. Well, maybe not all Burzum records, but this one and Hliðskjálf certainly are like that.

Thy Catafalque – Sgùrr

Got hooked on this one for quite some days, terrific orchestration and blend of styles. Some electronic music styled beats, but acoustic instruments, then going deep ambient, dark textures and full-blown metal, always with a hint of folk. The mountain shape drawn by the length of the tracks is a nice subtle thing to discover. Totally surprising entry in my best of 2015 list.

Brooklynból jön az Opal Onyx, ketten vannak, akusztikus hangszereken játszanak csendesen, a lány pedig énekel. Kicsit sötét, kicsit misztikus, de igazából sok mindenhez lehet hasonlítani, erős stílusjegyekkel bíró, melankolikus újféle folk. Viszont nagyon szép. A 42 perc elsőre el is szaladt, újrahallgatom.

És hát ez a borító, erre felkaptam a fejem. Nem biztos, hogy értem, mit látok, de nagyon tetszik.