GONE COASTAL

Following the fiery Skuggsjá, Enslaved and Wardruna’s creative figureheads have joined forces once more, and this time they’ve reset their compasses

One of the most sacred, important things to do in our culture was to be respectful, even more so to your enemies. That’s part of what gave our ancestors success around the world, being tradesmen, being hired guns or whatever it was. They had huge success because they weren’t scared of other people’s ways and they didn’t disrespect them.”

Even though, as a species, we are more than aware that an understanding of history can help us negotiate the future, we humans are adept at repeating our most deleterious mistakes and mistaking bullshit for truth. As a result, the quiet musical and philosophical revolution that Einar Selvik has been spearheading over the last few years, both with Wardruna and in collaboration with Enslaved’s Ivar Bjørnson, stands out as a uniquely heartening phenomenon in dispiriting times. Following the huge success of their previous joint effort, Skuggsjá, the two Bergenborn artists have again joined forces for another wildly evocative piece, Hugsjá. Commissioned by Bergen International Festival and premiered last December as part of Nordvegen, a series of concerts inspired by the ancient history and myths of four locations along the Norwegian coastline, Hugsjá seems to mark the point where Einar and Ivar’s pooled ingenuity transforms into a new, singular and hugely powerful entity.

“Skuggsjá was commissioned with its shape set in stone – it was supposed to be Wardruna meets Enslaved,” Einar notes. “Whereas Hugsjá was me and Ivar, making some music together with much more freedom this time, so we could rethink and try to build on our experience from the previous time. We were free to think differently, and that shows in the music. It’s not Wardruna meets Enslaved, it feels more like Ivar Bjørnson meets Einar Selvik.”

Although Hugsjá continues Einar’s passionate unearthing of his Norse ancestry and history, its focus is primarily upon the culture and experiences of early settlers along Norway’s forbidding coastline, the Nordvegen. As an aural journey through the mists of time, it’s undeniably effective, but its thematic undercurrents – of migration, movement, travel and discovery – have a potent relevance to the present day, too.

“The Nordvegen is what gave this country its name, back in the day,” Einar explains. “Sweden and Denmark are named after the people living there, the Swedes and the Danes, but Norway is named after this coastal line, essentially. Like the previous piece, Hugsjá is a mix of old and new, in the sense that we’re trying to take some of these things into modern contexts. What shapes a place and its tradition and culture is nature and nature still speaks in the same way. So many of these nature-based traditions are still around. That’s the foundation of this piece. We’re diving into traditions and myths and gods and goddesses that relate to that, while trying to imagine what it would’ve been like to have settled in these places back in those days.”

With its international debut due to occur at Roadburn in April, Hugsjá promises to add another mesmerising piece to Einar’s patchwork of artistic achievements to date. The ongoing eruption of interest in Wardruna, not to mention other superficially likeminded acts like Heilung, points to a widespread need amongst fans of heavy music to be transported, transfixed or even transformed.

“I think people are looking for something,” notes Einar. “I think that sense of connectivity to something is important, whether it’s a spiritual thing, a philosophical thing or just an emotional thing. People long for music that speaks to more than just your ears. Also, a sense of connection to something that’s not dogmatic, because we’re not preaching, we’re leaving a lot of room and space for people to have their own perception of the music and the lyrics. That’s what we try to do in the concerts, to create that sacred space. I think a lot of people long for these feelings, especially if you don’t go to church or to mosque, this sacred, solemn feelings and a space where you feel that, that you’re a part of something bigger.”

At a time when Nazi thugs cheerfully march down US streets and the online world seems designed to irrevocably divide us, that sense of profound immersion in something more powerful and permanent than ourselves is not to be sniffed at. The fact that Einar’s music is connecting with so many people, from all manner of musical backgrounds, points to the beginnings of a broader movement, wherein the study of ancient cultures and traditions is harnessed for our enrichment, rather than to sow further division. Einar is painfully aware that the myths and ancient Norse runes that are so fundamental to his work have been routinely hijacked by the small but persistent shambles of faux-pagan fascists that lurk on metal’s fringes. Today, and with no little credit to Einar himself, the tide is turning.

“Norse history has been a difficult topic to approach. There are a lot of stereotypes about these traditions, that it’s only about rape and pillage and piracy, and that just isn’t the case at all. Also, we do have this Nazi ghost that is clinging to that part of our history, unfortunately, and especially clinging to some of the symbols and the runes, but that’s gradually also loosening its grip due to this new movement, this healthier approach to history. Now it’s not only the subcultures on the far-right that are interested in runes. Finally, we are more than them and we’re slowly taking it back.”

It is almost impossible to imagine the trials and torments that faced those early settlers on the Norwegian coastline, many centuries ago, but it doesn’t seem unreasonable to suggest that Hugsjá is a project driven by that same fearless desire for exploration and the mastering of new realities, new environments and new ways of thinking. And as we clumsily search for meaning in a fucked-up world, the sacred space that

Einar Selvik and Ivar Bjørnson are conjuring from the frosty ether seems like a haven of unfathomable importance.

“If you try to connect with your roots and your roots are driven by a feeling that your culture is being threatened, you’ve lost already,” Einar concludes. “That culture lives inside of you. Nations have always changed. People have always moved around, moving toward resources. Today, people are very frightened of that but fear of the unknown is not healthy. It is complicated, but a lot of ignorance is based on lack of knowledge about this tradition, about what we were. We were warriors but that’s only a small part of it and actually not the interesting part, to be totally honest!” The most interesting part comes next, of course, when these two insatiable creatives make their respective next moves. With both Wardruna and Enslaved enjoying ever-greater popularity, Einar and Ivar’s part-time partnership looks certain to keep that circle of mutual inspiration spinning indefinitely.

“From the get-go, it’s been a positive thing and we enjoy each other’s company, which is a good start!” Einar laughs. “We also have respect for each other’s work outside our collaboration. He’s a very creative guy and very impulsive in how he reacts to music. He’s a pro! I guess it’s just chemistry. I think for both of us, this collaboration has inspired us in our own musical worlds. This all just makes sense somehow.”

HUGSJÁ IS RELEASED ON APRIL 20 VIA BY NORSE MUSIC. IT WILL BE PLAYED IN FULL AT ROADBURN FESTIVAL ON APRIL 21

“Fear oF the unknown is not healthy”

EINAR SELVIK SEEKS TO BROADEN OUR HORIZONS