Fast rising Nordic folk stalwarts BYRDI have released their critically acclaimed third full-length “Byrjing” (“Beginning”) today, March 5, 2021. The complete album is now streaming in full at the link below.
Cover art, tracklist, and further album details are listed below.
BYRDI comment: “The title ‘Byrjing’ can be translated as ‘beginning’ or ‘starting point’ to name two obvious possibilities”, write the Norwegians. “The story of this release actually begins with a mythological ending. During the series of events that the people of the North called ‘Ragnarok’, the old world finally perishes in flames. Yet the pagan universe works in cycles, and our album continues on into the new cycle. Our conceptual vision is based on both a mythological as well as a personal level. It certainly reflects changes in our lives using the language of myth. When the old comes to a fiery end, out of the ashes something new is born. The images and themes that we have picked from mythology represent different stages of this transition and marked by loss and sacrifice. Suffering can work as a catalyst for change. The source of our anguish can be transformed through honesty into a wellspring of strength until the individual is free to let go and move on. ‘Byrjing’ also conveys our thoughts on life as something that needs constant renewal. Wisdom is earned through experience, and as the example of Odin teaches often only gained through hard choices and sacrifice – veit du nok eller kva?”
Tracklist:
1. Solsnu
2. Geirodd
3. Eg
4. Stein på stein
5. Huldre
6. Heim
7. Byrdi
8. Byrjing
With their third full-length “Byrjing” (“Beginning”), BYRDI are taking the important step from a highly respected underground act to an established force within the realm of Nordic folk. The Norwegians have recorded this album with the participation of various guest musicians including percussionist Kjell Braaten, who has performed live with WARDRUNA among other bands, and Mathias Gyllengahm (UTMARKEN, NORRSINNT) on nyckelharpa (keyed fiddle). “Byrjing” shows BYRDI in an almost intimate way and while their music may easily be labelled as “Nordic folk”, the Norwegians foremost sound like themselves.
BYRDI were founded in the ancient town of Hov in Eastern Norway by Nash Rothanburg and Jørn Øyhus in the year 2012. Their debut album “Eventyr” was released in 2014 and has been described as a “wild and strange ritual”. Two years later, the Norwegians had been joined by singer and songwriter Andreas Paulsen and started to work on their sophomore full-length. For the recording of “Ansur:Urkraft” (2017), the band used various locations in the mountains and woods of Eastern Norway.
“Ansur:Urkraft” created a buzz in the Nordic folk scene and earned the band (among others shows) two invitations to perform at the prestigious Midgardsblot Festival in Borre, Norway among the grave mounds of chieftains from the Viking age and even earlier periods. The fast rise of BYRDI is underlined by more than a million streams of their single “Solsnu”, which was aptly first released on the day of winter solstice in 2018.
Having been joined by harpist Gulia Wyrd-Svartskog, BYRDI are now ready to spread their music and words to an even greater audience with “Byrjing”.
ine-up Nash Rothanburg – vocals, jaw harp, never-lur
Andreas Paulsen – vocals, guitar
Giulia Wyrd-Svartskog – harp
Guest musicians
Kjell Braaten – percussions, drums
Mathias Gyllengahm – keyed fiddle
Trygve Ramnefell – flutes, vocals
Mattis Løvbrøtte Elvestuen – mellotron
Bergegerda Mannskor – choir
Mix & Mastering by Mattis Løvbrøtte Elvestuen
Cover Artwork by Christian Voss
Layout by Dan Capp
Links
www.facebook.com/byrdinorway
www.instagram.com/byrdiofnorway
