By Bona Pjarren
Acclaimed Nordic Dark Folk artist Sowulo will release his new studio album ‘Wurdiz’ on 9 September through By Norse Music. ‘Wurdiz’, the proto-Germanic word for destiny, is all about the dance between fate and free will and with these songs, Sowulo’s founder and multi-instrumentalist Faber Horbach intentionally connects to fate and lets it incite him to become a weaver of his own destiny.
And so to the first track, ‘Wyrd Webba’, which is a song about spinning and weaving wool. It has a majestically dark feel to it. A really full dark sound with lots of bowed and plucked acoustic instruments. Tribal style drumming helps to top off a powerful and catchy first track.
‘Stearcost Ealra’ is about accepting one’s wyrd or fate. With a haunting atmospheric intro this song conjures up images of timeless space. Again it is a very well composed track that immediately engages the listener. The vocals, harmonies and throat singing have a beautiful resonance to them which really adds to the song.
‘Æt wega ġelætan’ is a track where the instruments take centre stage, augmented with some absolutely gorgeous choral singing. What a truly uplifting piece! Well crafted and easy to listen to, the instruments sound like they are almost exclusively traditional in their makeup; this is from the carnyx, lyre, nyckelharpa, Irish bouzouki, Celtic harp and blow horns that really do create echoes from the distant past.
‘Eaxlgestealla’, or “shoulder companion”, is up next and continues the theme of the writer’s journey of learning to control his fate. Another beautifully written and arranged track, it pounds along as it builds to a crescendo. The songs have a definite cohesive feel to them while presenting different compelling musical themes.
‘Begalan’, or “banned”, is next, with its distinctive Eastern European feel and it waltz tempo it adds a different flavour to the proceedings so far. I loved the swirling bowed string arrangements on this song. ‘Mīn bān’, which I think means “my friend”, launches into a slow but infectious pace with vocal harmonised chords floated over it and accompanied by sonorous bowed strings.
‘Ceorfan’, or “to cut”, from the Old English, has the harp as one of the main instruments, which is a nice touch, the other instruments building around it. ‘ Sunnanlēoman’ is a simple folk sounding song accented by strong tribal beats. It is a pleasant contrast to other tracks on ‘Wurdiz’.
‘Ðæs Webban Craeft’, which I think is “the web craft”, is an audacious piece, bordering on classical or even progressive rock in its concept. There is some very nice drum syncopation in places and the whole piece has epic written all over it. Great track! ‘ Unġewiss’ means uncertain and is the next song on the album. It is a strong soaring piece with a syncopated tribal essence. Again there is a progressive folk rock flavour permeating yet another extraordinary piece of music. I loved the vocal harmonies of ‘Ungewiss’.
‘ Slæp nū sōfte’ may mean “sleep now softly”, though my translation may be off. It skilfully weaves harp, strings and female vocals into a trance inducing tune. Delicate and beautiful it floats along. ‘ Āwæcnian’, I have no translation for, sorry. It is, however, another gorgeously imagined ballad that floats along effortlessly as it ebbs and flows through its structure until its surprise ending.
All in all I loved this album as it was moving, tribal and delicate in its composition. Most tracks are about four minutes long which makes each song easily digestible. The song writing is very strong with good arrangements which means there are a lot of ear worms on this album. It really works as an album with each track adding to the greater whole as they paint the bigger conceptual picture. I feel that Wurdiz will make a fine addition to any neo-folk fan’s collection.
- ‘Wurdiz’ is released on 9 September. You can get your copy HERE.
- All content © Über Rock. Not to be reproduced in part or in whole without the express written permission of Über Rock.