By Bona Pjarren
Originally a solo project by singer and multi-instrumentalist Will Hunter, Vévaki are a folk band which draws from Nordic heathenism and animistic traditions. Myth, ritual and a connection with the natural world inform Vévaki’s music, which is both contemporary in sound and wide-ranging in instrumentation.
“Vévaki is very much based in our modern heathen tradition,” Will notes. “Sigurboði and I had been playing music for a while and we have used music as part of our personal spiritual practise. We had worked on some songs together but they were very much personal. Then we had a jam session in this cave in Iceland and afterwards we tried to record a song. I asked if Sigurboði would feature on it and he said yes, thankfully. Then I went home and used my home recording equipment to do a song which we sent to Danheim (Danish folk musician) and he put me on his online record label. And that’s how Vévaki started. We did a full album from there. Sigurboði featured heavily on it, even though he wasn’t in the band in any official capacity. But he did lots of drums and vocals and stuff like that.”
Vévaki employ various stringed instruments and percussion throughout their music, its dynamics buoyed by the complementary vocal styles of Will, Sigurboði and Hrafnhildur and the cinematic soundscapes sculpted by Gísli Gunnarsson. This comes to the fore on ‘Fórnspeki’.
‘Brynhildarljóð’ is the first track on the album and offers a gentle introduction, enchantingly simple and contemporary in its delivery. It ebbs and flows in an interesting way. ‘Heimdalagaldr’ is a poem dedicated to Heimdal the god of light and dawn. ‘Heimdalagaldr’ drives forward with strong frame drums over vocal and keyboard washes before guttural main vocals with harmonized singing takes over.
‘Hreingálknir’ means “clean eels” and is introduced by a big sonorous drum sound. The vocals give it quite the mysterious feeling and are very compelling as they build into the song. ‘Jötnablót’ is next and is an epic track of over eight minutes in length. Gentle drumming and evocative vocals give a haunting feel to the song as it builds slowly in intensity. It does have elements of Heilung to it and is possibly the most compelling track so far.
‘Griðastaðr’ means sanctuary and is again very atmospheric in its approach. Bowed lyre adds a drone over evolving keyboard washes. It feels almost like an interlude between songs. ‘Dísablót’ is another substantial track and again has a feel of Heilung about the handling of the vocals in particular. Strong frame drum patterns help to propel the track forward in quite a hypnotic way. Overall quite a pleasing track.
‘Gestaþáttr’ means “guest episode” and is haunting in its simplicity. It has a medieval ballad feel to it in places and it gradually builds in intensity as the song progresses. ‘Vitrun’ means “wintering” and feels like a poem set to an atmospheric soundscape. It is quite a dramatic piece.
‘Varðloka’ means “guard valve” and is the last track on the album. It continues the highly evocative and haunting feeling so prevalent in the rest of the album. Beautiful vocal harmonies and strong frame drums power this track through. There is quite a chant feeling to some of the vocals and it is highly spiritual.
‘Fórnspeki’ is a decent album with plenty to get your teeth into. It is wonderfully atmospheric with a definite hypnotic appeal. The vocals are well imagined and constantly add to the feel of the album. If you are a fan of bands like Heilung or Wardruna then this is an album for you.
- ‘Fórnspeki’ is out now. You can get your copy HERE.
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