Welcome to the Grim Frost podcast.
Today we welcome back Einar Selvik, musician, composer, and
the man behind the global phenomenon Vardruna.
Welcome back to the Grim Frost Longhouse.
Pleasure to be here. Thank you.
Great to have you here again. Yes, because you were the very
first guest we had for this pod exactly 2 years ago, and now
you're here for the first episode of our third season.
So it feels fitting. Yeah, so, umm, how you been?
Chronically busy, I would say, but yeah, it's, it's been, uh,
it's been good. Eventful.
Yeah, In, in this. I guess being busy is a kind of
a luxurious problem. I guess so.
But yeah, can't remember if yeah, when I was here the last
time I was probably in studio mode, I presume working on the
album. Sounds like you actually said
something around that. Yeah, studio mode thing.
Yeah, which was, yeah, that part is of course a very rewarding,
but also a very challenging part, I think, or demanding in a
way, all consuming. It is, isn't it?
Because you have to go all in on it.
Yeah, yeah. I, I can't, I can't be involved
in a lot of other things when I'm doing that.
I need to focus. Yeah, but as you said, since
last time, you've been very busy.
And I mean, you've you released your sixth album.
Yep, the beer. Now you've been on a massive
world tour supporting this album and you made a documentary.
Yes. That's that's a lot of stuff,
but we're going to talk about all this stuff, but let's start
with a touring, I think. So 66 albums in, how do you
build a like a set list? That's yeah, you know, you know,
because. I know.
Yeah, it's, I don't think people realise how how much thought
goes into it and how challenging it is because in a way you're,
you're doing storytelling, you're doing energy work in a
way. And, and also in, in there is a
big logistical question, who does what in what song?
You know, for, for our instrumentation, certain
instruments you, you shouldn't do to, you know, like, for
instance, the, the horn instrument, if you, if you've
played a song that is really demanding for the lip, you
can't, you have to have a break until you go back into that
instrument again. And things like that.
A lot of small details. So, so it's a, it's a actually
quite a challenging jig jigsaw and, and and introducing new
songs, of course, is a, a very big part of, of especially the
process we've been doing now supporting in a new album.
Then then of course, I I'm a believer in in carefully
introducing new songs and and also also to find its right
place in in the story or trying to to to tell.
Yeah, I totally see that because you can't want to have as you
said, well, let's go back to something you said first
actually, because you said you're building a story or and
it's energy work, narrative work.
Which comes first then? I well, they're.
Or is it something else that's more important?
They're very well, I like to, they're all woven together, I
think. So whether you're telling a
story, because telling a story is also about energy, when to
when to, when to demand space and when to lean back and, and
when to pick it up the, the energy and, and when it's time
to to let things sink in. And, and that introducing new
songs, for instance, is a big part of that, you know, because
a song that is new to people, you listen in a different way.
So you so from for us on stage, we won't necessarily get that
energy feedback that you get from playing songs that people
know, you know, Yeah. So, so picking the right places
for those, both for us and and for the audience is of course
really important. Plus plus also the way I feel
anyways is you want to have a nice flow of the music from
start to finish so that you just don't blast through it or you're
not too mellow like it has to be like some ups and downs in the
energy like you say. Yeah, yeah.
And, and also I believe, I believe in, in, in daring to, to
demand something from the audience as well to, to make it
a little bit challenging at first.
For instance, keep the tension going for a long time before
you, you sort of introduce some, some sort of release.
So daring to be a bit bold sometimes.
I, I think it has its benefits, but you, you don't necessarily
feel it there then and there, but perhaps later in the sense
you will sort of get a reward for, for it as an audience as
well. I think you're right.
I think from, from my perspective, when you say this
actually kind of makes sense to how we in Amnemarth think about
these things as well. I mean, we're not here to talk
about Amnemarth specifically, but just saying, yeah, yeah.
But it's, it's, it's a, it's how you connect with the audience.
Yeah. And to make them a part of the
whole, the whole thing, not just be you being the artist.
And then the show is the audience and the artist
together, basically. It's a dialogue.
It's yeah, it's such a yeah, it is a dialogue for 100% dialogue.
And, and that can be, you know, this the small, smallest things
that that is that energy exchange.
It can be things from like you see people singing the, the
lyrics or, or if they are dancing or if they are you, you
know, if they are emotional or, or if they are verbal, you know,
it can count come in all sorts of forms and all of those
things. It's, it's part of that
dialogue, that exchange of, of energy, which is why also, you
know, you can play the same room, same set list 2 nights in
a row, but it's going to be 100% different energy because you're
not the same. The people gathered in the room
is not the same. Yeah, I, I think even if it were
the same people, it wouldn't be the same.
No, it's, it's all moments. It's all in the moment.
Exactly. So Speaking of that, I mean, you
played like some some very specific and and amazing venues
like the, the the Royal Albert Hall, you played the Acropolis,
you played Pompeii on this tour, I am seem to recall.
Yes. And you play like a in Native
American reservations. Like, how does playing different
venues like these and different countries affect your experience
as a musician? And.
And like. Yeah.
Well, it's a, I, I think some of these actually, I, I think that
some of these very charismatic, strong energy, for whatever
reason places they can be a bit challenging because OK, or
challenging is perhaps not the right word, but they, they can
be demanding in the sense that. Almost daunting or.
I don't know they can steal your focus.
So it's demanding in the sense that you have to really focus on
your job, on being present or else you're going to like, I'm
very disciplined in terms of not creating stories before I go to
a place, you know, I, I going to Pompeii or Acropolis.
I for me, I, until I got there, I, I have the focus that it's a,
it's a regular day on the job because that's what the place
deserves and demands and that's what the audience demands.
It is. Yeah, it is.
It's the same job you're doing just that it's going to be more
difficult because you know, the energy of some of these places
just for, just for their aesthetic or, or, or their, the
history you just feel or, or the expectations you feel in the
whole crowd. And and and also for us, of
course. Plus also the crowd being in
that specific place, I imagine they their energy is going to be
different. It 100% yeah.
So, so in terms of preparation, I, I, it's almost like I, I push
it away in a sense. I try to be very neat and
disciplined and sometimes I'm I succeed, sometimes I don't.
You know, it's but, but that's the.
We're not machines. No.
And that's the school also, you know, now we've done it a few
times playing in, in, in, yeah, some pretty spectacular places.
And yeah, every time I learn something new.
But but of course it is, it is humbling.
And and especially those moments when you're truly present and
you're truly able to, to also enjoy it, you know, just really
soak it in. That's, yeah, that's profound.
That's something I I, I will never forget.
Which venue would you say has been the most exciting then to
play? I don't know.
And that's, you know, playing
maybe the first show we ever did, but in front of the the
Gokstar Viking ship in, in Norway.
Because, yeah, I had no clue how it would work.
We had never played live before, you know, So, so that kind of
pressure. But of course, for this, for
this tour in in particular, I would have to say that Pompeii
sticks out because just yeah, one one thing is that the
history and and that sort of magnitude is something you grow,
grew up with the history of this totally unique, powerful place.
But also in popular culture, you know, it's with, with, with Pink
Pink Floyd's performance at. So it's sort of has a, has a
place in, in modern music history as well as this
legendary place. So when, when that invitation
came, I, yeah, I, I'm a, I'm a pretty mellow guy.
I don't get like visibly very excited, you know, But I, I
think that's one of the few occasions where yeah, yeah, I, I
got more expressive. I can imagine because I mean to
me it sounds like I've never been to Pompeii myself, but it
seems like such a such a insane place.
I remember when I was a kid watching a Swedish documentary
about Pompeii and when they showed like, all these rooms
where like, people who died in their sleep and all this stuff,
and just through the television set.
Yeah, that was amazing. Yeah, and but it was also a sort
of a anti climax because when I woke up that that morning in
Pompeii, my my voice was gone, which is of course that's that's
the nightmare. You know, I was like, really?
How, how, how do you, how do you, what do you do then?
Because that's going to be a panic thing.
Yeah, well, first thing is don't panic.
And well, I think actually, you know, when you, I, I think it
because I got a cold, it was like extreme air conditioned on
the plane there. I had, I didn't sleep properly
the night before because travelling and all of that.
And which is of course, you know, the most important thing a
singer does on tour is sleep because that's when you rebuild
everything. So it was a number of things
that sort of pointed the wrong way.
So I I could sort of feel things coming up, but I don't know.
You have to stay silent. You have to drink a lot.
And, and of course I have like these things I do like, I always
have a lot of like 97% concentrated ginger bruise and,
and things like that. Yeah, it is.
It is very, very good. And of course I had to be really
silent the whole whole day and not use my voice at all.
So and, and stay calm. Don't stress, don't stress the
body. And but of course it was, it was
horrible, exhausting in a way just but, but thankfully, when
I, when I started doing the warmups before I could feel that
OK, I, I have the whole range is still there, but I didn't know
how long it would last. So I I sort of needed to hold
back the the first songs, but then I could feel like.
I think you need to trust the, the, the microphone and the PA.
Yeah. Like you need to learn how to
trust that even if you need to be.
Yeah, yeah. Softer, yeah, yeah, hold, hold a
little bit back. Absolutely for.
For me, often holding back can actually be worse yeah than
going full on. Yeah.
But yeah. The strange thing is that my my
audio our our front of house technician, he said I was that
I, I was actually like between 1:00 and 3:00 DB decibel louder
than I am normally. So, so.
But in my mind I was holding back.
So well, actually that actually does make sense because I heard
somewhere that they did a test with sprinters and this is
completely different, I know, but they they asked the
sprinter, one of the best in the world to do it like 100 meter
dash at the top of like to give it everything.
So he did that and then timed it and then he had to rest for a
little bit, but while and then he was told like now do one at
roughly 85% of your capacity and he was actually faster.
Yeah. Because when you do it like full
on, you tense up. Yeah.
And that's what I feel myself as well.
Like if I go too hard obviously then.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. But there is, there is some
perfect logics to that. Yeah, that sounds reasonable.
But I actually do have a tip for you if you would ever encounter
such a situation again because this is what I was given by a
Swedish vocal Doctor Who is specializes in all pressing ears
and he said you have to get a resonance tube.
Oh yeah, yes, I do that. You do that?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because those, when you use
those like I wake up like like you and I do that for like 10-15
minutes and then I have my speaking voice back.
In Yeah. Yeah, it's really good stuff.
Yeah. It it, it, it does work.
But I've, I need to be better at using it.
For me. I've only used it like in in
crisis situations, which is yeah.
I use it as a part of my warm up now.
Yeah, Yeah, That's really good. Yeah.
Anyways, so then you know what it is?
Yes. All right.
So you did all these amazing places.
You played all these places in the world did did the the new
that the Berna material did that.
Do you feel that it it changed or evolved as you performed it
live over time? Yes, yes, absolutely.
How well you never, you never know how, how it's going to
work. You never know if it's going to
work. That's my experience.
I have been, I've been fooled several times with, with songs
that I think will work either better or, or, or not so good,
you know, and it can go both ways with, with these songs.
I, I think, I don't know it, it's something with some, some
songs are, are very immediate in the sense that they, I don't
know you, you find your place in it in that form.
For me, performing a song on stage is very different from
creating it and, and, and perform it or, or recording it
in, in terms of energy. And I don't know, like, like the
title track for me, from the very first moment, it just felt
like it would like it wanted to, to be played in that format.
I could find my place in it at once.
And and whereas like some of the other songs have been more.
Challenging to be completely honest, like the song he mean
Doctor, which is also in the studio.
It's, it has very like, I don't know how to maybe this becomes
too nerdy, but you know, there, there is, there are some fine
balances in, in terms of tempo and rhythm and tension, how you
build up things because it's a song that it is really slowly
building just step by step and and for me that was always
really difficult to to do live. So that's a more challenging.
Why is that difficult? I don't know, maybe it was even
difficult in in the studio to for me, but that's, you know,
I've talked to, I've discussed it with other people who don't
feel it the same way. So it's, it's also about my, you
know, I have a vet when I hunt the song, it's very particular
how you know what I hunt. You know, it can be a feeling.
It can be just, yeah, sometimes it's what you hear, but other
times it's also very much about a feeling.
And when, when I don't feel it's right, then yeah.
And I, I think I know the feeling, but so, so you say it
evolved and some songs you felt didn't work live.
Like, what do you do then? Like you, as you said earlier,
you, you're very meticulous when you build a set list and you
built this set list and then you have this one song refill.
It doesn't work. Well, then I I always try to to
have alternatives that that's the beauty of having a yeah.
So you have like, but you know, sometimes it can help to, to
move a song to a different place as well.
So in the beginning it's, I would say it's, it's also a bit
about finding the footing not only in just how you perform a
song, but where you place it. And and yeah, it's a trial and
error. I also feel that.
Tell me if you feel the same, but I I also feel that sometimes
it depends on the crowd that you're playing in front of, like
where they are. That because a song may not work
one day and then the next day you play perhaps even the same
venue or another place just a few miles away and it works
fine. Yes and yeah, one one thing is
the crowd, but also yourself, you know and and yeah, like like
the mentioned for mentioned him and not a song, you know.
Like I could also feel that when, when there were more
Native Americans in the room, like on the US tour, you then
then the energy of playing that song was much easier to get in a
way because it has a tonality that is very much closely
related to indigenous tonalities, both Sami and, and
which is of course very related to, to North American indigenous
tonality as well. So, so yeah, I, I totally agree
with you that it, it, there are many factors in in how, how this
all all falls into place or, or not.
But the but the song have done is also a song that I feel,
which is one of the that that was the first of of the new
songs we introduced and that that also fell into place more
easily. Well, in, in, in except for the
fact that we as musicians, we needed to to sort of find the
balance is a lot of different vocals going on there, you know,
lots of layers. So, so figuring out who does
what, basically, yeah. Yeah.
But so how, how patient are you with the song that you feel like
if you're going toward you, you have your set list prepared and
you feel that there's one or two songs maybe that doesn't work
out. How many chances does that song
get before you make any changes? When it's a new song, I give it
a while because I have experienced have enough
experience with it that I know that it can be small things you
tweak. So I'm patience.
I can be patient with it, but I am also.
Then it becomes a process where you work on it, you work on it,
you discuss it a lot. You try to try to tweak it in in
different ways. You you try placement and but
then yeah. Plus also, do you feel sometimes
that it takes like a few shows and then people are kind of
trying to get into the song and then when you get to like a
couple of weeks in, you realize that people now have listened,
listened to the album more and know the songs more?
Yeah, yeah, it's a different thing.
You know when it, when it's, when it's, when it's all new and
fresh and it's new to people, then it's more like, like I said
before in, in terms of then you, you have a audience that is very
listening. I don't mind that because I know
that's how it works. Then I know that when we play
this song, they won't be as visibly engaged because they're
listening in a different way. So I, I think that's, I think
that's cool also. And you know, I, I, in any case,
I actually like that tension when you, when you don't know
exactly where the audience is. We the, you know, the, the, the
first, the first year we did shows, we, we had like half the
concert, all the songs sort of, they were, they were faded into
each other. So it was more or less
continuous and, and you could feel that people were really,
they didn't want to applaud basically.
So we, we had, we did shows where, where or most are shows,
there wasn't any applause until like halfway in the show.
That's when you could could sense the room.
Like for real. But how was that for you as an
artist then? It was demanding anyway, but
like I said, I, I kind of like that tension because that's what
it is kind of like a classical concert as well, where you, you
don't want to break the, the atmosphere and you're not sure
if you're going to, you're allowed to clap or not.
And that feeling I, I, it's uncomfortable, but I don't know,
friction is there, There is some, I don't know.
It's, there is some power because that also pushes you to,
to be present in a, in a different way in the song.
It pushes you to to battle your own insecurities and and just be
present and and give voice to the song.
I totally get. That yeah, yeah.
So once we even did a concert where there were no applause
until we were done in Bergen, that was.
That was magical. Yeah, but you know, Norwegians.
Yeah. So how long was the tour like,
Like how how would you summarize the tour in terms of experiences
and feelings? I mean, yeah.
Well, the tour itself was, I feel it was, you know, I've been
away more than I've been home the the last 1 1/2 year did.
You do a lot of back-to-back touring.
Well, that's the thing, I, I feel it was pretty well balanced
in, in terms of, you know, you, you do a bulk and then you're
home and then you go back. So it's been a, it's been
balanced pretty well. And but it, you know, and, and I
travel with beautiful people that I really enjoy spending
time with. You know, it's, it's like the,
the extended family and I also travelled with my son who is our
backline technician has been for like 334 years now.
So having part of my, my inner circle there as well is a bonus
of course. But so, so it's, I would say
it's been both. It is demanding you, you, it is
demanding the tour life and it it is sometimes it's hard to be
away from from your family. Sometimes it's hard for the
family that you're away also. So it's, it's, I don't know,
it's a, it's a mix of, of wonderful moments and
challenges. And, and so the nature of, of
doing a world world tour, which I'm sure you know a lot about
yourself that it, that it is both beautiful and, and hard.
And yeah, it, it has its challenges for sure, But but
we've been blessed with, with so many incredible life changing in
a way, opportunities and events. We've been a part of this, this
period. So yeah.
So yeah, I'm I'm filled with gratitude as well.
You said your your son is your backline technician and he's
goes with you on tour. Does does the rest of the family
ever come out and tour with you as well?
Well, for logistical reasons, that's more challenging when you
have, because my, my daughter is still in, in, in, in high
school. So they're more tied to, to, to
the home. So, but of course they, they
come out when, when we're, when it's logistically possible.
But yeah, hopefully in the in in the future, that will be easier
as well. Yeah, yeah.
But so going back to like experiences and feelings that
you carry with you from, from this tour, like is there any
specific things that you that that comes to mind that that you
bring with you for the future or like?
Yeah, many things, you know, both, both, both.
I don't know many things. I remember we, we talked a bit
about New Zealand the last time I was here that, that you know
what, what that cultural meeting that I experienced 25 years ago
or when, when I visited New Zealand for for a while and
travelled there and that how much part that actually played
in, in me doing this with that. It's sort of, yeah, gave me
game. It's sort of made clear what
what, what I was missing in my own relation to my culture and
and history and the the nature around me.
So it's in a way it gave me direction.
It it, it gave a sort of a word to what it is.
I was hunting in a sense. So going back to, to, to news
New Zealand 25 years after to, to sort of complete that cycle,
to bring my songs there. That that was a really special
thing for me on a personal level, especially.
And, and, and of course, you know that our involvement in,
in, in, in the Fire in the mountains festival at the, at
the Blackfoot Blackfoot Reservation in Montana, that
that is also something that made a deep yeah, yeah, yeah, made a
deep impact on on me to to be there the way we were welcomed.
The, the feeling of, of contributing to the to, yeah,
to, to be a constructive part of, of, of helping and giving
voice to something together with them that that was, that was a
really humbling thing to be part of.
And yeah, also it, it was moving to see how, how the, the
Valdruna community gathered. Because we, we, we had this
collaboration with something called the Firekeeper Alliance,
which is part of that festival, which is a nonprofit
organization working with kids because of their horribly high
suicide rates amongst young people, especially there.
So we, we collaborated with, with the school kids in, in
designing a, a Wadruna shirt that we first sold.
It was to be sold at the festival.
But then a lot of people, people in the Wadruna community wanted
us to put it online because they also wanted to support and yeah.
And, and we did. And we, we collected almost
$15,000 for. So yeah.
That's. It's fantastic.
It was very, very moving to see how many people got engaged in
made me proud to be part of. Yeah, I can imagine.
How long did you stay at the at the Yeah.
In Montana we what was it? I think I spent about a week
there. I got to I ride horses.
So I got to, to experience the beautiful Montana nature from,
from, from the horseback. And yeah, we were part of Powell
welcoming ceremony. And yeah, got to got to do some
beautiful nature walks with, with the locals and yeah, it was
beautiful. I know that's very important for
you. So was this like planned for the
tour that that you do this as a like a wind down thing or?
Yeah, in a, in a way it was, it was planned that when we go
there because also because it's a it is a, it was sort of a
separate thing for separate from the tour.
So which was a good thing because then it allowed us to
to, to have a few few days extra there to, to actually be present
during the whole festival. And, and of course, it's also a
festival that is it's yeah, you're not allowed to drink
alcohol there because of the reservation that the, the, the
loss there, which I have to say it's the best festival I have
ever been on. Oh, really for that reason, you
know, there were no, it was kind of a leave no trace.
This was on their sacred ground. We we were allowed to have this
festival. So, so coming there and
respecting the rules and laws and and also to leave no trace.
There were no litter any of the days.
Everyone contributed. But also for us musicians, you
know, when there isn't alcohol involved, you can you can enjoy
the festival like everyone else. And that, that was, yeah, it was
a long time since since I've been able to to actually go see
shows, you know, and and. Always wind up standing on stage
watching. Yeah, if you're going to watch
someone. Yeah, exactly.
So yeah, I actually, yeah, I hope more, more festivals do it
to be honest, because also I think you will enjoy and
remember more of. Definitely.
More of the show shows you see, don't be scared of it.
Yeah, yeah, I hear you. So talking about a bit about the
album, what was the first spark behind Berna?
I don't know. It wasn't like one thing.
I think it was something that gradually grew and yeah, it, I
don't know. It's, it's something I, I
started thinking about when I was doing the album before
actually, because then also I was, I was very much in the
animal world and, and, and yeah, I don't know, at some point in
that process, I, I just, I didn't have a clear idea what I
wanted to say. But, but I, I knew that the next
album I wanted to, to, to give voice to the bear.
That's, that was sort of the I and then I just put it aside
and, and that's, you know, that I think that's what I spent most
time on this album was actually finding out because I, I knew so
strongly that this is what I want to do.
But I, I, I didn't know what I, how I wanted to say, what I
wanted to say. And I, it was a long process of
I do a lot of research into everything I work on, you know,
also from the academic point of view and, and I studied a lot
of. About them, the history of of
the the man bear, the human and and bear relation throughout
time, not only here in the North, but wherever there are
bears basically. And and of course, our our in
later history and the the sagas, etcetera.
And in in folklore and it's such AI don't know.
The the more I read, the more the more confused I got because
it's such a web and and tangle of different traditions in
different times. And of course, in, in certain
periods that becomes that relation between man and bear is
in, in has also been pretty problematic.
So I, I don't know, the more I, I studied, the more I realized
that this album would be that I, I sort of left the human aspect
of it more out of it. And, and the historical aspect.
I, I put it aside because the bear doesn't need it to be its
own magnificent self. And I, I, you know, the thing
with bears is that wherever they are, they influenced the, the,
the humans fair in so many different ways.
They are so present in our folklore, in our mythical
content, in, in our stories, in our burial ceremonies, in our
warrior ceremonies, in our hunting ceremonies.
So I, I'd rather go into to, to see, you know, dive into what
it, what it is about the bear that created all of these.
Why, why was it that before we had, you know, written stories,
we, we placed them in the stars, you know, wherever they are,
that you have the, the, the star images of, of the bears that the
ever present. So, yeah, so, so and, and of
course, part, part of why, why they are so central is because
they are, they are so profoundly cyclical.
They, they sort of mimic the, the movements of, of the year so
perfectly with their, with their winter sleep, you know.
Yeah, they, they, they, yeah, they, they mirror Mother Earth
so, so poetically. These movements of, of going
back to the womb in a sense, and then the rebirth and, and which
are present in many different movements in nature.
You know, the salmon swims upstream to the place it it was
born to spawn and die. It's so poetic.
And yeah, that's the story I wanted to tell.
I, I just, I wanted to sort of strip away the human aspect of
it because yeah, we're kind of the problem.
So, so did you go mostly for the animal perspective or was it
like a symbolic the symbolism or like something more personal?
Well, it's both because I, I think the bear teaches us that
we, we humans are also cyclic, even though our society, the way
we live is sort of demands us not to be.
It demands the same tempo. We eat the same food all year
round every day. And when when that doesn't work,
you know, we we just have to push through.
And I don't think that's a, you know, that's contrary to what
every other being on this planet does.
Yeah. So I think it teaches us it's a,
it's a beautiful reminder of just that.
So when I'm singing about the bear or we are singing about the
bear in, in this album, there is always a layer of, of, of, of us
joining the bear on this journey.
That's, that's what I, what I sing in, in, in Berna as well,
you know, can I, can I borrow your hide just for one day and
carry your weight in in a sense. So at at any point you can ask
the question if I'm singing about the human or, or is it a
bear or is it nature, mother Earth?
And and that's also why I wanted why I called it Birna, which is
the female, the she bear. Because I I feel then you, you
more clearly see the connection the, the to the to mother Earth
and to that whole cyclical, yeah, death, rebirth, life,
yeah, the whole, whole circle. I, I feel, felt I could tell
that story much much more clearly with a female aspect.
Yeah, so, but you said that the bear obviously means a lot of
things in different cultures and you more than to strip away the
human aspect of the bear. Yeah, in the sense of what you
know, you know, for us, it's meant a lot of different things
in different times. And to sort of single out one
thing was, was challenging in a way because because of, of, you
know, for me, history is something I, I would, I, I think
we have the potential of doing better now than before.
So if I was to, to like cherry pick certain things from that
history and make an album about that.
I, when I know the whole history, which is so fucking
problematic up until this day, I don't know it, it didn't
resonate in me. So that's what I mean.
I, I, I would rather, you know, give voice to what it is about
the bear that impacts us humans so much throughout the ages.
Why we wanted to be buried in bearskin, why we wanted to
borrow the bears hide when going into battle, when why we place
them in the sky to to watch over.
Yeah, all of those things. So that's what I mean with
removing because the bear doesn't need us.
The bear doesn't borrow strength from us in a in a sense to be
its own perfect self. It is the other way around.
And I think we need to. They can be great teachers to
us. What was your, I mean, how did
the, the bears meaning change for you personally in this
process? Because he said going in to it,
you had a feeling that you wanted to give the bear a voice.
But I, I gather from what you're saying that it was a process to,
to getting to know the bear both both mythologically and like
biologically, but also on a very personal level.
Yeah, it, it becomes of course, because, you know, it's, I try
to internalize everything I, I work with.
It has to come from a place that is real.
And you know, going into a lot of these, these older stories,
these older traditions, they, they didn't kind of many of them
were interesting. Most of them were sad and at the
same time the interesting ones, they didn't really resonate with
me today. You know, how can I use this
today? Where is and, and how, what does
it say about the bear actually? So it gave me more to, to read
about the bear itself, you know, to go into the scientific world
to so, so I, I would say I am, you know, when we create, it's
always with Valdor and I, the creative concept is always about
trying to interpret something on its own premises.
So realising that when a bear goes into hibernation, it
doesn't really go into hibernation per definition.
It goes into this semi, yes, semi hibernative state where it
lowers its heart rate to around 910 beats per minute.
Now that's useful. Then I then I then I know what
tempo I have in in, you know, then I know the pulse that I am.
I am to use when I give voice to the to the hibernation on on in
my story. So I chose 9 of course, and a
lot of these things, you know, going going into the music
history as well. I wanted to, I use always use
different lyre instruments. But on this album I I've
travelled more E to to Finland, to Estonia, Russia or Dev bear
country. Yeah, bear country where where
you of course have the cantile or Gushley or or countless.
It has different names, which also I don't know it, it has
this dream like clear metallic sound to it as well that that I
felt was a really get a really beautiful contrast in, in, in
the soundscape. So that of course, was a was an
important part too, or decisive factor.
That's what I mean in, in and of course the goat's horn because
of this simple, almost like Kitty rhyme where where it said
that the bear hates the sound of the, the long horse, the Louvre,
but he loves the sound of the goat horn that you can actually
call the bear with the goat's horn.
So, so of course, that was an instrument we, we chose to, to
use quite a bit on, on, on certain parts when it made
conceptually sense. So I don't know, try I, I try
to, to, to do different angles, both academically in terms of
the thematics. So in this case, it was both the
historical aspect, which is of course present, but it's not the
dominating factor. There are, of course, these
hints back to our historical yeah, using their, their skins
and, and, you know, becoming them in, in a sense that's
something we've always, we've always felt a kinship to them or
not always, but at A, at A, at a certain point in our traditions,
we did. So that part I definitely wanted
to, to have present in the album.
So the academic part, both in terms of the themes, but also
the the music, of course, the the being a bear themed album
that that is then that's part of what decides what instruments we
use. And, and can be rhythms can be,
yeah, whatever. And then there's scientifical
things with about bears. So I've I've read a lot about
bears. I can tell that's amazing.
It's, it's, it's, it's amazing to see how deep you can go into
a subject to just just to create this concept.
But so is is there a track on Beer Now that feels like like an
emotional center of the album, would you say?
Oh, I don't know. It, it's, I, I feel in a, in a
way, perhaps the, in one way the song, the, the opening song has
sort of, because the opening song is almost like it tells the
story of the whole album between a heartbeat, between breathing
in and breathing out. That's sort of the, the idea in
a, in a, in a weird way, the sort of death and rebirth.
You become all of these cycles that happens in, in nature and,
and on the album, of course, you become them.
So it's sort of an introduction to to the story or you're being
brought into perhaps also the the the title track been has
this, you know, there there is this the song is in a in a way,
just a dialogue between man and bear, which is written in a
normal, like a more more falky way than I normally write my
poetry. In a sense.
It's more light hearted, but underneath it, this is a very
like it's very heavy. You know, the music is very
heavy. So I like that contrast between
the the lighthearted lyrics, but but but the heavy musical
feeling of it. And and I guess also he min
Dota, which is sort of a a plea in a sense that ends on a on on
on quite a quite some direct messages to to to to to our
times. And yeah, and and some might
think that because the first part of the album is is very
clearly about the bear. But then you have three more
songs that sort of are on the outside of that.
And how does that work? But they, they do have a place
and and they are there for a reason where because it's, it's
more about going into the premise of understanding the
value of, of bears. And like Lithia back is the
healing mountain. It's a song about cost and value
that anything of any true value here in life comes at a cost.
That's how life works. You know, you can't walk up a
hill without going uphill. That's impossible.
Yeah. You can't climb a mountain
without going up uphill. And if you don't understand the
value of preserving nature intact, then you won't accept
the cost. And, and the other parts are
more about how nature speaks through you, how you can listen,
how you can connect to your surroundings in a in a sense so
that they're there for a reason, even though seemingly they might
seem a bit on the side, but. Yeah, Yeah.
Would you say that that goes into the underlying theme then
of man and nature in a in a way that you talked about earlier?
Yeah, or nature and man. Nature and man Yeah, yeah.
Is, is there. I mean, obviously.
Well, from what you're saying, it seems to me that this is the
like the theme of the whole album in a way.
The underlying theme at least. Would you what?
What was it that drew you to this like specific topic in in
the 1st place? Was there any specific reason
why this became important at this time?
Well, in, in terms of this album, you know, for, for in a
way, looking back, I, I feel like it was the bear who came to
me in a sense. And I didn't because that
feeling of just, I know I need to make an album around.
This. Yeah, because I got it.
I I sort of really knew that I wanted, but I had no clue how
and what I was going to say. So I just put it to the side and
and that the whole long journey and actually finding in its
voice. So that's what it kind of feels
like that it came to me in a sense that I had to find it
again. But I don't know.
For me, our music in many ways has always been about that been
about our relation to nature and to nature itself, described in
using the images of the runes on the 1st 3 albums, which, yeah,
so maybe, but maybe it has been more in the background, you
know, more in the overarching themes of, of each individual
song or or theme. Whereas now it's in, it's the,
it's the. It's the main character and and
more I speak more clearly or we speak more clearly about these
things. So it's something that just
evolved, I think and and be crystallized and and of course
you, you, I'm not the same person as I was yeah, when when
I started this. So of course the music has to
evolve as well evolve and, and it has to, you know, it has to
come from a real place, you know, a desire to, to say
something. And I, I feel that, you know,
what's happening around us and how, how our, how, how our place
as humans in nature sort of is developing these days.
That also demand pushes the, the need to say something or to, to
give voice to something that, and, and for me, that's, I like,
I like doing it. I don't like doing it in a way
where you say what people shouldn't do.
Yeah, I'd rather just give voice to, to something beautiful,
something worth preserving something, something worth
remembering or, or, or experiencing that you're a part
of or I don't know. I, I feel that's more construct,
constructive in in a way than than yelling at people what they
should and should not do. Yeah, I don't like preaching and
I don't like to be told what to do either.
So I, I learned by being inspired by feeling, you know,
we people, we think that we experience life through our
brain, but we don't, we experience life through, through
our emotions. And so so if you really want to
make change, then you need to speak to people's emotions.
And you can tell because when you walk into nature, that's
when you're going to feel your true emotions about things.
Absolutely. The more time you spend there
and the more you understand that you are, that it's part of you,
that there is, you know, cutting flat, flat, an old forest.
You're not cutting your, your forest.
You're, you're, it's not the forest you're, you're hurting.
It is also you. That's what you start to realize
when when you the more you are in nature, you realize that it's
you. Yeah.
So going back to this then, did did working on a Birka change
the way you yourself relate to nature in any way?
I like that USA Swede, said Birka instead of being.
A mind fuck I was reading. Yeah, but it it's a.
Beer now. Beer now, of course.
Yeah, yeah, it's too close. Yeah, it's too close.
It's. It makes perfect sense.
Yeah, beer guy is Birch, but they are not there but beer now.
Yeah, like did working on being a change the way you yourself
relate to nature? Yes, yeah, I, I think so.
It's, I think all these deep dives into oneself into such a,
in my opinion, important part of, yeah, into this important
sort of shepherd of, of The Woodlands, which is what we used
to view it as. You know, of course, that has
impacted me and, and I've learned so much about also
myself. It has been a reminder of, of
many things like like remembering and being more aware
of, of my own cyclical nature. You know, our, our, yeah, I
think, I think we are like, like being a creative person as well.
You know, it's like, it's like a lung.
You have the expansion, but, but in order to, to have that
expansion, you need to retract and, and take a breath and, and
go back and, you know, and, and that's, that's an important
lesson also one that I, I, you know, and in my own work, it's,
it's so easy to, to push the expansion to be all the time,
because that's in a way what the industry demands of you in
certain time, at certain points. So it's it can, which is why I
think a lot of people burn out as well.
And yeah, yeah, good. So remembering to to inhale.
Inhale and exhale. Yes, important.
Not only exhale. You also recently released a
documentary called Tracking Beerna.
Can you tell us about the documentary?
Yes. Well, it's, I've been, we've
always been quite restrictive perhaps in terms of not, you
know, inviting people into what happens behind us.
I don't want that to sort of take away focus or demystify or,
you know, not that it's so mystical, but in lack of a
better word. And mostly because I don't want
what happens behind the stage to to take the focus from what
happens on the stage. At the same time, I feel very
much that what happens on that stage is very much represented
by what happens behind the stage.
So it felt like the right thing to do to, to also open.
Yeah. To to give a glimpse into that
bubble. Because you know, when we go on
stage, it's not like we we don't go on stage wearing masks and
costumes. We dress.
We're not. Yeah, it's I don't you dress up
for it, but it's not a costume. It's just more you, you, you
give it a frame and and we come as 100% ourself, which is so
important for me. And so, so in that sense, it it
doesn't. Yeah.
I don't know. It it felt the just the right
time to to open up. Yeah.
In in a glimpse into the bubble, basically into our yeah, the the
Valdruna family in a sense to to get a yeah.
And also, you know, it's mostly me giving interviews and talking
about these things. But but there are a lot of other
people involved as well with their own stories into this,
their own perspectives, their own experience.
Yeah. And and, and one thing is the
band, which is the the visible part of what happens.
But around us, none of that would be possible if it weren't
for the fact that that we have an amazing team around us, our
our crew, our, our management team and, and, and other people
also around. So, so having them part of this,
yeah, I think it's a a really nice thing to to, to show that
yeah, it's, it's a very genuine, honest documentary.
And of course, even though it's not in the documentary, it's,
it's worth mentioning also that what a lot of people don't
realise it's it's also in in, in this where you have all the
people around the band, the families who are home of.
Course. Yeah, yeah.
It's easy to to to forget, but it's such a, you know, I, I
could not do this without that that support.
It literally takes a village. Yeah, yeah, definitely so.
And, and yeah, telling that story too is, is a really nice
thing. And, and we, we have, we had, so
it's, it's made by, by one of the people working with our PR
person, Letitia Avanes and and also a photographer who who have
been traveling with us quite a bit.
How long? Well, at least for for I think
the first time he worked with us was it at the start of this
tour. So a year and a half it was part
of of this tour for quite or maybe he was even there on on
the pre the tour before actually.
Yeah, I can't remember that. But in in any case, it's it's
made by people who were already part of the circle in a way.
So it's it's it's people. It's not like external people
who have come to to tell our story.
It's us telling our story in in a way.
And it's it's done with people. We are relaxed around the the
interviews doesn't feel like interviews in the sense we're
just talking with two people we know.
And there happened. Yeah, of course there is a
camera there, but which. But yeah, it so it, I don't
know. All of these things made it.
Yeah. Made it feel like the the right.
Yeah. Made me want to loosen the grip
a little bit. But how was it like letting
people you say that it's like people who are basically part of
the family in in in a way, but still you're letting people so
close into a world that is arguably very, very personal
with very personal moments. How how does that feel like?
Did you ever get worried about that?
No, I, you know, I, to be honest, I, I, I'm, I, I, I try
to separate my personal life a lot to, to my professional life.
I'm, I rarely, you know, even though people know I'm a family
man. Yeah.
And, but it's not something I I talk a lot about and and.
But I mean, there must be personal moments on tour as
well. Yeah, that's what I mean.
That, that, that those lines, I, I, I don't want them to steal
focus from, from at the same time it's, it's we are human
beings also on that stage and we are ourselves on that stage as
well. So it's, that's what I mean,
that perhaps I've been too strict about it in a in a sense,
but at the same time it's a balance.
And that was of course a discussion along the way as
well. Yeah.
And yeah. As you say, a tour is, is many
different things. Also, it's challenging.
I, you know, I, I, I find I find it very exhausting in the sense
I don't know, I, I can't half ass it, you know, So, so it's
every time it's the the same intensity.
It's yeah, pouring your, your heart out and, and that's and
that that makes you or it makes me very sensitive and tired in
yeah, it, it demands me to, to, to rest a lot in between.
So of course. And then of course life can
happen and it did in a sense also, not that I, we need to
give that a lot of focus, but yeah, it's, it's part of the
documentary as well. Because I, I, yeah, when mid,
mid, mid tour on on the last leg, I, I lost my father.
I didn't hear that. Yeah, Thank you.
Yeah. So, so life happens also when
you're on tour and. And that was of course it's
challenging and yeah, but, but also, yeah, it, it, it, it, it
was also beautiful in a, in a way because you, you have to,
you have to dig deep and perhaps dig deeper, but I don't know.
It, it, it, Yeah. Having a lot of beautiful people
around you doing what we do is also very rewarding, you know,
and, but yeah, it was hard. It was hard, especially of
course, to to to to sing Hail Wagon.
I can imagine. The first night or every night,
Yeah, it, it, yeah, it, it gave, it became very real, you know.
But at the same time, I, I, I sang for, for my, my, I sang for
my father, of course. But I, I did it when I wasn't on
stage because I, I, I think that's, you know, it's, yeah, I
even though it's personal, you know, it's, I didn't want it to
be When I do that on stage, that's not about me.
That's about something that is much bigger.
So that's what I mean. I try to like separate but.
I guess you kind of have to as well.
Yeah, yeah, in a situation like that.
Yeah, yeah, I, yeah, you have to sort of yeah, Keep, keep, keep
focus and, and yeah, do it, make it into something beautiful
because it is also beautiful and it's natural and it is, Yeah.
It is just such a multifaceted event in life that is just part
of it. Yeah, I totally understand.
And as I said, I'm really sorry to hear that.
I know. I know your father meant a lot
to you. So yeah, Yeah, Yeah.
But were there any times then that you regretted starting the
whole project with a documentary?
No. No, no, it was so smooth.
It was done by, like I said, really, really people all that
and it was very well organised. They all, you know, having
travelled with us and even going into, you know, the logistics of
making a tour documentary. It demanded a lot of, a lot of
planning in terms of where we can film what and who we can
interview when. Because like, for my sake as
well, I do very little interviews when I'm on tour
because I can't, you know, the, the day after a concert, the,
the, the voice is like an open wound.
And the worst thing I can do is talk a lot then.
So yeah. So I, I think it was very well
executed and, and planned by, by good people.
So it it felt like, yeah, it felt very non invasive.
OK, which, yeah. So if if you ever do it, then
then yeah. Then do it with people who are
already part of that circle and, and make a good plan.
Yeah. And yeah.
So where where can people watch this documentary?
That's on on our the Voluna YouTube channel.
That's where we publish it. Publish it recently.
Yeah. So yeah, I hope, hope people
want to to to check it out. Cool.
Yeah. So we already talked a little
bit about this, the importance of exhaling, of getting time off
to get back into it. So what role does silence or
stillness play in your creative life?
That's is very important because music is very often something I
hear and it howls from, from silence and silence in, in, in a
wider context, because silence is also for me about the tempo,
you know, it's also about space and, and having space for it to,
to howl. You know, if it's all noise and
all tempo, no, then you have to chase it.
And that works for a while. But I think you will.
I think the well will dry up if you do that too much.
So. So this all touring an album and
touring an album, you know, without having time for life,
for family, for yeah, for stillness, for thinking about
other things, for being inspired again, you know, finding things
you want to to say and not always chasing.
I think that's important. But it's also challenging when
you experience success because, because very often you get the,
the, the more success you have, the more interesting doors are
open for you, the more interesting offers you, you get.
So we're in the beginning, it was really important for me to
say no because, because all the, most of the offers that came, I
didn't feel fit, you know, But along the way, it's, it's the
other way around. And then it's about saying no
because you have to claim space and yeah, not burnout.
Yeah, it's. Easy to bleed the bleed the
energy and focus. Yes, yeah, it is so.
Sorry, I interrupted. You No, no, no, no.
But it's it's you're you're confirming exactly what I'm
thinking. So, yeah, it's so for me now,
this is definitely what what I what I need now.
It's been so intense for a long time.
So the need to just yeah, be able to to think playfully about
also, you know, if I at what point we there will for sure be
a break from touring now and but but just thinking, being
creative with that because now, now I, I claim space and and
time to actually think properly through that.
You know, how how I want people to experience Valdruna live the
next time we we do a tour. I yeah.
And, and there hasn't really been a time to do that properly
for a long, long time now to, to actually think about those
things. So it's something I really enjoy
thinking about as well. You know what?
Yeah. How to, how to be creative And,
and. Yeah.
So you come off tour you you go into stillness and silence and
but when do you know that it's time to go back into creative
mode and start working on on stuff like how does that come to
you? No, I don't know.
It's my, my main use for, for creating music is very often
walking. But I but I do feel that now
it's been a while where I've I've actually had the need to
just like not think about things that I've been so obsessively
thinking about for, for a long, long time, which is really nice
actually. To, to, to, but also a bit
scary. I have to, you know, because the
yeah, the the nightmare would be to to not be inspired to do
anything again. But I can feel that now that
I'm, I'm a bit out of tour mode again.
I can feel that the, the sort of the inch yeah, yeah, like the
curiosity, you know, the yeah. And and words and and phrases
and poetry starting to come. But I'm, yeah, but I'm, I'm not
going to start chasing anything yet.
Yeah. So I hopefully I'm, I'm in a
place now where I'm, I'm just going to let things roll in its
own tempo for a while. And then, yeah.
And then when, when it feels right, then we go into hunter
mode again. So do you see your work as a as
a spiritual like practice or like a spiritual work, even if
like even for people who are not don't identify as religious, I
mean, going back to. Yeah, in a, in a way, I I think
spirituality can be something. I don't necessarily see that as
a religious thing, you know, and, and in that sense, my, my
relation to, to, to my work is, is deeply spiritual.
It is deeply philosophical. And yeah, so that, that's
definitely part of it. It's, but I, I try to, you know,
in, in the music also, there is a line where I, I separate what
is my own and, and what is, you know, I think it's I, I, I try
to find perspective and angles that where, where it becomes
relevant, whether or not you, you, you have a, you know, a
spiritual or a philosophical or even a religious or just a
musical way in to it. It, it, it if it makes sense in
any way, if you know what I mean.
I try yeah, I like to. But in any, in any case, it's
it's nature. And you know, this, this
Christian theology where, where God is above nature.
That's not, that's not my cup of tea.
For me, God is nature, you know, or whatever you wish to call it
or however you wish to, to, to view it.
In any case, how if, if it's whatever you call the invisible
parts of it, the world is relational and we're part of
that. Would you call it call yourself
like an animist? Like is that the view you?
Take on this. Yeah, but in a way it's in lack
of a better word because because that is a phrase that is, it has
like a colour. It does.
And especially the the old school definition of it has very
much a colour. But even using it now, it it's
it's yeah. So yeah, in in lack of a better
world, I I deeply believe that the world is a place where
relations happen. And I don't exclude animals and
plants into that equation. Yeah.
You know, we all affect each other and we're all equally
important, so. And nature is sacred in my
personal opinion. And that's an attitude, yeah.
An attitude I, I think the world benefits from.
So I, I can say that without, you know, being a, a preacher of
any, any dogmas. That's just, you know.
Yeah, Yeah, I, I think I understand exactly what you
mean. So, so when you say nature is
sacred, obviously we talked about this today and also in our
previous podcast. But nature is very important for
you, as you say and, and and recording in in natural
environments is essential I guess to Vardruna.
So how how does place influence the creative process like like
location place? Place and space.
Yeah, it is important. And, and when I say sacred in,
in a way it would be better to use the, the, the Nordic word
for it, which is high log or high, which means whole.
Yeah, complete. And that's kind of the, the
sense that I'm using the word. So when I'm, when I'm saying
sacred, I mean it's whole, it's holy.
But yeah, yeah, like like I said it, it is the theme that sort of
defines a lot of the the meters and and the angles I approach
when I create music. And, and of course one thing is
the instruments, the words time of day, time of year, if I play
on stones, on trees or, or leaves or bark or fire, you
know, all of these things. But also of course place.
So if, if I don't, can go to a place and record, Yeah, if I
can, if I can record in a place that for whatever reason makes
sense to the theme I'm working with, of course I will do that.
Anything and everything to to sort of yeah, to to bring the,
the, yeah, to, to, to bring, to invite the, the, the audience
closer to, to the theme. I, I, you know, it's added value
and whether you're not, you perceive it as a conscious thing
or or or not it's there and you, you wouldn't notice the
difference because it's, it's there.
It's like, it's like how you used to view songs, poetry,
runes in, in a, in a oral society.
You know, that's what the power of song and poetry, why it was
real was because because saying something or naming a person is
makes it physical in a sense. It's it's a different view.
Yeah, I explained it a bit poorly, but.
No, I think it makes it makes perfect sense, Yeah.
Yeah, I think so too. And I think there is great.
I think there is more wisdom in that than people today tend to
think just for the reason that the world is real, relational
and we do affect each other with what we say and how we do.
It's just that our you know, I don't believe that things.
I I don't like the word supernatural.
It's just natural. It's just that we don't things
we don't understand or can measure, we tend to call
supernational. Yeah.
Well, that's who.
Yeah, yeah. Supernatural or or or.
Yeah. Yes.
So it's it's just. I was trying to find a different
word for it, but yeah. But yeah, I I can't remember
what I was talking about to be honest.
I'm sorry that maybe that was my, my fault, but I, I, I, I
felt like you made made perfect sense anyways.
Good. But how, how then like you say
you work a lot with soundscapes and it's like evolving
soundscapes and stuff like that, but how, how do you decide when
a piece is complete? When do you know?
That's a discipline and yeah, because you can work on a song
for yeah, forever, basically, if you're I'm.
That was actually very, very challenging for me.
That's something I've, I've had to like, learn and evolve that
skill to, to, to set a period to like, say that this is, this is
what it's supposed to be. And like trusting because it's
also about that trusting that, that, that you're there.
But then that is also why I like to when I go in studio or when I
work with an album, I don't do like a lot of artists.
They go into studio and then they're there for a month or two
or a week or whatever. Write, write the material and
record it for me. I, I need to do it in bulks.
So I go in, go into that mode. I, I record, but then I go back
and let it stay and don't relate to it, don't listen to it.
And then I revisit, you know, so I, I work in these bulks and
then when I, I get closer to, to when, when I have to deliver
something that those last like six months.
And then I will go more intensively and stay there and,
and eat, sleep, drink, breathe the, the, the songs.
But it, it allows me to have that perspective more easily as
well. When, when something is done,
when it feels like, yeah, this is how it how it needs to be,
how it's supposed to be. So you said earlier that you're
creative juices are tingling a little bit.
What's what are the plans for Vadrina right now?
I could tell you, but then I would have to kill you.
No, no, there, there aren't actually anything that I'm I can
talk too much about. There are things in the works,
but it's going to move slowly still.
So for now that the most, yeah. But yeah.
So for now it's we're doing like this big concert in in in Oslo
in this beautiful outlook place in in Oslo.
We're doing that in in early June together with with a few
really nice artists. Molly Boy and Got is doing the
acoustic set and Salah Pachman, Swedish folk musician and I was
starting. So we're, yeah, doing this sort
of Nordic night thing, which is going to be, yeah, our only
concert in in Norway for for the foreseeable future.
And, and one of very few concerts we're going to do in
the time to come. So, yeah.
And then there is a few other things.
So we're, we're sort of going to be out and about in between and
stuff is going to happen in the shadows for now.
But yeah, it's all in a, in a comfortable pace and where there
is space for, for life and for, for, yeah.
Letting creativity. Yeah.
Come to me. Yeah, but in the meantime, if
people want to get their wardrobe now and they need to go
to Oslo then? Yeah, I would say yeah, Yeah,
that's yeah. Go to Oslo.
Yeah. Yes, that's good.
Yeah, but only for our concerns. Yeah, because.
So since you were the very first guest on this show, yeah, we
actually never got to ask you a couple of questions that have
more or less become signature, signature questions for this
podcast. And these are the really, really
tough ones. So it's two questions.
Are you ready? Yes.
All right, first one, if you could go back in time and be a
family on the wall during any event during the Viking Age or
at any place during the Viking Age, what would you like to
witness or experience? Viking Age.
Yeah. Then it would have to be a safe
ritual. Why?
Because the sources are so meticulously accurate about
saying everything, it sort of describes everything but the
ACT, you know, and there are a lot of threads and, and hints
and, you know, throughout the sources and then later lore and
in archaeology, there are a lot of suggestions and hypothesis
and, and, and of course, things we can fairly clearly see
patterns of or, or assume, but there are still many unanswered
questions. And, and of course, for me, I've
never been had much interest in, in swords and Spears and battles
and stuff like that. For me, it's always been the
esoteric part that has piqued my interest.
So, so for sure that was actually an easy question.
Maybe this next one that will be harder.
Bring it. Would you have wanted to live
back in the Viking Age? Nope, definitely not.
Why not? No, who?
I'm not no, you know, I don't have a romantic romantic
relation to to the past. So in in one way, I would love
to live in a version of it for the mere fact that we we lived
closer to nature and we had start we had started the process
of fucking everything up, but we weren't that far into it.
So for that reason, of course it's tempting to say yes, but
but I, I don't think we, we need to fool anyone.
It's it was brutal, it was hard. It was such a battle to to just
survive and. I think also it's, it's
important to remember that if you would be magically,
magically transported back in time and to live there, family
and connections was everything. Yeah.
And you would have nothing. Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. If you were there as yourself
your present version, the present me would get the.
You wouldn't crush a week. Probably No.
No, I wouldn't. Crushed like a twig.
Yeah. No, we would be fucked.
Yeah. So no, I I think I'll stay here
and deal. Deal with today's problems.
But on a follow up, questions that then you said they lived
closer to nature's nature. They had begun to fuck it up.
But yeah, do you think that humanity where we are today,
considering everything that's going on in the world, do you
think there is a chance for humanity to find its way back to
to live closer to nature in that way?
Not in that way, but, you know, the the question is, was there
ever a time where we didn't, you know, overspend resources
because our our need to sort of control our environment, you
know, because you needed to in order to survive.
That need has sort of push the limits and it's still pushing
the the limits. So I don't know.
We have to Start learning from the past and there has to be a
willingness to to change. And I think, you know, yeah, I
don't know, maybe a form of it. Maybe that's it's not regression
we need, but progression. Yeah, exactly, Exactly.
You know, that time is never going to return if there ever
were such a time. I know there are indigenous
cultures that have always been really good at, you know, not
overspending and always like, well, what I'm trying to say is
that we were never part of that gang as as far as we know as.
Far as we know, yeah, it's true. Well, that's a it's a very great
way to end this podcast. Thank you so much for coming
back and for talking to us. And all the best for the future
for Vardrina and looking forward to some new material.
And to everyone at home, go check out the the documentary on
your YouTube channel and the album Beer Now.
Yes. All right.
Yeah. Thank you so much for for having
me. It was an honor.
Thank you. Hey guys, if you enjoyed this
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