Ivar Bjørnson and Einar Selvik announce new album ‘Hugsjá’

February 20, 2018 James Weaver

Ivar Bjørnson and WARDRUNA‘s Einar Selvik have announced a new collaboration titled Hugsjá!

Meaning to see with, or within, the mind, the new collaboration follows hot on the heels of the duo’s last collaboration, Skuggsjá, and is scheduled to be released in April this year. The upcoming piece was first commissioned by, and performed at, Bergen International Festival in 2017, as part a series of concerts named Nordvegen (“the northern road”); inspired by local history and traditions in each of the places visited. Alongside the announcement of the new project, the duo have released the title track which is available to listen to below:

Listen to Hugsjá here:

Speaking about the new musical endeavour, Einar Selvik says, “where our previous joint endeavor Skuggsjá had a very specific idea and format when it was commissioned, I feel we had much more room on Hugsjá, to freely explore as well as to apply our experience into the creative process and planning. It has truly been an enriching process where we have been working alongside great musicians, language experts, archeologists and local experts; seeking to unfold and shed light on relevant, yet near forgotten deities and myths as well as local history and traditions.” Ivar Bjørnson adds, “we started out by fusing our respective bands into a mammoth of a piece; and marching said mammoth on and off stage afterwards was not the easiest of tasks either. So when we started working on round two, we moved the focus from what we were doing in our “day-bands”, and what we could do together as musical and thinking “individuals”. In that process I feel we have invented a whole new genre and a whole new approach to historically anchored art. The recording process was a lot of fun also; these songs really works on all scales; acoustically outdoors by the sea, mic´d up and amplified in a giant concert hall – and last but not least; as an album…”

Also, you can view the track list and artwork for the upcoming collaboration, both of which are available to view below:

Track List: