Wardruna: The Medicinal Spirit of Nature

Humans and nature have always had an extraordinary relationship with one another. Through history we have begun to understand just how crucial this bond was to people throughout different ages and within different cultures, and how it has impacted our present day. It may seem that our connection to the world may be less tethered in modern years due to a number of obvious reasons, but one band under the name of WARDRUNA, formed by Norwegian composer/musician Einar Selvik, are proving that we are still in touch more than we might think.

Having just released their latest album Kvitravn, we sat with Selvik himself to talk about just how important nature is in an influence in their sound, and how it is a much more personal and deeper release than anything they have done prior.

“It was quite clear, both early in the process that I wanted to dive more into the human aspect and also perhaps, make it more clear that I’m speaking to the here and now, even though I do it through the eyes of the past traditions and so on, the focus is here and now. A way of making that more clear and also heighten the potential of the audience connecting with these thoughts as well, is that it deals with relatable things.”

Whilst the album title, Kvitravn; White Raven, is not to be mistaken as being named after Selvik, with it being his artist name, it does however serve its purpose as an influence of what inspired him to take the name, the aforementioned human traditions and their connections to nature. His own connection to the raven has helped him learn and understand the human perspective of our bond with nature more than ever, and that only solidifies his ability to create truly unique and relatable to the human aspect within modern day society.

“Learning, not only about other cultures, but learning about nature itself and the way it affects us, and the way it has always affected us, you realise when you dig deep into these things just how global some of these mechanisms are. All cultures and traditions, or at least the nature-based ones or the origins of certain cultures are shaped out of its surroundings and its resources there. So even though my stuff has this Nordic package around it, the mechanisms that created this is universal and timeless, and this becomes evident when you dive into these things and you see how striking the similarities are, not only to the themes I’m working with, but also to the musicology of things as well, you see how connected many of these things are when you go far back enough in time.”

Learning and exploring the cultures and traditions that are, as Selvik states universal and timeless, plays a significant role in creating a unity across WARDRUNA’s fanbase. Whilst aforementioned that even though their sound is more derivative of Nordic influence, it does not define their characteristic as a band, for that is creating a new path into a relationship with nature.

“Those premises are definitely part of the reason why this music speaks to people from all over the world. I think it’s both because they are born out of nature, but also due to these mechanisms as well as tonalities, some of these things and ideas are so ancient and global that they are inside us, in our DNA in a way, and I guess that our music can serve as a sort of bridge there for a way of connecting to those things that lie so deeply within us.”

Selvik continues on how the human aspect of Kvitravn speaks more directly to the listener, “This is an album that kind of since it also deals more with the human aspect of things, or human perspective and the human concepts of defining themselves etc. Bonding to nature. I think it gives the album a more sense of personal feeling, or because like a lot of these songs and lyrics are written more in an ‘I’ perspective, and it speaks more directly to the hearer.”

The connection to the listener is another factor in why Selvik decided to delve deeper into human perspective with this album. Whilst he has been working on the album for a number of years, the release could not have come at a more poignant time with connectivity. With the world cut off from what we, as humans now know it to be, most of us have arrived at a place that is completely isolated. Most of us have become tired of being attached to social media and binge-watching television, using our daily walk to go and explore the wonderful nature that sits on our doorsteps instead. Another stark reminder, that through the most troublesome of times, nature is here to hold our hands.

“Nature is medicine, but we are so numbed by our lifestyles and parts of technology, that it is a thing that is really difficult to remember. Hopefully when things go back to a form of normality, people will keep on remembering that fact, just how important nature is and the importance of preserving it for our children and generations to come.”

Selvik may be an individual who is academically versed in what he composes, but WARDRUNA’s overall sound is something that cannot come from any academia. Selvik’s tone of voice never changes from one of a man who has a true relationship with nature, and that is the ingredient for what creates the unique connectivity between music and listener. WARDRUNA aren’t here to dictate to us to be more in touch with the world, but they serve as a humble reminder as to why we should step back into the life of nature from time to time and allow us, and it, to heal one another where needed a little more often.

Kvitravn is out now via Music For Nations. 

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