Today Myrkur‘s Amalie Bruun joins forces with renowned multi-instrumentalist Anna von Hausswolff to reimagine Björk‘s classic, “All Is Full of Love“. Bruun comments, “From our homes in Denmark and Sweden we decided to record a simple, fragile and raw version of Björk‘s “All Is Full of Love”. A song we consider to be one of the most beautiful and encouraging songs, that is a reminder to stay open to receive love even in times like these.”
Myrkur‘s latest album Folkesange saw its release earlier this year to high acclaim via Relapse. Just after newfound motherhood, Bruun set out on a journey into the very heart of the Scandinavian culture that marked her own childhood. The album relinquishes black metal for a refined yet far-reaching evocation of traditional folk, combining songs ancient and new to sublimely resonant effect. Through Bruun’s crystalline vocals, an array of traditional instruments and storytelling, Folkesange offers listeners an immersive, emotional and transcendent experience that resonates in today’s turbulent times.
Today Danish composer and multi-instrumentalist, Myrkur has revealed her new video and single, “Leaves of Yggdrasil“. Amalie Bruuns’s delicate and sweeping vocals paired with the violin, piano, lyre and nyckelharpa make for a lullaby-like song which she notes, “is very dear to my heart.” She continues, “I wrote Leaves of Yggdrasil about being apart from the one you love because of circumstances that are completely out of your control. The Norns weave the fates of Gods and man and sometimes that means very tough life situations. I wanted to create a song with the feeling of an old folk-tale, but with words that resonated with my own life today.”
For the video, Amalie rejoined forces with filmmaker Mats Ek to create something entirely different from anything she’s ever done. Watch below as they take you into a visual universe somewhere outside of nature and more into the otherworldly.
Myrkur’s Amalie Bruun has always paved her own path and challenged underground preconceptions of heavy genres. Just after newfound motherhood, Bruun set out on a journey into the very heart of the Scandinavian culture that marked her own childhood with the release of her new album, Folkesange. Due out March 20 via Relapse Records, Folkesange relinquishes black metal for a refined yet far-reaching evocation of traditional folk, combining songs ancient and new to sublimely resonant effect.
Storytelling, rites of passage, and the invocation of a continuity that passes through time and generation are all part of folk music’s tapestry, and Folkesange taps into all these currents in their most essential form. In part a purist’s approach to the genre, free from over-interpretation and fusion, the use of Kulning (an ancient Scandinavian herding call) and traditional instruments throughout, such as nyckelharpa, lyre and mandola offer a deeper, more tactile connection to their source, an unbroken line of communication back to the past.
But the album is no museum piece; it resonates in the here and now, aided by the spacious production of Heilung member and musical collaborator Christopher Juul. Cinematic yet intimate, Folkesange exists in a state of boundless reverie, bourne by string-led drones, cyclical, elegiac rhythms and Bruun‘s frictionless voice, all carrier signals for deep-rooted, ancestral memories, and associations felt on an elemental level.
An immersive experience in its own right, but also belonging to a wider, pagan folk-based renaissance that has attracted a devoted following worldwide, Folkesange answers a need that has become ever more pressing in turbulent times. A zeroing in on a resonance that is both intrinsic and enduring, it’s a rediscovery of personal grounding, and an experience that reaches beyond culture to remind us of a shared, deeply rooted inheritance. A tuning fork that binds the personal and the universal, Folkesange is a reminder that the most transcendent experiences are those closest to home.
Danish composer, vocalist and classically trained multi-instrumentalist, Myrkur (Amalie Bruun), journeys into the heart of Scandinavian culture. Through Bruun’s crystalline vocals, an array of traditional instruments and storytelling, ‘Folkesange’ offers listeners an immersive, emotional and transcendent experience that resonates in today’s turbulent times
Myrkur’s Amalie Bruun has always paved her own path and challenged underground preconceptions of heavy genres. Just after newfound motherhood, Bruun set out on a journey into the very heart of the Scandinavian culture that marked her own childhood with the release of her new album, Folkesange.
Due out March 20 via Relapse Records, Folkesange relinquishes black metal for a refined yet far-reaching evocation of traditional folk, combining songs ancient and new to sublimely resonant effect.
Today, Myrkur has unveiled lead single and album opener, “Ella” which she explains is “the result of years of studying, playing and listening to traditional Nordic folk music. This is my version of a new folk-song, with roots planted in history and in the past. It is my ode to mankind and our connection with nature – a rite of passage as a woman and a rebirth-ritual in the sea.”
She continues, “Three years ago I decided to share a video where I performed an old Scandinavian folk-song on the nyckelharpa. After this I realized that I had a strong need to create an album within this universe and that other people also wished to hear this. So I started working on picking out what old songs to reinterpret as well as write my own version of this. Ella is this.”
Listen & Share: “Ella” (Official Audio Visual) via YouTube Here Listen & Share: “Ella” on all digital platforms Here
On Myrkur‘s first two full-length studio albums (2015’s M and 2017’s Mareridt), she recast black metal in the most personal yet expansive of terms, their blending of Bruun‘s Danish folk roots with tempestuous internal struggles breathing new life into a subgenre whose followers can be rigidly possessive.
After the nightmare-induced visions that wrought themselves throughout 2017’s immensely acclaimed Mareridt, Folkesange offers an emotional sanctuary, a means to reconnect to something permanent and nature-aligned. It’s an awareness that’s become deeply bound to the album’s organic, regenerative spirit.
Storytelling, rites of passage, and the invocation of a continuity that passes through time and generation are all part of folk music’s tapestry, and Folkesange taps into all these currents in their most essential form. In part a purist’s approach to the genre, free from over-interpretation and fusion, the use of Kulning (an ancient Scandinavian herding call) and traditional instruments throughout, such as nyckelharpa, lyre and mandola offer adeeper, more tactile connection to their source, an unbroken line of communication back to the past.
But the album is no museum piece; it resonates in the here and now, aided by the spacious production of Heilung member and musical collaborator Christopher Juul. Cinematic yet intimate, Folkesange exists in a state of boundless reverie, bourne by string-led drones, cyclical, elegiac rhythms and Bruun‘s frictionless voice, all carrier signals for deep-rooted, ancestral memories, and associations felt on an elemental level.
An immersive experience in its own right, but also belonging to a wider, pagan folk-based renaissance that has attracted a devoted following worldwide, Folkesange answers a need that has become ever more pressing in turbulent times. A zeroing in on a resonance that is both intrinsic and enduring, it’s a rediscovery of personal grounding, and an experience that reaches beyond culture to remind us of a shared, deeply rooted inheritance. A tuning fork that binds the personal and the universal, Folkesange is a reminder that the most transcendent experiences are those closest to home.
Folkesange sees its release March 20, 2020 via Relapse. There will be several limited deluxe vinyl versions available.
For more info and to pre-order, go here . “Ella” is available today on all streaming services here.
MyrkurFolkesangeRelapse RecordsMarch 20, 2020 Pre-Order Here
MYRKUR ANNOUNCES NEW JUNIPER EP OUT 12.7 ON RELAPSE RECORDS UNVEILS VIDEO FOR TITLE TRACK – WATCH “JUNIPER” HERE
CONFIRMS ROADBURN 2019 ‘FOLKESANGE’ PERFORMANCE
Danish composer, vocalist and classically trained multi-instrumentalist, Myrkur, unveils her powerful new ballad and video, “Juniper”. Director Philippe de Grenade, gorgeously captures her ethereal performance on 16mm film as she stuns listeners with an infectious chorus and lush string arrangements.
Myrkur is Amalie Bruun. For her forthcoming Juniper EP, she’s joined forces with Jaime Gomez Arellano (Ghost, Paradise Lost, Solstafir, Cathedral) at Orgone Studios in Bedfordshire, England. The album’s B-Side, “Bonden og Kragen”, is a solo reinterpretation of a traditional Danish folk song from the 1600s. Together, both tracks exquisitely display Myrkur’s eclectic sound and captivating personality. A limited edition of the 7″ will coincide with the digital release, December 7th on Relapse Records.“Juniper” is available now on all streaming services and you can pre-order it here.
Myrkur’s 2017 sophomore album ‘Mareridt’, was released to soaring, worldwide critical acclaim from NPR, Rolling Stone, FACT, The Guardian, Revolver, Paste, Decibel, Kerrang! and many more. Since then, she’s toured the globe, including direct support slots for The Smashing Pumpkins, Marilyn Manson, Enslaved and more. Myrkur is currently on her first headlining European run and has confirmed a performance at Roadburn 2019. Check below for a full list of dates.
Photo: Jacob Top Møller
MYRKUR LIVE DATES:
12/03: SE Stockholm, Vasateatern 04/12 – NO Oslo, John Dee #
12/05: SE Gothenburg, Pustervik #
12/07: DK Aarhus, Voxhall #
12/08: DK Copenhagen, Pumpehuset (Sold Out) #
12/10: PL Poznan, U Bazyla #
12/11: PL Krakow, Kwadrat #
12/13: HU Budapest, Durer Kert #
12/14: AT Vienna, Arena #
12/16: NL Tilburg, 013 KZ #
12/18: UK London, The Dome #
12/19: UK Bristol, The Fleece #
12/20: UK Nottingham, Rescue Rooms #
12/21: UK Glasgow, CCA #
12/22: UK Manchester, Gorilla #
04/11: NL Tilburg – Roadburn Festival ^
07/14: PL Bolkow Castle, Castle Party
08/09 – 08/10: CZ Jaromer, Brutal Assault
