Wardruna - World Tour 2025 Part II | Hannover
Schedule
Fri, 14 Nov, 2025 at 08:00 pm
UTC+01:00Location
Kuppelsaal im HCC | Hannover, NI
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Wardruna – Birna – BiographyFrom the deep woods now emerges Birna, Wardruna’s sixth studio album. Through his never resting dialogue with nature, main composer Einar Selvik has been searching for the voice of the bear, our lost sister of the forest. Resulting in this upcoming release, scheduled for January 24, 2025 through Sony Music and By Norse. Birna – the she-bear in Old Norse – is a work of art dedicated to the warden of the forest, nature’s caretaker, and her battles here on earth. Slowly driven out of her habitat by modern day societies, she has entered a stage of permanent hibernation. As a result, the forest is gradually dying, longing for its pulse and heart – its shepherd. Birna calls for her return.
The rhythm of the bear embodies the very circle of life: When winter approaches, it goes to sleep in its den – back to the womb; its pulse slowing, its body encapsulated in an intermediate death. The heartbeat of the dormant bear, around nine beats per minute, can be felt throughout the Birna album. «Dvaledraumar»(Dormant Dreams) and „Jord til Ljos» (Earth to Light), a two-song meditation creates a joint hibernation between animal and listener, and we return from the den of the bear more attuned, aware and contemplative of nature’s wonders, just in time for the freshly sprung buds. This cyclical process, so embedded both in nature and the worldview of older cultures, drives Einar Selvik’s every creative work.
The bear frequently figures in the oldest myths of mankind in the northern hemisphere, and many indigenous people still regard this animal as a totem, honouring it with rites and songs. It was once our respected guardian, our guide to edible plants and berries, a creature we both feared and admired. Although the bear from the very beginning has constituted a threat to our own lives and those of our livestock, humans have always identified with the bear in various ways. If you skin the animal, its body underneath the fur strongly resembles that of man, which may be a reason legend has it the bear in fact originated from humans, and for thousands of years we have strived for its strength and wit. In some cultures, “treading the path of the bear” means pursuing what you’re truly meant to do in life.
Wardruna draws inspiration from immersion in nature, and the dialogue that takes place between all creatures, forces and energies present. “When I walk into a forest, I open my senses and listen for whatever nature cares to tell me”, Einar Selvik has explained when contemplating his creative process – his hunting for songs amid trees, air, rocks and sea. Boasting a distinctive new sound, while at the same time building on the musical roots so intrinsic to the Wardruna tradition, Birna truly nurtures the insight that has been at the core of Selvik’s philosophy right from the start: that to give place to something new, you must let something else die.
This resonates in their vision of sowing new seeds whilst strengthening old roots. Einar Selvik, Lindy-Fay Hella and the rest of the group are truly creating something new through something old: They are not mimicking the past, but rather utilising it in crafting their contemporary, authentic and unique sound. Instruments and wisdom from ancient times, coupled with modern day soundscapes and recorded sounds of nature, provide a rare opportunity to tell us something valuable about ourselves. It works as a reminder that we are part of nature, not above it, and it offers a way of remembering, not for memory’s own sake, but to gain both new and forgotten insights.
From the Runaljod trilogy (2009, 2013, 2016), exploring old Norse myths, traditions, and language through the 24 proto-Norse runes, the sound of Wardruna evolved and blended into the stripped down, acoustic compositions on Skald (2018). Kvitravn (White-Raven) (2021) explores Northern sorcery, spirit-animals, animism, and the act of creation – the ever-interchanging prolific relationship between the skaldic poet and nature itself. The record charted in 13 countries, including #1 in Canada and Austria, and #2 in Germany.
Alongside his work with Wardruna, Einar Selvik has composed music for large tv and game productions such as Vikings and Assassin’s Creed – Valhalla, he gives tutorials and lectures on Old Norse literature, musicology, instruments and philosophy, and he has worked with renowned artists such as Mari Boine, Tina Guo, Matoma and Eivør, including appearances on Norwegian, Danish and Polish national television.
Playing at manmade historical locations like the world heritage site Odeon of Herodes Atticus, at Acropolis in Athens, the Ancient Theater in Plovdiv, Bulgaria and Castle Devin in Bratislava, Slovakia, as well as surrounded by natural wonders such as the Red Rocks in Colorado, US, Wardruna in dialogue with the audience, continues to create moments of true connection between inner and outer landscapes and each other. In the autumn of 2024 and the spring of 2025, audiences in North and South America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, the UK and the band’s home country Norway will witness the awakening of the bear live on stage.
As a live band Wardruna operates in various constellations of personnel, but the standard configuration the last years has been as follows:
Einar Selvik – Vocals, Taglharpa, Kravik-lyre, Bukkehorn
Lindy-Fay Hella – Vocals
Arne Sandvoll – Percussion, Backing vocals
Sondre Veland – Percussion, Backing vocals
Eilif Gundersen – Bukkehorn, Lur, Flute, Backing vocals
HC Dalgaard – Drums, Percussion, Backing vocals
John Stenersen – Mora-harp
Birna was written and recorded between 2021 and 2024.
Music by Einar Selvik and Lindy-Fay Hella.
Lyrics by Einar Selvik.
Birna is performed by Einar Selvik, Lindy-Fay Hella, Eilif Gundersen, HC Dalgaard, Sondre Veland, John Stenersen, Arne Sandvoll.
The album features guest appearances by: Koret Artemis (Choir), Jonna Jinton (vocals and field recordings), Hans Fredrik Jacobsen (willow-bark flute), Kenneth Lien (Jaw-harp), Iver Sandøy (backing vocals).
Mastered by Tony Lindgren at Fascination Street Studios.
Cover photo by Tuukka Koski.
Cover artwork by Øivind A. Myksvoll
Booklet artwork photos by Einar Selvik
Discography
Runaljod – gap var Ginnunga (2009)
Runaljod – Yggdrasil (2013)
Runaljod – Ragnarok (2016)
Skald (2018)
Kvitravn (2021)
Kvitravn – First Flight of the White Raven (2022)
Birna (2025)
Text by Oda Malmin
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Where is it happening?
Kuppelsaal im HCC, Theodor-Heuss-Platz 1,Hanover, Germany, HannoverEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
