SKALD

They are called ‘SKALD’, a French Nordic folk group of music. They formed in 2018 and was put together with the help of the producer Christophe Voisin-Boisvinet and he created a first group composed of three musicians and singers; Justine Galmiche, Pierrick Valence and Mattjö Haussy. The group will evolve throughout the years, some members leaving the group due to health reasons or other opportunities in a different group. The group once again evolved the last 2 years, crossing paths with the release of their new album in 2023. The group is now composed of 9 folks; Steeve Petit, Marti Ilmar Uibo, Ravn, Julien Loko, Lily Jung, Chaos Heidi, Kohann, Laetitia MArcangeli, and Michek Abraham.

SKALD aims at creating and singing Norse songs using a large variety of Nordic languages likes Norwegian, Faroese, Swedish, modern Icelandic and most importantly, Old Norse. The themes they share through their songs are variating between the different EP or albums. Their first album Viking Chants are mostly covering the Norse Mythology (including Odin, Freyja or even the Valhalla, etc…). Their second album, Viking Memories is focusing on water, the element it represents and the creatures inhabiting the waters, and the third and their last in date album, Huldufόlk, tells us stories of Faroese Folklore, focus on the woods and the mysteries they are holding, like trolls, elves or dragons.

The group is using traditional Nordic instruments, some existing from the 14th century like “Shamanic drums, lyre, talharpa, citole, jouhikko and nyckelharpa” (Wikipedia -SKALD).

The group toured in France from September 2022 to December 2022 singing their ‘oldest’ albums, like “Le Chant des Vikings” and different other singles. But they will be touring in the US, Switzerland, Germany and going on different festivals (like they previously did, performing at the well-known festival Hellfest). This time, they will be singing their new album, “Huldufolk”.

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