Skáld

Far from the lands of the North, the echoes of such legends still ringout. The beliefs of those who used to populate these distant lands have been perpetuated, and despite the pressures of modern industrial society, the old folk traditions live on. It was in the countries where the people we call Vikings were to be found – Norway, Denmark, Sweden or Iceland – that the Huldufólk ("the hidden people") remained anchored in their everyday lives and traditions. At roadsides, deep in the forests and in the heart of the mountains, elves and trolls huddled together in a discreet coexistence with humankind, melting into a strange and wonderful wilderness. And now, it's from among those people born of a far-off imagination that the poetic, epic sounds of SKÁLD are venturing forward.

Immersing listeners into the myths and legends of Scandinavia, producer/composer Christophe Voisin-Boisvinet, creator of SKÁLD, has gathered around them many talented artists who have restored the poets and shamans of ancient times to their rightful place. Accompanied by the sounds of the drums, we are cradled by hypnotic voices that let us escape into an "elsewhere" made of fantasy, a land inhabited by weird and wonderful creatures, and mysteries created in strange landscapes.

The heirs of ancient poets

And so it is that SKÁLD leads modern men and women to flee, far from the harsh realities of everyday life, SKÁLD honours an entire people in whom many Scandinavians still believe. A strange brew, created by dwarves who mixed honey with the blood of the god Kvasir, transformed those who drank it into poets and sages. As the heirs of the ancient poets known as scalds, SKÁLD, with one song after another, tames this folk tradition. We can lose ourselves in the hills of Danish elves ,and meet Swedish nymphs, as we listen to the ballad of Herr Mannelig, the tale of a female troll who hopes to become human (by attempting to wed a knight), or linger to the strains of the legend of Fafnir the dragon.

What SKÁLD proposes is not so much the reconstitution of a bygone era, but rather an adventure, an experience that smacks of History, its mythologies and legends, an adventure that makes us dream of Nature, the forests, rivers and mysteries found in the folklore of the Far North. It is an odyssey of inspired medievalism and fantasy, a mixture of ancient texts and newer sources dating from the Middle Ages. Making use of themes taken from the Gylfaginning, the Skáldskapármal or the Grólgardr, these stories, handed down from one generation to the next, have reached us through the lyrical and guttural songs of SKÁLD, whose accents mingle to form chants of softness that would no doubt make ancient nymphs turn green with envy...

Five musicians responded to SKÁLD's call, on stage and throughout records they express their sensibilities with great skill. Drums vibrates under powerful strokes, instruments transmit ancestral magic, voices blend in a maelstrom, with Steeve Petit, Marie Potosniak, Marti Ilmar Uibo , Guillaume Levy and Christophe Voisin-Boisvinet. In order to stay as close as possible to the experience of the Scalds of Scandinavia, these voices express themselves in Old Norse, but also in Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Danish, and even in Faroese. Since the year 2018, the shamanic percussion and traditional instruments of this band have proved themselves throughout the world, with sales of over 300,000 albums and millions of hits on streaming platforms, not to mention their numerous stage performances in many countries. In this incredible adventure, musical and human at the same time, SKÁLD today is the incarnation of a vibrant homage to the people of old and their beliefs. So let yourself be carried away by luminous elves from Aflheim, and beware of Skuld the Norn, as you prepare yourself for a vibrant odyssey that will take you through medieval Scandinavia to meet the Huldufólk!