Sigur Rós Announce Orchestral Album 'Odin's Raven Magic', Share New Single Dvergmál
Friday, 23 October 2020
Written by Jon Stickler
Photo: Eva Vermandel
Sigur Rós have shared details of a new LP.
The long-awaited 'Odin's Raven Magic' sees the Icelandic band enlisting the talents of the Schola Cantorum of Reykjavik and L'Orchestre des Laureats du Conservatoire national de Paris for an orchestral take on their native land's medieval literature.
It'll arrive on December 4 through Krunk via Warner Classics and feature the newly released lead single Dvergmál, which showcases choral arrangements led by former Sigur Rós member Kjartan Sveinsson and Maria Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir of the band Amiina. Press play below.
The 70-minute project also includes contributions from Icelandic artists Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson and Steindór Andersen, with the work inspired by one particular chapter of Edda, a collection of medieval literary works.
The chapter's title, Hrafnagaldur Óðins, translates to Odin’s Raven Magic and is named after the Norse god's two raven messengers. It recounts a banquet held by the gods which gave a warning about the end of the world. Hilmarsson said:
"Hrafnagaldur Óðins has lots of interpretation and implications that fire up the imagination… It's a very visual poem, with images all about falling down, and a world freezing from north to south. It was an apocalyptic warning. Perhaps the people of the time felt it in their skins. Today, of course, Iceland is involved in environmental issues surrounding hydro-electric power and the destruction of the highlands. We are being warned again."
The band's last album came in form of 2013's 'Kveikur'.
'Odin's Raven Magic' tracklist:
1. Prologus
2. Alföður orkar
3. Dvergmál
4. Stendur æva
5. Áss hinn hvíti
6. Hvert stefnir
7. Spár eða spakmál
8. Dagrenning
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