I have had the great privilege of seeing this project grow in the live setting over a few years at Warhorns Festival and experiencing the maturing of singer Amber Marie as an artist and the sound and experience she has been moving towards. sound? Well to borrow from their own words, the vocals on this lovely sophomore EP Draumr, meaning Dream, were intuitively channelled by Amber Marie (also percussion and horn) and with tagelharpa by Will Hunter of Vévaki (who also handled sound engineering and recording with Gísli Gunnarson also of Vévaki handling arrangements, mixing and mastering (check out our review of their latest album on these very pages btw).
‘Freya’ is the first offering of six, tagleharpa slowly drawing down the space whilst almost imperceptibly at first Amber Marie’s rises into it. There is an undeniable purity to the voice, and as it moves within the simple music it becomes the focus and the cocoon within which you are listening. So effortless that you will not even notice how easily you have been drawn in.
‘Hrafnar’ has lyrics in old Norse, based on a stanza from the Grímnismál poem found within the 13th century Poetic Edda (Solfyr provide the information). It is a sweet moment painting quiet flight in broad maybe overcast skies whilst following the spirits of Huginn and Muninn and thinking on them.
‘Kulning’ with the sounds of birdsong and the horn has a high keening call that reaches out over hills to livestock to bring them home, travelling not by power but by sweetness and gentle cajoling. ‘Sjór’ is tje sea, waters lap and vast distances open up as the multi-layered vocals travel outwards over soft waves and deep waters. ‘Draumalag’ apparently means Dreamsong; rhythmic drumming and a lilting refrain laying a bed of moss for you to slip into slumber and travel within.
Finally ‘Jörð’, ‘Earth’. “A giantess, Norse goddess of Earth, wife of Odin, mother of Thor”. The voice set within a cavern of ambient keyboards, water softly dripping. A sound that is nothing but comfort and safety to me.
This is spiritual, gentle vocal music with a voice that allows the inspiration she gathers to flow from her by offering themselves openly, and perhaps with honest vulnerability, to the spirit. The vocals layer, shift and evoke and the simple percussion when used pulls you into the centre of this creation. It is a working that creates a natural space in my mind where sunlight filters through a soft haze and trees silently help you come to a stillness less the spell is broken. It can call mist, or cold nights, vast mountain skies or shifting seas. Ethereal, passionate and deeply touching this is a beautiful and skilful maturing for Solfyr. The kind of music that deserves a stage like Midgardsblot or similar
Let the invocation move you and draw you in. You will be safe in its embrace, I promise.
(8.5/10 Gizmo)
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