Photo by: Daria Endresen
Official press release:
Renowned Danish composer and classically trained multi-instrumentalist, Myrkur, ascends with Mareridt‘s debut single today. Myrkur explains:
“‘Måneblôt’ is a tale which portrays a nightmare engaging a woman, girl, animal, violence, sun and fire worship and the pagan ritual, Blót.”
Relapse offers an exclusive, one time pressing deluxe 2LP on red inside clear with blue splatter and custom Myrkur logo etching on side D; limited to 900. The deluxe version also features alternate cover art painted by Norwegian painter Odd Nerdrum and contains core album on LP 1 plus 5 bonus tracks on LP 2 (not available on CD or single LP versions). Pre-order Mareridt now via Relapse.com.
Mareridt track listing:
1. “Mareridt”
2. “Måneblôt”
3. “The Serpent”
4. “Crown”
5. “Elleskudt”
6. “De Tre Piker”
7. “Funeral” (feat. Chelsea Wolfe)
8. “Ulvinde”
9. “Gladiatrix”
10. “Kætteren”
11. “Børnehjem”
12. “Death of Days” *
13. “Kvindelil” * (feat. Chelsea Wolfe)
14. “Løven” *
15. “Himlen blev sort” *
16. “Två Konungabarn” *
* digital/deluxe 2xLP Bonus Track)
Mareridt (translation: Nightmare) is a rich juxtaposition of the dark and the light; the moon and the mother earth; the witch and the saint. Myrkur explores deeper into the mysterious and the feminine with 11 tracks that further progress her visionary blend of metal with gorgeous, stirring melodies, dark folk passages, choral arrangements and superb, horrific beauty.
Further taking Myrkur to new artistic heights are lyrics in multiple languages, an unforgettable collaboration with Chelsea Wolfe and an array of special instrumentation including violin, mandola, folk drums, nyckelharpa (an ancient Swedish key harp), and Kulning (an ancient Scandinavian herding call). Mareridt is a profound manifestation of nightmares that demonstrates Myrkur as one of the truly exceptional artists of our time. She explains:
“I wanted to make an album that I always needed to exist but never did. So, I wrote it myself.”
Myrkur found herself plagued by insufferable nightmares and sleep paralysis. She recalls:
“I was in one of the worst times of my life. I was afraid to sleep.”
She reluctantly lived in her subconscious and tried all the movements that would normally center her: being in nature, swimming, sitting outside and carving wood, but nothing changed. She continues:
“You know how they say that when you have been through trauma or abuse, you tend to recreate the situation in an attempt to take ownership of it? I think I was doing that. I was trying to solve things [in my nightmares] that I could not solve in real life. Things I could not run away from.”
Myrkur knew she had to start listening. She stopped trying to shove the nightmares away, and embraced them. She kept a notebook by her bed and documented everything from the recurring symbols, archetypes and animals that crawled around her head. She obsessed over Nordic fairy tales, mythology and folklore. She pulled meaning from Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Mermaid to verses from the Bible, and connected these stories to the spiritual solace she found outside her house. Once the songs started coming, they didn’t stop. Myrkur would bring a small, string instrument into the forest to write. She says:
“It’s very giving. Your environment becomes part of the song, and the songwriting. I just love that. Nature changed this record.”
She was manic, writing any moment she was awake, expelling the subliminal material like an exorcism. Myrkur says:
“This record is very connected to my true self, without an ego or persona. I am interested in human spirit, when it goes beyond the layers. When I get to that place, I feel invincible.”
Mareridt was recorded between Copenhagen and Seattle with producer, Randall Dunn (Earth, Marissa Nadler, Sun O))), Boris). Like a marriage of King Diamond‘s Them with Tchaikovsky‘s Swan Lake, Mareridt is a carefully composed concept freed from genre. It flows between English and Danish, from guttural growls charged with testosterone, to emotive feminine hymns and Kulning. The compositions sweep into one another like a soundtrack designed to guide the listener through emotional turmoil. One minute the songs are fighting back, the next lulling you to submission. Lyrically, Myrkur hatches open the folklore of her Nordic heritage, applying the ancient fables to her personal piety. Mareridt toys with juxtaposition and finds life between theoretical opposites. Timeless, triumphant, powerful and hypnotic, Mareridt is a sonic nightmare that you never want to escape.