Hello and welcome ’Bjorth’ to Dark Folk Nation! So glad to feature your beautiful music on our site. We’ve just started the new year and firstly I would like to ask you how’s your 2021 been so far?
Dani: So far so great! Started the year strong already working on new music and some interesting collabs that you’ll get to see hopefully soon.
Björn: Thank you so much for considering Bjorth for an interview – 2021 could not have started any better. In general, the first week of 2021 was awesome for us.
Would you like to share the story behind ’Bjorth’? Who’s behind the project, where are you from and how long have you been writing music for this project?
B: My name is Björn, I am a songwriter and music producer from Cologne, Germany – I started Bjorth end of August 2020 with releasing Drums of Midgard as an “experimental” track. So, the project has just started and there is no big saga yet. With Dani joining Bjorth, we are now a Duo – I contacted her after seeing her doing some great cover songs on Youtube.
D: I’m Dani, I’m a musician and sound engineer from Valparaiso, Chile, and I’ve been a part of Bjorth since late October 2020, so nearly 3 months by now.
How does the song writing process go for you?
D: It’s a bit messy for me, and it changes with every song. Some songs I start with the lyrics,
some with the instrumentation, and some just come together all at the same time. When I start with the lyrics, I like to read a lot about the topic I’m interested in writing about and make a draft full of phrases that come to mind while I’m reading,
and then compile everything into a lyric afterwards.
Or sometimes I would borrow from the Poetic Edda as well, because I find old Norse to be fascinating. And when I start with the music, I either sit to improvise with an instrument or sometimes I would randomly get a melody in my head out of nowhere,
while I’m doing something totally unrelated, and then I transform those ideas into a song.
B: For me it’s completely different. I start with something absolutely random and develop the song from there – the more I progress, the more a vision develops. However, sometimes I stick to that initial idea and sometimes the vision adapts to changes done to the song (for example when vocals are added).
What instruments do you use when writing music?
B: The core elements for me are tagelhapra & frame drums – Also some virtual instruments ( for example for the drones ) play a major role.
D: When making a draft and laying out the main idea for a song, mainly vocals, lyre, violin and frame drums,
as well as some virtual instruments. But then, when building up the song further,
I tend to leave the non virtual instruments as main and I would add bass guitar, and sometimes irish bouzouki or acoustic guitar as well.
In some of your songs you seem to have an ambient kind of touch which seems also movielike. How important it is for you to create these kind of atmospheres?
B: The soundscape is for me the most important thing – as a listener and as a music producer.
I express myself more through the sound and not so much through lyrics.
Your songs seem to have a strong influence from the Nordic mythology. How did you become interested in these themes when writing songs?
D: For me, at first it was discovering all of the amazing bands the genre has to offer that inspired me to learn more about mythology,
in an attempt to understand and interpret their lyrics better.
I’ve also always been interested in mythology and history in general,
but I found the Norse one to be particularly appealing and interesting enough to make music about it.
B: I’ve produced a lot of music within different genres before starting Bjorth – this is the first time I truly feel connected to what I do.
I like how Nordic, Gaelic & Germanic themes were interpreted by other bands,
the unique sound of the instruments but of course also the stories being told.
Do you do collaborations?
B: Collaborations are great – we have done a few already and there will be more to come.
We are always open for new ones – so get in touch.
How about live shows?
D: Would love to! If only Bjorn and I lived closer and we weren’t in the midst of a pandemic, of course.
B: We currently use the restrictions to write, produce and release more music and focus on building an audience. Also, we need to rehearse songs we would like to perform live, produce backing tracks and even the show itself. I really appreciate that we now have some time to do so.
What are you planning next for ’Bjorth’? Any new releases coming up or so?
B: Next release is a collaboration with the very talented “A Tergo Lupi”.
We were very glad they have agreed to work with us – the result is the track “Nornir” which will be available on the 22nd of January 2021
And of course there is a lot more to come in 2021.
Any wisdoms you’d like to share with the world?
B: You’re more likely to succeed if you enjoy the overall process – especially as an artist.
You’ll find Bjorth’s music at:
D A R K F O L K N A T I O N 