Sigur Rós will release Odin’s Raven Magic, a new orchestral album.
Odin’s Raven Magic was first commissioned by the Reykjavik Arts Festival in 2002, and it was performed only a handful of times that year. It has since become part of Sigur Rós’ own mythology, existing only in snippets found online by fans. This recording is taken from a live recording of the 70-minute score from Paris’ La Grande Halle de la Villette.
The project is a collaboration with Icelandic music legend Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, as well as Steindór Andersen, a fisherman.
The work grew out of Hilmarsson’s fascination with one particular chapter of Iceland’s Medieval literary canon known as the “Edda,” entitled “Hrafnagaldur Óðins,” or Odin’s Raven Magic, named after the Norse god’s two ravens that flew over the Earth to survey and bring information back to him. The poem recounts a banquet held by the gods, in which ominous signs foretell the end of the world.
The release’s orchestral and choral arrangements were largely handled by former member Kjartan Sveinsson and Maria Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir from the band amiina.
The piece prominently features the sound of a five-octave marimba built from roughly-hewn pieces of stone by sculptor Páll Guðmundsson.
The work will be released on Krunk, via Warner Classics.
Tracklisting
01. Prologus
02. Alföður orkar
03. Dvergmál
04. Stendur æva
05. Áss hinn hvíti
06. Hvert stefnir
07. Spár eða spakmál
08. Dagrenning
Odin’s Raven Magic LP is scheduled for December 4 release. Meanwhile, you can stream lead single “Dvergmál” in full below, and pre-order the record here.
