Byrdi - Trollmusic

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Byrdi

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The Folk Sound of Nordic Nature

With their third full-length "Byrjing" ("Beginning"), BYRDI are taking the important step from a highly respected underground act to an established force within the realm of Nordic folk. The Norwegians have recorded their third album with the participation of percussionist Kjell Braaten, who has performed live with Wardruna among other bands on several occasions as well as various other guest musicians including Mathias Gyllengahm (Utmarken, Norrsinnt) on nyckelharpa (keyed fiddle). "Byrjing" shows BYRDI in an almost intimate way and while their music may easily be labeld as "Nordic folk", the Norwegians foremost sound like themselves.

BYRDI were founded in the ancient town of Hov in Eastern Norway by Nash Rothanburg and Jørn Øyhus in the year 2012. Their debut album "Eventyr" was released in 2014 and has been described as a "wild and strange ritual". Two years later, the Norwegians had been joined by singer and songwriter Andreas Paulsen and started to work on their sophomore full-length. For the recording of "Ansur:Urkraft" (2017), the band used various locations in the mountains and woods of Eastern Norway.

"Ansur:Urkraft" created a buzz in the  Nordic folk scene and earned the band (among others shows) two invitations to perform at the prestigious Midgardsblot Festival in Borre, Norway among the grave mounds of chieftains from the Viking age and evven earlier periods. The fast rise of BYRDI is underlined by more than a million streams of their single "Solsnu", which was aptly first released on the day of winter solstice in 2018.

Having been joined by harpist Gulia Wyrd-Svartskog, BYRDI are now ready to spread their music and words to an even greater audience with "Byrjing".

BYRDI comment in their own words: "The creation of 'Byrjing' has been the most challenging musical journey that we have ever embarked upon", write the Norwegians. "We have been faced with energy draining and time consuming decisions as well as life-altering personal changes. Thefore 'Byrjing' is more than just another album for us. This record represents us as individuals on a path from one place to another. It is hardly surprising that the stories behind these songs are deeply personal. Yet words and music can also easily be understood universally as a projection of life itself that we all touch, feel, and experience."

Earlier releases:

"Eventyr" LP (Vardauger)

Releases on Trollmusic:

"Byrjing" Digipak CD (03-05-2021)

Nowadays:

"Sjaa Yggdrasil" Digital Single (06-24-2022, self-released by the band)
"Byrjing" : Press Quotes

"Most importantly, 'Byrjing' really draws you in for repeated listens and invites you to peel back all of its layers."
9 / 10 - Jeff - Folk-Metal.nl

"BYRDI are able to touch on a fuller and richer array of human emotions than most black metal adjacent attempts in this arena."
Hate Meditations

"Ein jeder, der skandinavischen Folk auch nur ansatzweise schätzt, darf gerne reinhören. Soll reinhören. Muss reinhören."
Horrschd - Medienkonverter.de

"Jeder der ruhigen Nordic Folk mag, wird dieses Album lieben."
8.5 / 10 - Zoe K. - MetalFactory.ch

"Naturalistisch, ernsthaft, authentisch."
8.5 / 10 - Susanne Schaarschmidt - Powermetal.de

"If you’re looking for something calming and serene, but equally gloomy, you don’t need to look any further than 'Byrjing'."
7.5 / 10 - Andrew Doherty - AveNoctum.com

"Knorrig und intim wecken BYRDI das Gefühl von Weite und schroffer Struppigkeit."
7.5 / 10 - Ulf Imwiehe - Deaf Forever

Ein "überaus gelungenes Album" und ein "perfekter Soundtrack für einen Spaziergang an einem nebligen Fjord".
Mirja Dahlmann - Sonic Seducer

"Wer nach einem stressigen Tag etwas zur Entspannung benötigt, kann mit 'Byrjing' perfekt abschalten."
Krümel - Bleeding4Metal.de

"Ein durch und durch stimmiges Hörerlebnis."
6.5 / 7 - Metalmama - Earshot.at

"[Eine] sehr gut produzierte Platte, die für Fans der nordischen Folk Musik eine Pflicht sein sollte".
8 / 10 - Baka - Zephyr's Odem

"Ein angenehmer Soundtrack für die ruhigen Momente des Lebens, der bei Genrefans großen Zuspruch finden dürfte."
7 / 10 - Thorsten Roggenbuck - Crossfire-Metal.de

"Knappe plaat, steengoede productie ook en knap artwork."
80 / 100 - Luc Ghyselen - Musica.be

"BYRDI brengt met 'Byrjing' een prachtig en bovenal vocaal sterk Nordic folk album uit, dat een machtig mysterieus muzieklandschap schildert dooraderd met stromen melancholie, verdriet en troost."
Koen Asaert - Snoozecontrol.be

"Folk nordique superbe: Chaque composition développe une atmosphère qui lui est propre, souvent évocatrice des profondes forêts nordiques, humides et brumeuses."
18 / 20 - Alain Lavanne - MetalIntegral.com

"Un très bon moment qui ravira les fans du genre."
14 / 20 - Aux PortesDuMetal.com

"Αν το 'Ansur:Urkraft' που κυκλοφόρησαν το 2017 δημιούργησε ένα θόρυβο στη σκανδιναβική λαϊκή σκηνή, το 'Byrjing' σίγουρα τους εντάσσει από ένα αξιοσέβαστο underground act σε μια σίγουρη και επικυρωμένη δύναμη στο βασίλειο των σκανδιναβικών λαών."
Eleni Liverakou Eriksson - Rocking.gr

"'Byrjing' bietet reichlich verträumte Melodien, angenehmen mehrstimmigen Gesang und interessante Details in der Instrumentierung."
6 / 10 - Angela - Metal.de


"Ansur:Urkraft" : Press Quotes

"BYRDI has made an album that puts you in the heart of the forest, in the shadow of mountains and the cold stream of a river."
Guido Segers - Stranger Aeons

"There is a proud legacy alive within their music, the dual vocal harmonies of 'Ansur:Urkraft' reaching into earthen depths and the heights of the frostbitten firmament."
Tom O'Boyle - Metal Hammer UK

"Ein wunderschönes, melancholisch-mystisches Folk-Album."
Arlette Huguenin - Vampster.com

"Rich in atmosphere, hugely nuanced and utterly mesmeric."
7/10 - Chris Tippell - Ghost Cult Mag

"BYRDI erschaffen meditative, beinahe schon hypnotisierende Songs wie 'Lite Vet Mennesket' oder 'Graanande Ymir', die den Geist auf eine Reise schicken. Dass aber mit Ernsthaftigkeit nicht zwangsläufig Düsternis und Schwermut gemeint sein müssen, zeigen Titel wie 'Ansur' und 'Tid', die sich überraschend lebensbejahend, sonnendurchflutet und unbeschwert den schwergewichtigen Hauptthemen des Albums: Leben, Tod and Jenseits annähern."
9/10 - Katja Spanier - Monkeypress.de

"Au weia, was 'n Geseier. Kaum zu ertragen..."
2,5/10 - Sonic Seducer
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