Nytt Land are a Siberian duo that makes dark, ambient folk music that’s influenced by Shamanic rituals and ancient lore. On Friday, they’ll release a new album, aptly titled Ritual, via Napalm Records, and today (August 4th) they’ve unveiled a thrilling video for one final single called “Svartravn.” They also announced an official livestream performance.
Musically, Nytt Land are similar to groups like Heilung and Wardruna in that they’re putting a modern twist on traditional Eastern Siberian music. The vocals are a jarring yet hypnotic style of psychedelic throat-singing, and the instrumentation is sparse, motorik and incredibly evocative.
“Svartravn” has all of those elements, which makes it the perfect soundtrack for its accompanying video. Brought to life by Siberian artist Ksenia Shcherbinin and animation designer Alexander Golovko, the visual features Viking battles, ancient rites and plenty of bloodshed — everything a tale of “betrayal and revenge, valor and fearlessness” requires. Watch it above via YouTube.
“In Russia there is a very famous 19th century kozak’s ballad called ‘Black Raven,’” Nytt Land explained of the song’s inspiration. “And when we found the text that formed the basis of the song ‘Svartravn’, we were simply amazed that it says the same thing as in this Russian ballad. Therefore, this song got its name exactly ‘Svartravn’ – from the Icelandic language it is precisely ‘Black Raven’ that is translated.”
Ritual is out this Friday August 6th, and you can pre-order it here. But next Friday August 13th, the band are performing a world-exclusive livestream called LiveRitual. The breathtaking event will feature Nytt Land performing their new album in full, in addition to “reborn” renditons of beloved songs from throughout their catalog.
They’ve also promised tantalizing design elements and primal energy that will bring this unique work of art to life. The ceremony begins at 2 p.m. EST and 8 p.m. CET on August 13th on Napalm Records’ YouTube channel. Join in here.