Hurt my back a few weeks ago, so most activities has slowed down here… I hope to recover over the summer, but it is still not certain. Been experimenting with a Chakra-Pendula-Time-Oscillator during my crisis, the results will be made public at a later time.

I have been recording some music over the last months that did not make it to any of my forthcoming releases for various reasons. Instead of just letting them rot on some harddrive I have decided to share them with the world.

First to be made public is “Uncertainties” which is an experiment using the Buchla 266e Source of Uncertainty as master of ceremonies – that means that I set up the basic sounds, but then let the module do the actual composing. The 266e controls tempo, pan, timbre, pitch and all CV processing in these… please note  that this is not a proper release, it is a collection of musical artifacts and research. Click here to listen/download the first parts!

My first release of 2012 is now available. Click the picture to access it:

This is what it sounds like “in the raw”.

A devoted follower of my music mailed me and asked about what to expect from my forthcoming Nordvargr albums – I´ll share my answer with the world:

Murkhr: The most traditional album of this year, most probably. Very dark ambient, some bombastic elements and a sprinkle of obscured voices, mostly my own. Somewhat an ambient precursor of the forthcoming MZ. 412 album. The release itself will be divided over three formats – CD, vinyl LP and cassette. The packaging is still in the planning stages, but it will be different, that I can promise.

The Dromopoda Transmissions: Experimental, noisy and still quite ambient in style. It holds a strong insect vibe to it, hence the title reference. Bug music? It will come in two very different versions/mixes, an ultra limited boxed cassette and a digipac CD.

Music for N,N-Dimetyltryptamin: A very experimental album (online release only at the moment on Vicmod Records/Australia) recorded on the Buchla 200e modular system exclusively. It contains elements of my ”classic” style, but it goes beyond that in terms of experimentation, methodology and goals. It is not an album about drugs. To actually say that this is music for something like DMT is ironic – you will most probably not be taking notice of music at all when taking DMT. It does make you high, but not in the traditional sense of the word. It separates your consciousness from your body. It makes you leave your body. It raises serious questions about what we really are. Or more specifically, how the human mind works – that was my inspiration.

Nothing: This collaboration is still in planning stages. The goal is to make a really dark and deep ambient album. My plan is to use a lot of processed vocals to achieve this. I am still in the process of purchasing some new equipment that will make this process easier.

Here´s a few sneak previews of forthcoming releases:

The Dromopoda Transmissions, artwork by Marcin/newnihilism.com

Nothing, artwork by Stefan Alt

In other news: The low pricing at Bandcamp continues! 4 euro for each album. Also added “In oceans…” which is a bit re-cut and soundwise enhanced.

The vinyl portion of the forthcoming multi-format-release “Murkhr” (OEC) is now recorded, mastered and done.
The same thing goes for the Merzbow collaboration “Partikel III” (CSR).
More news as it develops…

Check post below from Feb 16. Time is running out. Skynda fynda.

Nordvargr – ‘For the Blood is the Life’ CD (Old Europa Café)
Written by Grégory Dejaeger

Truth be told, the mere mention of the word ‘vampirism’ should prompt any self-respecting industrial fan to run off in shock and horror. For indeed, this garlic-laden concept has been so sliced and juiced to death, from sixties Hammer flicks and gutter literature to uninspired gothic bands and (gasp) Mortiis side-projects, that even daring to come up with a fresh and exciting approach to the topic would prove infinitely more difficult than planting a wooden stake into the heart of one’s mother-in-law. And yet, that is exactly what Nordic wunderboy Henrik Nordvargr Björkk has managed to do on this, one of the many exciting slices of ambient music he has graced us with over the last two years.

As the title implies, this 40 minute-long album, released, as some of the Swede’s previous projects, on Italian kult label Old Europa Café, is a rewarding journey into the mesmerizing world of blood-sucking ghouls and assorted pointy-toothed creatures, and while there is actually precious little to be found here in terms of actual nods to the subject explored (except for subtle references to the infamous Talamaur creature of the Southern Pacific isles, the Moroi of Romanian folklore or a passing mention of the word ‘Upir’, the Slovak translation for vampire – as well as some other cryptic allusions which will no doubt have escaped yours truly), this fine piece of aural pleasure contains enough creepy ambient layers and old 78RPM acetate vinyl scratches to keep your average Les Joyaux de la Princesse fan happy. The man from Karlskoga also proves, if his impressive output hadn’t made that clear enough, that he has an inbred genius for adorning what would otherwise have been a nice enough ditty with carefully chosen samples or rhythms that turn it into something altogether more remarkable and ear-pleasing – the song ‘Algul’ being a point-in-case. The man’s experience, rivalled by few on the Northern industrial scene (for he has now truly earned his place alongside the Lina Baby Dolls and Roger Karmaniks of this world), no doubt plays a vital part in this process, and while most others with a similar lifespan in the music world would probably have been content to just regurgitate the same old patterns and ideas (no names here !), Nordvargr keeps churning up soundscapes more hearteningly relevant than any fresh-faced, button-twitching muso this side of a Youtube account.
‘For The Blood Is The Life’, which comes in three different, limited editions of similar aesthetic quality, is yet another testimony that when it comes to dark-leaning music of the finest mould, few can rival the multi-faceted Scandinavian.
What sweet music he makes, indeed!