Skáld (band)

Skáld (stylised as SKÁLD) is a French Nordic folk group formed in 2018. Their songs bear a heavy Norse influence, making use of traditional instruments and the themes they treat are mostly centred on Scandinavian culture, especially on Norse mythology and they use mostly Nordic languages, particularly Old Norse.[2]

SKÁLD
Background information
OriginFrance
Genres
Years active2018–present
LabelsDecca/Universal[1]
Members
  • Christophe Voisin-Boisvinet
  • Steeve Petit
  • Marti Ilmar Uibo
  • Ravn
  • Julien Loko
  • Lily Jung
  • Kohann
  • Laetitia Marcangeli
  • uRYa
Past members
  • Chaos Heidi
  • Justine Galmiche
  • Pierrick Valence
  • Mattjö Haussy
  • Xavier Bertand
Websiteskaldvikings.com

History
SKÁLD in concert in 2019

Origins

The band was formed in 2018 by producer Christophe Voisin-Boisvinet, together with singers and musicians Justine Galmiche, Pierrick Valence, and Mattjö Haussy. They aimed to tell Nordic myths and legends singing mainly in Old Norse.[3] The name "Skáld" comes from the Old Norse for "skald": a poet who composed skaldic poetry, usually in the courts during the Viking Age.[4][5]

In August 2018, their first EP was released, featuring three songs: Gleipnir, Ódinn, and Rún.[6] These three tracks were later included in their first album, released on 25 January 2019 by Decca: Vikings Chant.[6] This album was re-issued with the name Vikings Chant (Alfar Fagrahvél Edition) during the following September with three more covers and two new tracks.[7]

On February 29, 2020, Mattjö Haussy announced his departure from Skáld in favour of the new music project Hrafngrímr.[8] Skáld's second album Vikings Memories was released on October 9 the same year, featuring Justine Galmiche and Pierrick Valence as official members of the group, with the first single Fimbulvetr published in August.[9][10] Pierrick Valence departed from the group following the release of their second album, and on October 21, 2021, the single Jólanótt was published, preceding the release of their second EP Winter Songs, released on 29 October 2021, featuring Justine Galmiche as the only official member of the band, besides composer Christophe Voisin-Boisvinet.[11][12]

Huldufólk and the new line-up
SKÁLD at Hellfest 2022

In June 2022, before the band's summer tour, it was announced that lead singer Justine Galmiche would leave the group due to undisclosed health reasons.[13] She was substituted by singer Chaos Heidi, who toured together with new group members: Steeve Petit, Marti Ilmar Uibo, Ravn, and Julien Loko.[14]

On September 20, 2022, the new album Huldufólk[15] was announced on Skáld's social media pages,[16][17] and was released on January 20, 2023.[18] The first single Troll Kalla Mik was released on November 17, 2022, featuring the new line-up of the band: Steeve Petit, Marti Ilmar Uibo, Ravn, Julien Loko, Lily Jung, Chaos Heidi, Kohann, Laetitia Marcangeli, and uRYa.[19][20] However, Chaos Heidi, who had taken part to the summer tour with Skáld,[21] left the band before the release of the new album, and was substituted as a lead singer by Lily Jung during the band's European tour in October 2022.[22][23]

Style
SKÁLD's Ravn playing a talharpa during a concert in 2022

The band's repertoire is derived mostly from Norse texts, which were originally re-adapted by Christophe Voisin-Boisvinet alone,[24][25] and since 2021, by Voisin and Anna Scussel.[11][26] The most used language is Old Norse, but other Nordic languages have also been employed, including modern Icelandic,[27] Faroese,[28] Norwegian,[29] and Swedish,[30] as well as a few covers in English and German.[31][32]

The themes treated by Skáld in their albums are several. Their first album Vikings Chant focused mostly on some of the most famous elements of Norse mythology and religion, like the gods Odin and Freyja, Valhalla, or the ash tree Yggdrasil, with texts taken mainly from the Poetic Edda.[33][24] The main focus of their second album Vikings Memories is the element of water, collecting songs about mythological sea creatures, sea-kings, and voyagers like Yngvar víðförla.[34] Their third album Huldufólk borrows its title from the hidden people of Icelandic and Faroese folklore, and shifts the focus to the woods instead, revolving around the theme of folkloristic Nordic figures like trolls, elves, skogsrå, and dragons.[35][36]

The band uses a variety of instruments from the Norse tradition, dating back to the 14th century.[37][38] Among the instruments the group has employed, their repertoire numbers, among others, shamanic drums, lyre, talharpa, citole, jouhikko, and nyckelharpa.[39]

Members

Current members

Former members
  • Chaos Heidi: vocals (2022)[22]
  • Justine Galmiche: vocals (2018-2022)[13]
  • Pierrick Valence: vocals, talharpa, nyckelharpa, citra, jouhikko (2018–2020)
  • Mattjö Haussy: vocals (2018–2019)[40]
  • Xavier Bertand: vocals (2018–2019)

Timeline

Discography

Albums
  • Vikings Chant (2019)
  • Vikings Chant (Alfar Fagrahvél Edition) (2019)
  • Vikings Memories (2020)
  • Huldufólk (2023)

EPs
  • Skáld (2018)
  • Winter Songs (2021)

Singles
  • 2018 – Ódinn
  • 2018 – Gleipnir
  • 2018 – Rún
  • 2018 – Ó Valhalla
  • 2019 – Flúga
  • 2019 – Seven Nation Army
  • 2019 – Hross
  • 2020 – Fimbulvetr
  • 2020 – Grótti
  • 2020 – Norðrljós
  • 2021 – Jólanótt
  • 2022 – Troll Kalla Mik
  • 2022 – Då Månen Sken
  • 2023 – Du Hast
  • 2023 – Elverhøy

References
  1. Bureau, Par Éric; MarolleLe, Emmanuel (8 February 2019). "10 musiciens qui feront l'année 2019". leparisien.fr (in French). Retrieved 2019-08-28.
  2. Aficia (2018-11-23). "Clip « Rún » : SKÁLD fait revivre la mythologie nordique". aficia. (in French). Retrieved 2022-06-10.
  3. "SKÁLD - Vikings - Site officiel". SKÁLD - Vikings - Site officiel du groupe.
  4. "S — A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic — Словари — Северная Слава". norse.ulver.com. Retrieved 2022-06-10.
  5. "SKALD | Meaning & Definition for UK English | Lexico.com". Lexico Dictionaries | English. Archived from the original on June 10, 2022. Retrieved 2022-06-10.
  6. "Invasion de Vikings avec SKàLD - Webzine". La Grosse Radio (in French). 2018-08-01.
  7. "Vikings Chant (Alfar Fagrahvél Edition)". Spotify (in Italian). 2019-09-20. Retrieved 2021-10-21.
  8. "Mattjö Haussy leaves Skáld for new Nordic music project | Mythologica". 2020-02-29. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  9. "Skáld announces new album and single | Mythologica". 2020-08-20. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
  10. "Skáld annonce son nouvel album Vikings Memories (détails & single)". MetalZone (in French). 2020-08-22.
  11. SKÁLD - Jólanótt, retrieved 2022-06-10
  12. "Winter Songs - EP by SKÁLD". 2021-10-29. Retrieved 2021-10-29.
  13. "SKÁLD on Instagram: "IMPORTANT - SKÁLD is back on stage. However, Justine won't attend the upcoming concerts. We are sad to announce that she is unwell. Justine is replaced during her convalescence by a great singer from the collective who will finally be under the spotlights. SKÁLD mun lifa! 🔥"". Instagram. Retrieved 2022-10-18.
  14. "Festival | Hellfest 2022 - Partie 1 - Jour 2 @ Clisson (18 juin 2022)". www.verdammnis.com (in French). Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  15. "SKÁLD on Instagram: "« They can make themselves visible at will » #newalbum #comingsoon"". Instagram. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
  16. "SKÁLD". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
  17. "SKÁLD on Instagram: "Those who come to see us in concert in October will hear new songs 🫣🤫 Who will guess the theme of the next album? Link in bio to get your tickets 🎫"". Instagram. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
  18. "Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  19. Troll Kalla Mik, retrieved 2022-11-17
  20. "Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
  21. "Singer Adeline Bellart performs on stage during the Hellfest Open Air..." Getty Images (in Italian). Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  22. "Chaos Heidi on Instagram: "TABULA RASA ! Je vous ai promis de revenir bientôt pour jouer à l'heure de vérité : C'est parti ! Dans l'ordre : ☀️ SKÁLD, je suis partie. Sans commentaire. Bilan : Hellfest, Motocultor, Sama'rock et du chant sur le 3ème album à venir… ☀️ MON PROJET SOLO CHAOS HEIDI : en pause. Ça n'est pas allé du tout dans la direction que je voulais, et c'est en partie de ma faute, j'assume. Du coup, j'ai des morceaux écrits depuis longtemps qui n'ont plus rien à voir avec aujourd'hui et que je n'ai plus envie de sortir. Donc next. ^^ Maintenant : ☀️ Je suis une artiste, qui chante, écrit et compose, viscéralement polyvalente et polymorphe (ouais, ya des choses qui restent, faut pas déconner ^^). J'aime les formes mouvantes et insaisissables, j'aime que le son caresse ou bouscule tour à tour. Je m'adresse autant à vos oreilles qu'à vos tripes. ✊🏻❤️ ☀️ J'ai de nouveaux projets artistiques très, très sympas en cours et en tête aussi, seule ou avec d'autres personnes, dont je parlerai ici à l'occasion !😉😇🤫 ☀️ Parce que partager et échanger est important pour moi, je suis aussi une prof de chant musiques actuelles, spécialisée dans les voix saturées, à Paris avec Inside The Scream où je suis la collaboratrice de David Féron. (Coucou toi et ton besoin de crier sans te faire mal, contacte-moi !) Nous dispensons également la bonne parole en province, via stages et masterclass.😊 ☀️ Je propose également mes services à la demande à tous ceux qui auraient besoin d'une voix, en studio ou en live (vous pouvez noter ^^ et même me contacter pour infos & conditions 😉 ) 👉🏻 Ça fait beaucoup, hein ? Sauf que je ne vais pas tenir une putain de page FB pour chacune de mes casquettes. Déjà une c'est relou, alors tout sera ici. (Sauf mon prochain projet musical, mais ça, ce sera une nouvelle histoire encore… 😉 ) Pour aujourd'hui, je vous dis MERCI 🙏🏻 pour votre soutien et votre intérêt depuis parfois des années pour mon parcours d'artiste tumultueuse et aussi à très bientôt pour de l'actu et des étoiles plein la tête… 😊❤️😊❤️ Photo : la toujours très talentueuse @catherine_bertiaux 😊❤️🙏🏻 #chanteuse #artiste #witch #freshstart #portrait #sorcière #artistefrançaise #magic"". Instagram. Retrieved 2022-10-18.
  23. Chefred; Ibragimov, Askar. "Skáld @ Ääniwalli Helsinki – Stalker Magazine". Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  24. MetalDen (9 September 2018). "SKÁLD Le chant des Vikings". RockMeeting - Rock / Metal mélodique (in French).
  25. SKÁLD - Fimbulvetr, retrieved 2022-06-10
  26. Scussel, Anna (2023-01-26). "Thank you so much SKÁLD for this splendid mention and for this great experience together!". Facebook. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  27. Í Dansinum, 2020-10-09, retrieved 2022-06-10
  28. Sækonungar, 2020-10-09, retrieved 2022-06-16
  29. Villeman Og Magnhild, 2021-10-29, retrieved 2022-06-16
  30. Då Månen Sken, 2022-12-16, retrieved 2022-12-16
  31. Seven Nation Army, 2019-09-20, retrieved 2022-06-10
  32. SKÁLD - Du Hast (Visualizer), retrieved 2023-01-06
  33. Vikings Chant (Alfar Fagrahvél Edition), 2019-09-20, retrieved 2023-01-22
  34. "SKALD - Vikings Memories - BLACK Vinyl". Napalm Records.
  35. "SKÁLD "Huldufólk"". HARD FORCE. 1970-01-01. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
  36. Fordham, Tom (2023-01-16). "ALBUM REVIEW: Huldufólk - Skáld". Distorted Sound Magazine. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
  37. "Skáld – Huldufólk | Album Review". Noizze UK | Live Music | Reviews | Interviews | Podcasts. 2023-01-17. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
  38. Department, World Music Central News (2022-12-24). "French Nordic Folk Collective Skáld Unveil Second Single "Då Månen Sken" | World Music Central". Retrieved 2023-01-24.
  39. Aficia (2018-11-23). "Clip « Rún » : SKÁLD fait revivre la mythologie nordique". aficia. (in French). Retrieved 2022-06-10.
  40. "Mattjö Haussy leaves Skáld for new Nordic music project | Mythologica". 2020-02-29.
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