Sowulo - Grima
Key Facts
Country: 🇳🇱
Genre: Dark/Pagan Folk
Release Date: 3rd April 2020
Record Label(s): Independent
Band Members
Chloé Bakker - Celtic Triplett harp
Pan Bartkowiak - Davul and percussion
Koen van Egmond - Woodlandwinds
Klaartje van Zwoll - Viola, violin and vocals
Faber Horbach - Bouzouki, hammered dulcimer, nyckelharpa, jouhikko, Synths, VST and vocals
Production Personel
Niek van Eck - Immersive Storytelling, Research, Concept Creation
Nico van Montfort - Mastering
Jasper van Gheluwe - Artwork
Faber Horbach - Recording, Research, Concept Creation
Sowulo - Triumph Over Tears
Review
Rating (Out of 5🤘): 🤘🤘🤘🤘.5
Favourite Story: Beguiled By Blood Brew
This EP is something a little different from what I usually expect to review. This is an "immersive combination of Storytelling and Atmospheric music. We recorded GRIMA from a place of deep presence, rooted in ancient stories of wisdom." (Sowulo, 2019), with a description like that from the band, I can see it has peaked your curiosity. I have previously reviewed Sowulo, as I thoroughly enjoyed their last release MANN. GRIMA however, feels like it is presenting some of the stories behind that album and from further beyond. This surprise release has definitely caught me off guard but in the best possible way, bringing some of my favourite mythological stories to life with a musical background that surely captures your imagination.
There is a very vivd image that occurs in my mind when I sit back and listen to GRIMA. Being sat in a great hall with a roaring fire in the middle of the room. Rain lashing the roof of the hall and the mead helping you keep warm. One man stands before you pouring his heart and passion into every word of his performance. It is a stereotypical image for some, but it is strangely comforting to me. Taking me back to a time where storytelling was an absolute art form being passed down from generation to generation, creating a phenomenal oral tradition. Niek van Eck's storytelling style is engaging and passionate, bringing these centuries old stories to life with great heart and dramatic skill. They are stories that I know having read up on Norse mythology but hearing them in this very real context is refreshing and thought provoking for me. The music in the background supplied by Faber Horbach augments the story, moving with its flow and creating this deeply intense. dark and spiritual atmosphere behind the words. Simple rhythms and haunting melodies set the scene and put you in a place in time, centuries ago, you reconnect with something ancestral and ancient. Overall, this is incredibly well composed, capturing my imagination in so many ways. I would classify this as a celebration of heritage and history, these stories meant a lot to those people centuries ago and bands like Sowulo keeping this tradition alive means a lot to me. I recommend this EP to any Norse mythology and storytelling fan.
The production, is fairly simple. It doesn't need to be over the top or dramatic, Sowulo have evaluated what they were creating and produced the EP accordingly. The spoken word is given a bit of reverb to sonically create a simulated room environment that feeds into my aforementioned imagined image. The music is low in the background but has a similar style reverb as the spoken word, with swirling atmospheres swirling underneath the slow pounding drums which fill the low end with warmth. Overall, the mix is centred around this sonic environment that triggers imagery and emphasises the focus on the stories.
If you fancy immersing yourself in some classic Norse storytelling, check out GRIMA now!
There is a very vivd image that occurs in my mind when I sit back and listen to GRIMA. Being sat in a great hall with a roaring fire in the middle of the room. Rain lashing the roof of the hall and the mead helping you keep warm. One man stands before you pouring his heart and passion into every word of his performance. It is a stereotypical image for some, but it is strangely comforting to me. Taking me back to a time where storytelling was an absolute art form being passed down from generation to generation, creating a phenomenal oral tradition. Niek van Eck's storytelling style is engaging and passionate, bringing these centuries old stories to life with great heart and dramatic skill. They are stories that I know having read up on Norse mythology but hearing them in this very real context is refreshing and thought provoking for me. The music in the background supplied by Faber Horbach augments the story, moving with its flow and creating this deeply intense. dark and spiritual atmosphere behind the words. Simple rhythms and haunting melodies set the scene and put you in a place in time, centuries ago, you reconnect with something ancestral and ancient. Overall, this is incredibly well composed, capturing my imagination in so many ways. I would classify this as a celebration of heritage and history, these stories meant a lot to those people centuries ago and bands like Sowulo keeping this tradition alive means a lot to me. I recommend this EP to any Norse mythology and storytelling fan.
The production, is fairly simple. It doesn't need to be over the top or dramatic, Sowulo have evaluated what they were creating and produced the EP accordingly. The spoken word is given a bit of reverb to sonically create a simulated room environment that feeds into my aforementioned imagined image. The music is low in the background but has a similar style reverb as the spoken word, with swirling atmospheres swirling underneath the slow pounding drums which fill the low end with warmth. Overall, the mix is centred around this sonic environment that triggers imagery and emphasises the focus on the stories.
If you fancy immersing yourself in some classic Norse storytelling, check out GRIMA now!
Sowulo - Grima
References
Sowulo, (3rd April 2020), Sowulo - Grima, Bandcamp, Date Accessed (3rd April 2020), https://sowulo.bandcamp.com
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