27 Apr 2018

Fedrespor: "Tid"


Through experimentation, Tid leaps into uncertainty with great success
With norse-themed folk I've come to except the likes of Wardruna, who seem obsessed - at least from a laymans point of view - with quote unquote authenticity and historical accuracy in their instrumentation. With the popularity of the soundtrack of the Vikings series, that style has in its own niche become almost commonplace, altough precious few do it well.

Fedrespor stirs and rummages through many of the same themes and emotions as Heilung or Wardruna, and I suppose to a degree that the comparison is unavoidable. However, the instrumentation of Fedrespor and his musical universe - though born from the same reverence of old Scandinavian mythology and culture - feels much more contemporary and bears a certain longing for westernised musical traditions.

"like Leonard Cohen's debut or Nick Drake mixed with just a bit of Nocturnal Poisoning."

Tid is in essence a trip down a dark path of atmospheric neo-folk, with several possible byroads hinted at in varying proportions. There's a powerful presence predominantly of longing and distance and a misty, hard to place dogmatism toward contradicting modernity and tradition. Tracks like Gripedyr presents Fedrespor's ability to craft emotionally evocative soul-crushers, while the following track Unknown Self counters the former with a weirdly uplifting, optimistic piece reminiscent of classic western folk like Leonard Cohen's debut or Nick Drake mixed with just a bit of Nocturnal Poisoning.

With the core consisting of the minimalistic combination of voice and acoustic guitar, a larger array of unconventional electronics and exotic sounds whirl around in the proverbial fog surrounding that simple but effective core. This combination lends to Tid a hard to achieve depth, which at the same time brings it out of the ambient-laden mire that many thematically similar musicians let themselves sink into. Fedrespor's Tid will likely be a folk music highlight of 2018.

9/10


Released in 2018 by Nordvis

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