The Moon and the Nightspirit was formed in 2003 by Ágnes Tóth and Mihály Szabó in Hungary. Beauty is not only found in their songs, but in the illustrations that Ágnes, the multi-instrumentalist, paints in her albums, showing the fantasy of creatures of the traditional legends of Hungarian folklore. This all fits perfectly in the lyrics that the guitarist, Mihály, composes.

They have already been compared with several bands like: Ataraxia (good!) And Chandeen.

Their first album, Of Dreams Forgotten and Fables Untold (2005), is mostly sung in English, except for two songs in Hungarian, Égi Táltos and Holdanyánk.

     But the second album, Regõ Rejtem (2007), is totally sung in Hungarian.

     They gained prominence in the pagan folk scene after sharing stage with Corvus Corax, Korpiklaani, Blackmore's Night and Faun. (great bands!)

      In 2009 they returned with their third album, Ösforras, also all in Hungarian. An offering to the sleeping gods of ancient forests.

      Now in 2011, they released their fourth album, Mohalepte. I've heard little of it yet, but I can tell it's as good as the others. Ágnes continues with her mermaid voice and Mihály enchanting with the sound of strings.

I hope you enjoy this wonderful band. And let yourself be enchanted by the sweet voice of a beautiful creature named Ágnes.

     Wardruna is a Norwegian band dedicated to the creation of musical interpretations of cultural and esoteric Nordic traditions. It was formed in 2003 by Einar Selvik together with Gaahl and Lindy Fay Hella. The band has released three full-length albums, each based on a set of runes. 
Its third album, Runaljod - Ragnarok, was released on October 21, 2016. 

Wardruna makes significant use of historical and traditional Norse instruments including percussion, flutes, kraviklyra, tagelharpe, mouth harp, goat horn and lur. Non-traditional instruments and other sound sources such as trees, rocks, water and torches are also used.

     The band sings their songs in Norwegian, Old Norse and Proto-Noric, and bases the setting of their songs on the symbols of the runes, often recording some songs outdoors to make the sound more suited to the mystical theme of the runes.

     All this musical production was based on the project of a trilogy of albums called Runaljod that begins in Runaljod - gap var Ginnunga (2009), through Runaljod - Yggdrasil (2013) and finishing in the third album Runaljod - Ragnarok (2016).

     Wardruna is responsible for one of the main and powerful aesthetics of Vikings: The soundtrack
The band participated in the making of the second season of the series. Thanks in part to the success of the Vikings, the band's album in 2016, Runaljod Ragnarok, debuted at number one on Billboard's worldwide album list.

     Everything, absolutely everything, that a director puts on screen should have the purpose of complementing the experience of the viewer with his work. Framing, photography, costumes, ester eggs among other visual techniques are extremely important to define the singular aesthetic of that television series or film, but a significant percentage of this set should be given to the sonorous work, after all, it is completely connected to the sentimental part and is the way the viewer will closely remember that work.

     In addition to the intentional pale photograph of Michael Hirst, the game with religiosity and its conflicts, music is one of the greatest narrative powers that Vikings possessed. In many moments you do not need any dialogue, just the sound of the drums and soft lyrical voices to trap you and get emotional with what is presented to you on screen. The soundtrack is one of the main parts that stand out in the aesthetics of the series and the person in charge of it has name: the Norwegian band Wardruna.

   Today's article is about the German band Faun, and their unique style that mixes modern music with old, medieval, Celtic and Nordic folk.

     Faun is a German band from Gräfelfing, Munich, which mixes pagan folk music with medieval music. It was formed in 1998 by Oliver Pade, Birgit Muggenthaler, Elisabeth Pawelke and Fiona Rüggeberg.

     Faun was formed in Germany in 1998 and since then has had some changes in his members. Of the six musicians who currently make up the band, only two are present from the start: Oliver S. Tyr and Fiona Rüggeberg. Rüdiger Maul and Niel Mitra entered 2004, Stephan Groth in 2012 and Katja Moslehner in 2013. Most members play more than one instrument, bringing a great diversity to the sound of the band.

     Since the formation, 9 studio albums have been released and the band has been nominated three times for Echo, which is the biggest musical award in Germany. In their tours, the band has done different types of performance: from acoustic concerts in theaters for sitting people, to big concerts at festivals, with big drums and lights shows (the kind they'll most probably do).

     The most difficult part about talking about Faun is defining the style, first, because the the band's style has changed a lot over time and also because they are reluctant to fit into a label given the great melting pot of influences I mentioned in the first paragraph of text. A classification often attributed to them is Pagan Folk. I'll tell you a bit about it, but first of all, talking about Faun is an opportunity for an interesting reflection on the folk music scene itself:

Folk Music 

   Folk music is one that has some relation to the tradition of a particular culture, such as when using traditional instruments or speaking of legends, fables and customs of a people. It is true that interest in European folk music has always expressed interest here in Portugal, which is not surprising given the great influence of various European peoples in shaping our culture.

     Folk metal (a mixture of folk music and heavy metal) has somehow paved the way for European folk music, and the medieval events that emerged in the last 10 years (more or less) ended up constituting an audience both for folk metal bands and for more traditional folk music bands, so that today folk music, folk metal (and some other strands of the metal as well) in medieval events it almost confusing due to the awesome variety!

     Faun is one of the most recognized names in folk music in Europe. In fact, many bands admire Faun as one of their influences. The idea of Faun having so many tours was something almost unimaginable ten years ago, but today it is possible thanks to this public that was formed.

Faun's Pagan Folk style

In an interview, Oliver, the band leader, said:

"We still haven't decided what to call our style. Sometimes we call pagan folk, sometimes folk Celtic, Scandinavian, Nordic, or just call it medieval music. We mix all these influences into our shows and CDs. "

     The band's own name comes from the Faun creature, present in Greco-Roman mythology. According to the band, the figure of the Faun, as called by the Romans, or Satyr, as called by the Greeks, is often described as a forest spirit, which serves to denote the connection of musicians with nature.

     Their songs range from melancholic ballads to lively songs for dancing. Their instruments include Celtic harp, Swedish nyckelharpa, hurdy-gurdy, bagpipes, cittern, flutes and many others.

     If you don't already know then, you're being introduced to one of the best celtic and pagan folk bands nowadays.

     Omnia is a Bohemian Pagan folk band with influence in the pagan culture of the netherlands. One of the many bands we'll cover in Alter-native!

     Omnia is a Celtic music band influenced by the pagan culture of European people, including references to Dutch, Irish, Belgian and Persian music. Mixed with the folk and the singing tale of the troubadours, their music is a real sound and visual spectacle, for the characterization of the members and even more for the instrumental. A journey that transcends space-time.

     Founded in 1996 by Steve Sic Evans-van der Harten, Jennifer Evans-van der Harten, Daphyd Crow Sens and Rob Raido van Barschot. The instrumentation is made from various percussion instruments, such as celtic harp, flute, hang drum, guitar, among others. The creation of the lyrics is developed from tales and stories, with themes that involve nature and the stars. With influences in songs of pagan rituals, they sing in several languages like English, Irish, Finnish, Breton, German, Latin and even Hindu.

     Omnia has recorded ten records since its foundation! The group has also traveled the world touring and in several music festivals we'll cover in our EVENTS section, among them the most famous and most frequented by the group is the Castlefest.

Check out the videos below for some wicked sound by Omnia and stay tuned that soon we will publish more bands!

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