Over the last five years or so, there has been a movement of sorts that has brought the sounds of traditional Dark Nordic Folk music. Bands such as Wardruna, Heilung, and Faun have found a place in North America, proving that cultural curiosity exists here. These bands have offered to step in and educate the masses by bringing them into their ritualistic worlds. That said, one stellar artist seems not to be mentioned nearly enough. Her name is Kati Ran.
Kati Ran is a Dutch singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. I had never heard of her until a fateful email asking if I was interested in giving her forthcoming album, SÁLA, a listen.
The title track, “SÁLA,” kicks things off, and not even a minute in, I could feel a rush of emotions along with a spiritual warning to proceed with caution. What I mean by that is that this music is not for someone who wants to sit around and “listen.” This music conveys a deeper-rooted message, so be ready for intense music and vocalizations.
One of the stand out tracks is the 16-minute epic “Blodbylgje” (Icelandic for “Bloodwave”) is a full-on challenge to the senses. The unsettling beauty and tone of Kati Ran’s voice and the droning voice accompaniment of legendary Black Metal vocalist Gaahl can only be described as beautifully unnerving. Musically, it is ethereal, ambient, and trance-inducing, and the addition of spoken word parts by Kati herself makes this song an experience unlike any other I have experienced.
The bulk of SÁLA is sung (and spoken) in the native Icelandic dialect, which means I can’t understand a word Kati is saying. This sounds counterintuitive for a writer/lyricist like myself, but this music made me realize that language can sometimes fail us. What I mean by that is that if you understand all the words in a said language, sometimes we take it for granted, and often, the music becomes the background. With SÁLA, I focused on the sound, the melody, the energy of what was being projected, and how it was. I didn’t have the distraction of trying to hear lyrics. The tones, the melodies, and the subtle and not-so-subtle underlying music parts gave me the freedom to create my own narrative.
There is something sinister, almost dangerous feeling about listening to music sung in a language you know nothing about. As a kid growing up in New Orleans, I am no stranger to superstitions and being cautious about things you don’t understand. Yet, at the same time, it draws me even closer to it. Don’t we all like to be a little scared? It’s an exciting feeling.
Some album reviews tend to pull multiple songs to comment on them. This was nearly impossible to be because, in all honesty, SÁLA as a whole is one unified entity. SÁLA is much more than escapism; it is a journey. The music and vocals evoke a primal, hypnotic, and sometimes sensual energy that I have never heard or felt in music before. SÁLA is a cinematic epic of the mind, the body, and the soul. Listening to this album, I was whisked away from a tired and redundant day to a world of Viking ships, dark waters, ice, and snow that seems to go on for days.
SÁLA‘s music is much like life. It’s unsettling, unnerving, and beautiful, complex, and complicated. SÁLA takes me places, shows me things, and fills my ears with sounds unlike any other. It has quickly become a soundtrack of my journey through this plane and feels like a companion. I have no idea where we’re going, but the journey just got a lot more spiritual, mindful, and emotional.
SÁLA can be pre-ordered HERE at Rough Trade Records.
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