Verdandi, the musical collaboration of Alice Karlsdóttir and Paul Fredric, came into being in autumn 2003. Author of "Magic of the Norse Goddesses" (Runa- Raven Press), A Master in the Rune-Gild and long-time student of Norse folklore and mythology and magic, Karlsdóttir had formerly sung traditional and original folk music live until Ian Read asked her to record the track, "Lady of the Vanir," for the album Birdking by Fire + Ice. That experience encouraged her to embark on her own project, which was set on the path to manifestation when she was introduced to Paul Fredric, known for his work with the Esoteric Darkwave project Asmodeus X. The two found an immediate musical rapport, and began formulating the materials that would become the Neo-Folk work known as The North Country.
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Verdandi comes from the name of one of the three Norns, female Germanic figures of might often equated with the Fates. The ancient Germanic concept of time included only two concepts--the Past and the Present, a reality that is even now reflected in the Germanic languages. The Past, Urð (what has become) was real and vast, the accumulation of all the deeds of all beings throughout time; it was real because it had already happened, and it continually reached into the Present to influence current events. The future, Skuld (that which should become) was a hazy, indefinite concept, unreal because it had not yet happened and might be turned from its course at any moment by events in the Present. It was only in the present--Verðandi (that which is becoming), that cutting edge on the blade of reality, that change could happen, that deeds could matter, that one could shape one's destiny and add to the storehouse of the Past.
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The North Country, now available through Tesco-Germany, derives much inspiration from the mythology and traditions of the past; some of the songs are original, some taken from traditional folk music, and even a reworking of an Asmodeus X song - the apocalyptic 'Wolf in the Sky'. Together, they look toward a world of wholeness and tradition. Yet this past is not something far away that is over and done with, but is rather the mythic past of the beginning time, that place of might and magic where the worlds were first created and where they can still be created anew. Acoustic and ambient soundscapes converge forming a background for Karlsdottirs haunting and melodic lyrics. With special guest appearances by Ian Read (Fire and Ice), Anabel Lee (Blood Axis), Jim Chisholm (Ring of Troth), Spike the Percussionist (Astrogenic Hallucinauting), and Johnathan Kramm (Industrial Orchestra),
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