Hugsja Release Their Latest Self-Titled Album Out Now

Ivar Bjørnson (Enslaved) and Einar Selvik (Wardruna) released their monumental new piece, Hugsjá, last Friday. The release was immediately followed Saturday by a performance of the album in full at Roadburn Festival in the Netherlands.

The word "hugsjá" means "to see with, or within, the mind." It embodies the idea that our minds have the potential to see more than meets the eye. By weaving together indigenous and contemporary thoughts, sounds, and instruments, Bjørnson and Selvik invite us on a vivid journey, exploring the distant history and traditions of coastal Norway.

Hugsjá was first commissioned by, and performed at, Bergen International Festival in 2017, as part of a series of concerts named Nordvegen ("the northern road"); inspired by local history and traditions in each of the places visited. The Nordvegen concerts created an acoustic and intimate basis for the grandiose commissioned work "Hugsjá." The piece premiered in Bergen's leading concert hall, Grieghallen, and is the follow-up to the duo's first collaborative album, Skuggsjá.

Selvik comments:

"Where our previous joint endeavor, Skuggsjá, had a very specific idea and format when it was commissioned, I feel we had much more room on Hugsjá to freely explore as well as to apply our experience into the creative process and planning. It has truly been an enriching process where we have been working alongside great musicians, language experts, archaeologists and local experts seeking to unfold and shed light on relevant, yet near-forgotten, deities and myths as well as local history and traditions."