This past weekend French viral Viking duo Eihwar brought their electro Nordic folk to American stages for the very first time with the commencement of their U.S. Nordic Ritual Nights Tour, which will wrap on September 20th at our very own Underground Arts. The band, comprised of Asrunn (Vocals, Shamanic Drums) and Mark (Vocals, War Drums, Lute, Folk Guitar, Tagelharpa, Percussion, and Programming), are touring behind sophomore LP Hugrheim, which dropped this March. Just before the start of their current Stateside jaunt, I got a chance to chat with Asrunn about all of this and more.
Izzy Cihak: You released your sophomore LP, Hugrheim, earlier this year. How do you feel like the album compares to Viking War Trance? I know that first album came together quite quickly.
Asrunn: Before Viking War Trance, we had only one month to write and record the entire album. It was a crazy challenge, and we managed to pull it off just in time. For this second record, we wanted to tell our own story, to dig deeper into our memories and the world we come from. In many ways, Hugrheim is the natural continuation of Viking War Trance.
We kept everything that genuinely excited us, refined the elements that resonated less, but stayed true to the way we’ve always created: bursts of inspiration, a constant creative ping-pong between Mark and me, recording our vocals in a single take, passionate discussions, and one guiding objective throughout the whole process: to reach that unmistakable “wow” moment.
Izzy: You’ve already played a full European tour behind the album and played some really big festival shows this summer. What have been some of the highlights and standout moments of touring the LP so far?
Asrunn: We absolutely loved touring by tour bus with Mira Ceti and their partner-in-crime, N.Hir. There wasn’t a single day without fits of laughter, and traveling across Europe in a luxury tour bus to play every night in packed venues felt like a childhood dream coming true.
Being welcomed at the Paléo Festival in Switzerland also left us with stars in our eyes. I had never experienced such a passionate, dedicated, and genuinely caring artist reception. It was gentle, it was beautiful—the care that human beings can show one another.
And of course, meeting our fans in every country we visited was unforgettable. In Ljubljana, I sang while holding a fan in my arms as she cried tears of joy—it was her birthday. Seeing our feather-inlaid vinyl editions sell out within 24 hours… these are all memories that remind us just how fortunate we are to be here, doing what we love.
Izzy: On a related note, have you had any favorite responses to the new material?
Asrunn: We were first of all very surprised to see how unanimously the press seemed to embrace our second album. Opinions had been more divided on the first one, but this time the response was remarkably consistent.
More importantly, we genuinely felt that this album gave us a certain legitimacy and stability, as if we were no longer the “overnight sensation” that had appeared out of nowhere, but an internationally established band, with a musical niche that emerged alongside us.
Izzy: You’ve released a number of really cool music videos for album tracks, and I know that you kind of got your start on YouTube. What kinds of things most inspire the visual elements of Eihwar? Are there any Viking artists or works of art that you especially love?
Asrunn: Thank you!
Actually, not really. Our human hosts are complete artists who never compromise. They’re incredibly versatile, and we simply drew on their expertise across many different fields to bring our memories of Hugrheim to life.
Izzy: Some artists hate questions like this but, considering that Hugrheim is your sophomore album, I have to ask if you have any favorite sophomore albums of music history?
Asrunn: Sound Awake by Karnivool. I absolutely loved that album.
Izzy: Both of your albums have been released courtesy of Season of Mist, which is such a cool label and actually has an office here in Philadelphia. How has it been working with them and being a part of that whole label family?
Asrunn: We had to learn how to work as a team, and they had to learn how to work with anxious humans who can be a real pain in the ass and are way too demanding about absolutely everything. Not exactly an easy job! Haha. But in the end, I think we’ve finally managed to work together and achieve great and wonderful things.
Izzy: This is a big question, but I’m curious to hear about the pagan scene in France that you helped start and define. I understand it was inspired by the goth scene of the 2000s, which I was definitely a part of here in the States, although I have no idea how similar that was to the scene over there in France.
Asrunn: Whoa, I think it would be extremely pretentious of us to claim that we helped create the scene, because it was already there long before we arrived.
That said, I don’t think I’m wrong in saying that it was through the events we created—The Witches’ Night—that we truly felt the revival of the goth nights of the 2000s, with early evening concerts followed by electro after-parties that went on until sunrise.
They were moments of celebration and fantasy, where everyone could express who they truly were without fearing judgment or rejection. That’s exactly what we’ve always tried to recreate through these events: places where everyone’s individuality is welcomed with open arms, and where witches, Vikings, knights, elves, queer people, and all kinds of wonderfully undefinable beings dance together in a spirit of joy, acceptance, and shared celebration.
Izzy: You’re about to embark on your first North American headline tour. Are there any places you’re especially excited to visit or just things that you’re especially excited to get the chance to check out?
Asrunn: Honestly, just seeing my human host’s face next to a U.S. visa in her passport is already enough to make my brain crash. Haha!
You know, when you grow up in France, the other continents almost feel like imaginary places. A few days ago, at the Paléo Festival, I had the chance to be interviewed by a journalist from a major TV channel in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I felt like I was talking to the Childlike Empress from The NeverEnding Story.
So, the idea that I’m about to cross the Atlantic Ocean and end up in a country I’ve only ever known through the movies and TV shows of my human childhood still feels slightly impossible.
I’m just looking forward to getting there and finally telling myself, “Wow… I’m really here.” And once that sinks in, I’ll probably start talking way too loudly, way too fast, insisting that we absolutely have to do way too many things!
Izzy: What can be expected of the live show on U.S. Nordic Ritual Nights Tour? I’ve seen a bunch of footage of your live shows and they seem like quite the spectacle in the best kind of way.
Asrunn: Haha, thank you so much! I’m packing my usual stage energy in my suitcase and bringing it with me to the US. It’s something I make a point of delivering at every single show. I hope people will find joy in it—a real moment to share together, laughter, tears, trance, dancing… and, if we’ve done our job well, the desire to come back for more.
Izzy: I imagine your have fans style themselves in really cool ways to come out to your gigs. Is there anything you’d encourage people to do when styling themselves for these U.S. shows?
Asrunn: Just like at our Witches’ Nights in France, please embrace every fantasy. Be exactly the person you’ve always dreamed of being—the one who makes you feel the same pure joy you felt when you were six and a half years old, dressed in your most wonderful costume.
Izzy: The U.S. tour actually wraps just before the autumnal equinox, so I’m curious if you have any thoughts on or favorite things about autumn, or if there’s anything you’re especially excited about this autumn? I know you have a handful of one-off shows.
Asrunn: I’m a witch, so I’m naturally sensitive to the changing of the seasons. Autumn has always enchanted me with its colors, its misty mornings, the curls of steam rising from a cup of hot tea, and the return of hearty soups.
This autumn will also mean coming home after making yet another childhood dream come true. It will be a pretty big box to tick off on our “ridiculously cool but slightly crazy things we never really believed we’d get to experience one day” list.
*Get your tickets here.
