The Nordic Sound with Jameson Foster

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Live from Fire in the Mountains 2026, Ivar Bjørnson of Enslaved joins Jameson once again to talk about Enslaved’s track “Spirit Helper” and its origins in their work with the Firekeeper Alliance.

Stay tuned for another interview in the near future about the new album Mi∂!

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In Nordic Sound #68 Jameson is joined by Norwegian icon Gunnhild Sundli of Gåte to talk about the new album Sigil (out today!) and reflect on Gåte’s two-decade-long role in passing on traditional stories and songs through their unique brand of folk rock. 

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Rooted in the intersection of Nordic folk tradition and contemporary rock, GÅTE have spent over two decades developing a sound that feels both ancient and fiercely present. Drawing on centuries-old ballads, oral traditions, and traditional vocal forms, the band transform these sources into music that is physical, emotionally direct and unmistakably their own.

Emerging in the early 2000s, GÅTE quickly became one of Norway’s most distinctive bands for their groundbreaking mix of Nordic folk tradition and modern rock. In 2002, their debut album, Jygri, entered at #1 on the Norwegian Albums chart and won them the Spellemann Award (Norwegian Grammy) for Best Newcomer.

“GÅTE have been drawing from traditional music and transforming it with modern means into something new right from their beginning”, Metal Hammer writes.

After two studio albums, three EPs and one live album, GÅTE took a twelve-year hiatus before returning to critical acclaim and sold-out performances with 2017’s Svevn. Following their folk-leaning LP Nord in 2021, the band went on to represent Norway in the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest with a contemporary re-imagining of “Ulveham”, a traditional Norwegian ballad. In 2025, they toured throughout Europe with Leprous.

Rather than treat tradition as a fixed reference, GÅTE approach it as a living force. Old material is not preserved for its own sake, but reworked and recontextualized, allowing it to resonate with contemporary urgency and relevance.

“Our music comes from a place where tradition is not something fixed, but something alive” the band says. “We draw from old sources because they still speak to us, and because they allow us to express something honest and human today.”

GÅTE have now completed their sixth studio album, which will be released on the band’s new label home Season of Mist. While the band has focused primarily on Norway in the past, signing with the international label reflects both the growing interest they have received from around the world and their desire to reach a wider audience.

During the fall of 2026, GÅTE will perform the album’s lead single “Sannsiger” and other new songs during a headline tour of Norway and one date in Istanbul, Turkey. Their concerts are well-known for being immersive and intense, balancing raw energy with a ritual-like focus that has earned them a glowing and growing reputation beyond the Nordic region.

Sigil is GÅTE's first album for Season of Mist and the most internationally minded chapter of their catalogue to date. Across ten tracks, the record moves through ancient legend and folk narrative to ask what survives once illusion falls away: enchantment, hunger, prophecy, mortality, and finally renewal. “Oskorsreia” conjures the Wild Hunt as a mirror for modern consumption and excess, while “Strandvaskar” draws on coastal burial superstition to stage a quiet exchange between the living and the dead. The album's emotional weight builds toward “Mi Jord”, where the earth itself seems to withdraw on shifting currents, before resolving in “Jostedalsrypa”, a song rooted in the true story of a child who survived alone in the mountains after the Black Death. Musically, Sigil threads Hardanger fiddle, nyckelharpa, and hurdy-gurdy through programmed electronics, heavy guitar, and Gunnhild Sundli's voice, with Maria Franz of HEILUNG joining on lead single "Sannsiger." The record never treats tradition as artefact. Old material is reworked rather than preserved, carrying inherited stories into something urgent and present.

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We're taking a break from the live festival interviews this week to have a familiar face back with us once again! In this episode, Jameson sits down with Jonas Lorentzen of Nebala to discuss the band's long-awaited return at this year's Midgardsblot. Jonas and I also let off some steam about AI and its affect on the Nordic music scene. 

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Welcome back to the Nordic Sound. This is the first of a few live interviews done across both Midgardsblot and Fire in the Mountains, so there is a video component for those listening on podcast if you’d like to watch the scenic places where these chats take place as a nice changeup from zoom. 

This first of the festival interview series is with mr. John Stenersen of Wardruna who is currently ramping up to release his first solo album on ByNorse, featuring traditional tunes played on Nyckelharpa with tastefully dark and brooding accompaniment on droning instruments and percussion. 

In this upcoming conversation, John and I talk about a wide range of things including the inspiration for the solo album itself and his diy introduction to the Nordic folk tradition, and we learn some about his first musical experiences as a kid too which was pretty fun. 

One caveat I always like to preface these live interviews with is because they are live at festivals, there will of course be more ambient noise than the typical Nordic Sound episode: people chatting in the distance, sound checks, seagulls, planes overhead… the works. Luckily there was nothing intrusive, but  I just wanted to mention it for posterity. It’s all part of the charm of festival interviews - it really sets the scene

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Today’s guest is a very dear friend of mine, Mattias Thedens, who is a renowned fiddler in the Norwegian folk scene and most known for his place as the frontman of folk rock band Gangar. In this episode, Mattias and I talk about the new album Dreng and the joys of touring before getting into a deeper conversation about tradition and how to handle criticism as a new artist.

Oslo-based Gangar bring a fresh take on Nordic roots music. The five-piece ensemble — Mattias Truell Thedens (Hardanger fiddle), Oskar Goedvriend Lindberget (saxophone), Richard Max (guitar), Jonas Thrana Jensen (bass), and Henrik Dullum (drums) — digs rare traditional tunes out of Norway's folk archives and rearranges them through rock, folk-metal, and jazz improvisation. The Hardanger fiddle, once banned in churches as "the devil's instrument" and now Norway's national instrument, gives the band its distinctive sound. Since their first concert in 2021 they've become one of Norway's most in-demand musical exports, playing Rudolstadt (DE), Sziget (HU), Celtic Connections (Scotland), and Port Fairy Folk Festival (Australia). Debut EP "Tre Danser" (2022, Heilo Records) was followed by debut album "Stubb" (2023). Second full-length "Dreng" was recorded in 2024 and released April 2026 on Heilo / Sounds Like Gold.

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In Nordic Sound #64 I sit down with the voices of Songleikr to discuss the making of their new album "Fuglefolk". We also geek out about birds... just a little bit. 

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After a long hiatus, the Nordic Sound returns with Jósúa Hróðgeir Rood to talk about Nexion's latest album "Sundrung". Not only is Josh a rising vocal star in the extreme metal scene, but as a scholar he is currently writing my PHD dissertation on Ásatrú as a reinvention of Old Norse Heathenism for the Social and Human Sciences department at University of Iceland. Putting two PhD students in related fields together in a zoom room is typically a recipe for disaster, but I think we managed alright ;) Thanks for the good hang, Josh!

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What a year to be a Nordic music geek, eh? This is already my fourth year of doing these year-end lists, and looking back, I do believe this year has left the greatest impression on me. Not only as a listener, but as a musician myself. I look forward to what next year has in store, but for now, it's time to reflect and enjoy on the awesome music Nordic artists have brought us this year.

Thanks for another great year, everyone, and happy holidays!

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Faber and I had such a good time hanging out for Nordic Sound 52 , that we just had to have him back on the channel to talk about Sowulo’s latest album, NIHT. We also talk about our shared challenges of listening to music as musicians (cognitive vs emotional listening), mythology, paganism, and why we seem to always use esoteric languages in this style of music.

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Runahild joins the channel once again for Nordic Sound #61 to chat about her upcoming album (and book!) Seid, in which she takes us through a personal and spiritual journey with "seid" - an ancient Nordic shamanic practice of which there is woefully little archaeological or literary record. 

Seid is out October 17th!

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