Massive guitar riffs blaze out of melancholic, mystical dark folk mists, rhythmic throbbing ignites soulful hymns - expressive, progressive and deeply emotional at their core. Analogue sound elements meander playfully through tightly woven melodic arcs and spherical rock waves, unleashed and captivating at the same time. Everything comes together, melts and culminates in a rewarding ritual, the second TVINNA album "Two - Wings Of Ember".
"Where there is light, there is also darkness. This duality pulsates in each of our songs, it is a big part of our very own perception and aesthetics. By letting the darkness shine, we hope to see the light shine brighter." (Laura Fella)
The idea for and behind TVINNA is actually as old as the hills. The unusual project got founded in 2017 with the aim of interweaving the human soul, as part of nature, into music, making it sonically tangible. The untamed sound of micro- and macrocosm spoke through their debut "One - In The Dark" (released 2021 via By Norse) and with that the cycle through creation, birth and rising from the life-giving element water began. Even then, TVINNA has been more than progressive dark folk.
Now, a pandemic and many months later, TVINNA returns with their second act "Two - Wings Of Ember" - stylistically more open, more experimental and thoroughly free. A logical consequence of their own visions and artistic concept. But also a result of the new line-up. Laura and Rafael Fella have remained from the original line-up. She, one of the enchanting voices in pagan folk band "FAUN", he, playing guitars for Swiss folk metallers "Eluveitie". In TVINNA the two combine to form a creative unit, a dual big bang. They are complemented by exceptional Swiss drummer Alain Ackermann and backing vocals of Dutch Sascha van der Meer. Together, their multicultural gathering ignites a wonderful spark, which, on the one hand creates a protective refuge in the blackness, and on the other hand manages to devour with blazing flames. Stylistically more open, experimental and free, the songs follow an inner vision to boldly rise from the darkness. Characterized by the clash of powerful soundscapes and ethereal vocals, TVINNA wants to remind us of our own roots and the deep dependance on earth.
"'Two - Wings Of Ember' is a deep look into the discrepancy of life, the infinity of being and a melancholic plunge into visions of the future and faith in oneself." (Laura Fella)
"Two - Wings Of Ember", which will be released in 2024 via By Norse, is dedicated to the next chapter of human existence - childhood, youth - and the element fire. Within eleven multifaceted sound chapters, one experiences a moving, honest and adventurous sonic journey. Mysticism, mythology and lyricism are equally firmly rooted in TVINNA's music - a deep attraction to nature and the magic of life.
Beginning with Rainer Maria Rilke's poem "Nénuphar", TVINNA wander through Old High German realms, encounter Hittite moon deities, dive into the starlit dreamlands of miraculous roman beings and let the 8th century "Wessobrunner Schöpfungsgedicht" shine through a completely new light.
"The songs are like a ritual dance - out of the darkness, into the light. A rite to honour fire, warmth and life. At the same time we experience a liberation and defection, like yielding an old burden." (Laura Fella)
Very often drawn like a prophecy, sensual melodies wind up in devotional formulas to demanding invocations, finally exploding in enlightening self-knowledge. Everything is in flux, everything is in motion, everything is possible. Rilke's words open the disc - following on from the content of the debut "One - In The Dark“ - all wrapped in into nebulous sound mysticism. "Dawn Of Mine" already reveals the enormous musical dynamics and versatilities of the album. The Old High German "Louga", the "flame", is a symbol of this inflammation. A supernatural, profoundly archaic incantation that entails an "Irwahhên", an inner awakening. A grasping of one's own possibilities, of nevertheless being able to rise above everything and define oneself as part of a greater whole. The glistening "Wings Of Ember" are an ecstatic renunciation of social bonds and inner demons, a stroke of liberation and the daring flight beyond boundaries. At the end of this dangerous ("Two Staves") and often painful ("The Fall") transformation, there is the letting go, the treading of one's own path.
"Our songwriting is, always has been, purely intuitive. I knew that our sound would change in the current line-up and expected it to be more progressive and Heavy than before, but we didn't plan anything, we just followed ourselves." (Laura Fella)
Quite programmatically, these lyrical insights are followed by an aesthetic-stylistic emancipation. Although a classic rock set of vocals, guitar, bass and drums forms TVINNA's foundation, mandola, lapsteel, overtone flutes, shamanic frame drums and an analogue MOOG synthesizer, as well as numerous nature sounds and soundscape sound generators expand instrumental possibilities and thus the creative potential. And where the sonic idea exceeds the band's own means of expression or demands perfection, guests such as Maria Graf (bukkehorn), Stephan Groth (hurdy-gurdy and vocals), Fabienne Erni (vocals) or former TVINNA members Fiona Rüggeberg (vocals) and Fieke van den Hurk (accordion) are harmoniously integrated into the greater whole. Completely freed from categories, stylistic terms and barriers, they unleash this multifaceted cosmos of sound, following the messages of the songs and their own raw, unfiltered emotions. "Two - Wings Of Ember" is an ecstatic abandonment of societal bonds and inner demons, a stroke of liberation and a daring flight beyond boundaries. An ode to the young, blossoming life; an intuitive, intense oeuvre between dark-folk, ambient, mystical ethereal voices and progressive post-rock.
Tracklist:
1. Nénuphar (02:16)
2. Dawn Of Mine (04:05)
3. Louga (feat. Fabienne Erni) (03:33)
4. Irwahhên (04:06)
5. Arma (04:46)
6. Wings Of Ember (05:00)
7. Somnia (06:46)
8. Two Staves (05:01)
9. Fortress (03:58)
10. The Fall 06:06
11. Der Weg 03:17
Comments