Norway’s legendary musical artist Sysselmann (Thomas Narverud) is an expert at creating sound environments that open the gates into states of consciousness that lead to ritual and meditation, guiding the listener to connect to deeper parts of themselves and broader aspects of their environment. In fact, he states that his work is foremost a personal journey of spiritual and musical development. Sysselmann’s approach is firmly grounded in the elements and history of his homeland of Norway, expressing the energy of the ancestors, land and spirit of his culture. He crafts his work with an combination of modern and natural sources. Sysselmann constructs and plays his own homemade acoustic instruments rather than relying on standard sources such as “ the Kravik Lyre and other cliche instruments for making your typical Viking music.” His instruments are combined with vocal toning, synthesizers, pipes and horns, and extensive field recordings, crafting a sonic experience capable of dramatically shifting the energy and mood of the space where the music is heard or played. His live performances deep in the woods of Norway during the night are the stuff of legend, and you can feel a strong resonance with the elements and nature in all of Sysselmann’s work. With each subsequent release, Sysselmann has offered different entry points into his approach, while still maintaining a consistent level of depth and quality of composition. Sysselmann’s first album, “The Northern Chronicles”, was born after seven severe winter storms, and expresses the essence of the coastal landscape of Norway, and it’s ancestors and ancient history. With his follow up, “Ritual of the Aurora Noir”, Sysselmann explored new territories through sound, taking us musically into realms of darkness within light. With his new album, “I Fjellets Hasitet” ( “At the Speed of the Mountain”) Sysselman has created an even deeper experience. He states that “the idea was to capture some sort of ritualistic atmosphere from 1200 years ago.” To achieve the result, Sysselmann evokes natural forces, elements and cardinal directions into the sound. To begin, he sets the tone by calling upon Lunar forces with the opening track “Manens Endelose Syklus” (The Moon’s Endless Cycle). The listener is immediately imbued with a feeling of sacred mystery. The title track “I Fjellets Hastighet” (At the Speed of the Mountain) follows, grounding the participant into the aural equivalent of rock and stone, at a glacial pace, followed by the feeling of being engulfed by the severe storms of the mountains of Norway. To balance the darkness and cold, the Sun is called upon next, with “En Hyllest in Sola” (A Tribute to the Sun). With the next four tracks we are guided through the directions of North, South, East, and West, anchoring these powers into the ceremony. Sysselman follows with “Hymne til Eine” (Hymn to the Juniper Tree), invoking the cleansing, protective energies of the Juniper tree. The Juniper is a thread The ritual comes full circle, and is concluded with “Dansen Rund Balet” (A Dance Around the Fire). The cover art, by long term artistic collaborator Peter Irish, reflects the journey that the music takes from the heights of the mountains to the depths of the mind and the Self. The art reflects the pathway the music creates through nature to the center of being, opening possibilities experience in all directions. With “I Fjellets Hasitet”, Sysselman again demonstrates why he is one of Norway’s most creative artists, continually refining his approach and ultimately transcending cultural frameworks, expressing a universal vision rooted in the land and soil beneath our feet.