Einar Selvik (born 18 November 1979), also known by his

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Kvitrafn ("white raven"), is a Norwegian musician known for being the drummer of

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...

band

Gorgoroth Gorgoroth is a Norwegian black metal band based in Bergen. It was formed in 1992 by guitarist Infernus, who is the sole original member remaining, and has released nine studio albums. Gorgoroth are a Satanism, Satanic band and have drawn contro ...

from 2000 to 2004, and for fronting the Nordic folk project

Wardruna Wardruna is a Norwegian music group formed in 2003 by Einar Selvik along with Gaahl and Lindy-Fay Hella. They create musical renditions of Norse cultural and esoteric traditions and make significant use of Nordic historical and traditional instr ...

, founded in 2002. Selvik and Wardruna earned international prominence for contributing to the soundtrack and score of the television show ''

Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

''. Selvik is a founder of By Norse, a platform to support Norse and Norse-related art, music, literature, film and culture.

Musical career

On 1 March 2016, ''A Piece for Mind & Mirror'' by Skuggsjá, a collaboration between Selvik and Enslaved's

Ivar Bjørnson Ivar Skontorp Peersen, best known by his stage name Ivar Bjørnson (born 27 November 1977), is a Norwegian musician and composer. He is a founding member and the main songwriter of the extreme metal band Enslaved, and has previously been a memb ...

, was announced and streamed. Commissioned by the Norwegian government for the 200th anniversary of the

Norwegian Constitution The 'Constitution of Norway'' (complete name: The Constitution of the Kingdom of Norway; Danish: ; Norwegian Bokmål: ; Norwegian Nynorsk: ) was adopted on 16 May and signed on 17 May 1814 by the Norwegian Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll. ...

, the album tells the history of Norway, and was released by

Season of Mist Season of Mist is an independent record label and record distributor with subsidiaries in France and the United States. The record label was founded in 1996 by Michael S. Berberian in Marseille, France. From the start releasing black metal, pa ...

on 11 March. Selvik has also recorded with other projects including Det Hedenske Folk, Bak de Syv Fjell, Jotunspor,

Sahg Sahg is a three-piece Norway, Norwegian hard rock/doom metal band formed in Bergen in the summer of 2004, by key figures in the metal scene of their country: Tom Cato Visnes (King ov Hell), Einar Selvik (Kvitrafn), Olav Iversen and Thomas Toftha ...

, Dead to this World and

Faun The faun (, ; , ) is a half-human and half-goat mythological creature appearing in Greek and Roman mythology. Originally fauns of Roman mythology were ghosts ( genii) of rustic places, lesser versions of their chief, the god Faunus. Before t ...

.''Metal: The Definitive Guide'' by Garry Sharpe-Young (Jawbone Press, 2007) He worked on the soundtrack for ''

Assassin's Creed Valhalla ''Assassin's Creed Valhalla'' is a 2020 action role-playing game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is the twelfth major installment in the ''Assassin's Creed'' series, and the successor to 2018's ''Assassin's Creed Odyss ...

'' and collaborated with ''

Riot Games Riot Games, Inc. is an American video game developer, publisher, and esports tournament organizer based in Los Angeles. It was founded in September 2006 by Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill to develop ''League of Legends'' and went on to develop ...

'' for the theme song of Volibear, a ''

League of Legends ''League of Legends'' (''LoL'', commonly referred to as ''League'', is a multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games. Inspired by ''Defense of the Ancients'', a Mod (video games), custom map for ''Warcraf ...

'' character.

Personal life

Einar Selvik was born and grew up on

Osterøy Osterøy is an List of islands of Norway, island Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Nordhordland. The municipality encompasses ...

, a large inland island near

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

on the west coast of Norway. He became interested in pre-Christian

viking culture Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

in his early

adolescence Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human Developmental biology, physical and psychological Human development (biology), development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age o ...

after discovering an old book on

runes Runes are the Letter (alphabet), letters in a set of related alphabets, known as runic rows, runic alphabets or futharks (also, see ''#Futharks, futhark'' vs ''#Runic alphabets, runic alphabet''), native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were ...

. Selvik worked as a kindergarten assistant prior to Wardruna's breakthrough. Selvik is an adherent of

modern Paganism Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, spans a range of new religious movements variously influenced by the Paganism, beliefs of pre-modern peoples across Europe, North Africa, and the Near East. Despite some comm ...

characterized by

animism Animism (from meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, human handiwork, and in ...

. In a 2017 interview with ''

Morgenbladet is Norway's oldest daily newspaper, covering politics, culture and science, now a weekly news magazine primarily directed at well-educated readers. The magazine is notable for its opinion section featuring contributions exclusively from Norweg ...

'', he talked about his worldview: "I am a strong supporter of individual responsibility. No one died for my sins. This is a slightly pagan body of thought: the gods help those who help themselves. It mirrors that you are your own god, that it is your responsibility how you behave, what you contribute in this world".

Discography

With
Gorgoroth Gorgoroth is a Norwegian black metal band based in Bergen. It was formed in 1992 by guitarist Infernus, who is the sole original member remaining, and has released nine studio albums. Gorgoroth are a Satanism, Satanic band and have drawn contro ...

* ''

Twilight of the Idols ''Twilight of the Idols, or, How to Philosophize with a Hammer'' () is a book by Friedrich Nietzsche, written in 1888, and published in 1889. Genesis ''Twilight of the Idols'' was written in just over a week, between 26 August and 3 September 18 ...

'' (2003) * ''

Black Mass Krakow 2004 ''Black Mass Krakow 2004'' is a live concert DVD by the Norwegian black metal band Gorgoroth. It was released by Metal Mind on 9 June 2008 in Europe and on 8 July 2008 in the US. The DVD is of the band's controversial 2004 concert that was filmed ...

'' (2008)

With
Wardruna Wardruna is a Norwegian music group formed in 2003 by Einar Selvik along with Gaahl and Lindy-Fay Hella. They create musical renditions of Norse cultural and esoteric traditions and make significant use of Nordic historical and traditional instr ...

* '' Runaljod - Gap Var Ginnunga'' (2009) * '' Runaljod - Yggdrasil'' (2013) * '' Runaljod - Ragnarok'' (2016) * ''

Skald A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry in alliterative verse, the other being Eddic poetry. Skaldic poems were traditionally compo ...

'' (2018) * '' Kvitravn'' (2021)

With Jotunspor

* ''Gleipnirs Smeder'' (2006)

With
Sahg Sahg is a three-piece Norway, Norwegian hard rock/doom metal band formed in Bergen in the summer of 2004, by key figures in the metal scene of their country: Tom Cato Visnes (King ov Hell), Einar Selvik (Kvitrafn), Olav Iversen and Thomas Toftha ...

* '' I'' (2006)

With Dead to this World

* ''First Strike for Spiritual Renewance'' (2007)

With
Jesper Kyd Jesper Kyd Jakobson (; ; born 3 February 1972) is a Danish composer and sound designer who has worked on various video game, television, and film projects. He has composed soundtracks for the ''Hitman (franchise), Hitman'' series, ''Assassin's ...
and
Sarah Schachner Sarah Schachner is an American composer and musician who has worked on the scores of films, television series and video games. She was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media for her ...

* ''

: Out of the North'' (2020) * ''Assassin's Creed Valhalla: The Ravens Saga'' (2020) * ''Assassin's Creed Valhalla: The Weft of Spears'' (2020)

As Ivar Bjørnson and Einar Selvik

* ''Skuggsjá'' (2016) * ''Hugsjá'' (2018) * ''Hardanger'' (2021) (Single)

As Einar Selvik

* ''Snake Pit Poetry'' (2017) * ''Volibear, The Relentless Storm'' (2020) (Single)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Selvik, Einar 1979 births Living people Norwegian male singers Norwegian male singer-songwriters Norwegian singer-songwriters Musicians from Bergen Nordic folk musicians Norwegian heavy metal drummers 21st-century Norwegian multi-instrumentalists Norwegian rock drummers Norwegian male drummers Norwegian songwriters Gorgoroth members Sahg members Norwegian modern pagans Adherents of Germanic neopaganism Performers of modern pagan music 21st-century Norwegian drummers Wardruna members