Krauka Comes Calling to Our Region

Krauka is coming! Krauka is coming! But what is Krauka? A Viking heavy-metal band? Huh? More like a modern rock band that plays authentic replicas of Viking-era instruments and sings ancient Scandinavian sagas but then turns around and plugs the instruments into speakers and jams like something out of the future. Krauka is indeed difficult to define — and describe. But with the upcoming Release the Ravens tour, we are about to find out.
Krauka creates “sagamusic in cyberspace.” This unique music group is comprised of four professional musicians from Iceland and Denmark. The group members have extensively researched Viking-era instrumentation using primary sources of excavated instruments. Krauka members have painstakingly reconstructed these instruments — bone flutes, wooden flutes, rebec, stringed lyre, handheld skin drums and more. Their music is based on Viking tonalities and lyrics rooted in cultural beliefs and practices of the time as well as early Scandnavian literature such as the Prose Edda. The group transforms all of these authentic sources into their own sound as part of the world music genre “Nordic Roots music.” There is, quite simply, nothing on Earth quite like Krauka.
First introduced to locals at the 2007 Scandinavian Hjemkomst Festival, Krauka dazzled the crowds with their combination of electric music and “vintage” lyrics. They have performed together for ten years and traveled extensively throughout Europe, producing four albums and several music videos. These guys are fun to watch, fascinating to hear, and a blast to dance to. They are starting their first U.S. tour in Fargo-Moorhead next week to promote their new CD, Release the Ravens.
On Thursday, Oct. 1, visitors to the Hjemkomst Center will have a chance to hear them in a concert/community dance focused on their Viking roots. The first hour will take place in the Hopperstad Stave Church, with seating limited to the first 50 ticket-buyers (so stop by the Center and buy early!) and will include the vocal talents of stav singer Kari Tauring of Minneapolis as the opening act. At 8 p.m. everyone will move into the Hjemkomst ship gallery where the instruments will be electrified and the music will be amplified and everyone will be free to dance, dance, dance. If you aren’t interested in the milder more authentic Viking experience the church setting has to offer, come at 8:30 for the bigger concert experience. For just $10 you can stay for both!
The Spirit Room, 111 Broadway, will host the band along with Native American musician Keith Bear for a cultural exchange of indigenous music on Friday, Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. Using drums and flutes and other instruments of wood and bone, the artists will discuss their unique traditions and commonalities in a presentation both entertaining and educational. Admission is free, but space is limited to 60, so come early and consider a free-will donation to help pay the expenses of getting this band over from Denmark.
Saturday night will find Krauka at the Aquarium for two different shows. The first, at 7 p.m., will be alcohol free and so people of all ages will be welcome for a $5 cover charge. Then at 9 p.m., the 21-and-over crowd will have a chance to imbibe for a $5 cover. You get four great chances to hear this amazing band in completely different locations for a variety of different musical experiences. Come to all of them and be considered an official groupie!
The band is also scheduled to provide educational workshops at MSUM (open to all who are interested) and at the Red River Alternative Learning Center. The band is then scheduled to go on to communities throughout Minnesota, including New York Mills and Minneapolis.
This community collaborative project is the brain-child of none other than Jill Johnson-Danielson, activist and outsider artist extraordinaire. Partnering with Dawn Morgan at the Spirit Room, Claudia Pratt with the Nordic Culture Clubs, the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County at the Hjemkomst Center, and a whole slew of committee members who donated many hours to plan and execute this herculean feat of international cultural exchange, Johnson-Danielson et al. have worked tirelessly on visa applications, equipment-gathering, housing and feeding the band, planning programming, and marketing, marketing, marketing, so that our community can experience the unusual and inspiring performances of this amazing band.

This project has been funded by many generous granters including the City Arts Partnership, North Dakota Humanities Council, Lake Region Arts Council, The North Dakota Council on the Arts and Arts Midwest. At press time, funding is still pending from the American-Scandinavian Foundation. Even with all of this support, the project needs paying customers to make expenses!
Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind musical experience. Come to the Hjemkomst Center on Thursday and I guarantee that you’ll want to hear the cultural presentation at the Spirit Room Friday and finally rock the house down at the Aquarium on Saturday. For tickets to the Hopperstad Stave Church portion, call or stop by the Hjemkomst Center HCSCC offices at 218-299-5511 Ext. 223. Remember, seating for that part of the show is limited to 50. Tickets will also be available at the door at 8 p.m. for the ship gallery performance.

Questions and comments: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

INFO:
Who: Krauka
When: Oct. 1-3
Where: Hjemkomst, Spirit Room, The Aquarium (in that order)
Cost: Free - $10