Nordic Folk musician Gealdýr premieres a new track and music video Druí

Gealdýr is a project by a very talented musician from the Netherlands, Jonathan Barendsma. He “aims to bring Old Norse wisdom back to life through music”. Gealdýr started in 2019 and has become an established name in the Nordic folk/Viking genre over the past few years, and has 140K monthly listeners on Spotify. He also collaborates with film and game productions, in particular, we can hear his music in Netflix’s Vikings: Valhalla.

Today, at Beltane 2024, he premiered a new track and music video called Druí. On YouTube, he comments: Much knowledge has been lost about the Druí (Meaning Druid in Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic) since it’s believed that it was forbidden for Druids to record their knowledge in written form. “Druí” weaves ancient symbols with modern musical elements to portray the Druids profound understanding of the earth’s cycles, celebrated during solstices and equinoxes, embodying their belief in the cyclic nature of life, death, and rebirth.

The video is probably one of the most complex ones that Gealdýr and his collaborators have produced to date (they burned something really big, apparently!), featuring an atmospheric drone track and very matching, evocative imagery that transposes the viewer to the realm of pagan rithuals. (It is actually very fitting for Beltane where fire purification is a part of the festivities.)

The music video was filmed on the Autumn Equinox 2023 by a UK director Oliver Hollingdale.