New Ambience: Vikings

Greetings Patrons,

Like many tracks, this one didn't start out the way it ended. I was working with some percussion sounds and coming up with rhythmic ideas and the more I worked on it, the more I kept thinking about Vikings in their longships. 

Before I decided to commit to this idea,  however, I thought it might be good to do some research as to what Viking music was actually all about. Well, it turns out we don't know a whole lot. There is quite a bit known about their instruments - various wind, string and percussion -  but not all that much about how they were played. But there is this:

"Never before I have heard uglier songs than those of the Vikings in Slesvig (Denmark). The growling sound coming from their throats reminds me of dogs howling, only more untamed." - An Arab merchant visiting Denmark in the 10th c.

It's also clear that as they travelled so extensively, their music most likely evolved quite a bit as they were exposed to new cultures.

So here's my take on Viking music. Nothing is authentic in terms of instruments, so it became all about the vibe. I used synths to create guttural drones, an unplugged electric violin recorded acoustically to create the scraping string section in the middle, choral shouts, drums and a sampled jaw harp. 

My original plan for this was for it to be a seafaring track so I created  the ambience portion with various wind, wave and rowing sounds but then I thought that the whole thing could also sound really cool as a shoreside encampment, or funeral perhaps. Something with a roaring pyre and a bunch of bearded men drinking something foul. So I ended up making that as well. 

I've attached 3 additional tracks for patrons, music-only, ambience-only (ship) and ambience-only (shore). I hope you find these useful.

Thank you all, as always, for your continuing support.

Best,

Tim

https://tabletopaudio.com