Wardruna are about to turn the Royal Albert Hall from an Italianate marvel into a Nordic ritual landscape. Before that, though, JO QUAIL brings the kind of classical splendour this building was made for – albeit with a twist. The London cellist is a one-woman dynamo who, through the power of looper pedals, crafts entire symphonies from just one instrument. Rex introduces her singular style, stacking layers of noise and silken texture from her varied playing. She even adds percussion by smacking her cello. It sounds simple, yet her talent is proven by the towering compositions she creates, as well as the fact she’s the only artist doing this on this scale.
There are lots of misconceptions about WARDRUNA. Many view Einar Selvik’s collective as a Viking nostalgia fest – a reputation they’ve inadvertently played into by soundtracking Vikings and Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla. However, they pull influence from across Nordic history and Norse mythology, with the goal not of mindlessly celebrating olden times, but simply giving their traditions a voice in the modern age.
