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Sowulo - ''A deep magical human experience is full of highs and lows''

  • Writer: Sparky
    Sparky
  • Aug 3
  • 5 min read
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Created by Faber Horbach, Sowulo is much more than a mere musical journey. Using traditional instruments and Anglos Saxon vocals the result is a stunning cinematic soundscape that takes the listener through Nordic, Dark Folk and world music.  Every release is a deeply intense moving experience, representing the ritual that is Sowulo, and the latest masterwork is  Niht. A personal journey flavoured by grief. Was it a cathartic experience to create music for your experience?


Faber Horbach ‘All the albums I made so far are strongly conceptual and very personal. They follow my spiritual path. This album was extra hard and had an extra depth to it because it was made in a period where both my father and step-father died, so I was in a dark place. Darkness and death became the backbone of the album. Making this album was a way for me to dive deep into what grief, darkness and the night on a symbolic level had to tell me.


It is quite primal and visceral as well. Was it a challenge to maintain the Anglo-Saxon vocals when rage or loss felt more immediate?

''Anglo-Saxon works as a magical language for me because it’s connected to my ancestors, and because it’s not in my native language, I experience the words more like a feeling instead of as a cognitive thing; it’s more alive and triggers more on an emotional level. So when I need to give words to rage, loss or deep spiritual and philosophical experiences, Anglo-Saxon is there to give me the right words that feel right for me.


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It is spiritual. Its connection to something larger than the individual and its ability to make the soul move regardless of the emotion?

''The things I experience on my spiritual journey are universally human experiences and therefore it’s also always larger than the individual. On a deep level it tells the same story as the story that unfolds on a cosmic scale. At least, that’s what I often feel. And maybe that large cosmic experience within ourselves is called ‘the soul’. I don’t have the final say on any of these things of course, but I think about the relationship between the inner world and the large cosmic cycles of nature often.


The power of the ritual?  and the juxtaposition of darkness and light?

''Juxtaposition and duality are deeply rooted in our existence. The one and the other co-create each other and keep each other alive. Without darkness there is no light, without silence there is no sound, without suffering there is no joy, without death there is no life.



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The exploration of darkness as not something to be feared as on Āsteorfan. What truly matters?

''- Yes, Āsteorfan means 'To die' in Anglo Saxon, and it is a song about overcoming the dark periods in life, and empowering you to face your fear of death, or the death of your ego. Duringers strength during challenging times, and it encourages you to meet obstacles with courage. The song and lyrics are a reminder that life is not meant to be constantly full of just light and goodness. In fact, the dark moments are not your enemy; they help you gain insight into what truly matters.


Is it accepting the inevitable than defiance of it? What happens after?

''It has everything to do with surrendering to what life offers you; both the good and the bad. And to see it as a dance, and to go with that flow. Sometimes you do a step forward, sometimes a step backwards. Sometimes it looks like you will fall but then you come back up again. It’s not passively accepting bad situations, it’s the opposite; you energetically keep dealing with whatever comes on your path and you keep on moving full of life. A deep magical human experience is full of highs and lows, and I feel that both are necessary to make a life as rich and full as possible.


Hope vs despair?  And the transformation of the individual through experience?

''As a human I think it’s important to not get too attached to your ego. If you are too solidified in your ego, life will try and knock that ego down, which will ultimately lead to despair, and then you need the sensation of ‘hope’ to keep on going and to find a solution to your problem(s). But if you could be more transparent or fluid in a way, these ‘bad things’ that happen to you become ‘just things’ that are happening, but not necessarily things that happen ‘to you’. Some things can then move away from you or through you, and they can end up solving themselves.I try to apply this sense of fluidity and detachment from my own ego so that I don’t drown in every little thing. It helps me to discover what really matters to me. It also helps me to face deep challenges with a clearer head and move through darkness more easily.



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The cyclical nature of existence and Heolstor Sċeadu?  Was light born from darkness and so it must return?

''Exactly, the beginning point and the end point are the same. It’s the cyclical nature of the eternal return. So the album opens with Niwe Mōna, meaning the new moon. It’s the point where you can’t see the moon: only the nothingness from which it’s born. The last track of the album is called Heolstor Sċeadu, meaning Covering shadow. At that point we find ourselves in total darkness again, as does the moon, and the cycle begins again.On this album the Moon cycle plays an important role, because it gives the concept a cyclical dynamic. And in between the songs about the Moon there are the songs about the Night itself on a symbolical and more philosophical level.


Is the emotion of the song and its message more important than following a traditional song structure?

''Yes, absolutely. I always see my songs and my lyrics as this movement that develops from one point to the next. Similarly I try to capture that movement in the music as well, and I try to translate the lyrical concept to the musical composition as best I can. But those are always the guiding forces behind the compositions, and I never intend to end up in a traditional song structure. If it does happen, it’s purely by accident because that’s how it happened to work.


The importance of presenting a true expression of oneself through your music?

''I feel that every form of expression revolves around authenticity. We live in a world with a lot of fakeness and inauthenticity, and I feel like it’s up to all of us to show our own reality as much as possible. If it’s not true, then why make it at all? Taking your work seriously and taking responsibility for what you’re bringing into the world is very important to me.



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Do you define your music as how much one puts themselves into their art honestly and fearlessly?

''Yes, all the way.


How do you view the rise of traditional music? Do you think it will continue to grow?

''I love that the music that I’ve been obsessed with for a long time is now on the rise. However, lots of overly commercial ‘viking music’ pops up like mushrooms and it doesn’t seem to stop. I hope that this scene will bring more meaningful songs, artwork and pictures instead of making art that is designed to work primarily as a commercial product. I like quality above quantity way more, so I hope that quality will increase in the years to come.


Where does Sowulo progress from here? Is the creation of music a continual one?

Music is how I express myself, and I’m always working on new music. So yes, that’s a continuous thread in my life. There will obviously always be new Sowulo music, and we’re also going to keep playing it live.


Top 6 favourite albums of all time?

Wardruna - Runaljod - gap var ginnunga

Korn - Issues

Irfan - The Eternal Return

Tool - Ænima

Garmarna - Guds Speleman

Slipknot – Iowa

 




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