In 2022, I wrote a review concerning Bojany, the first release of the Polish pagan folk band Furda, and I loved that album for its ‘forget-about-the-rules-we-just-do-it-like-we-feel’ attitude and the mischievous elements in the music. One of Furda’s members, flutist/singer Bolesław Ren Rygiel, asked me last year if I wanted to listen to music of another project he had set up with his then girlfriend, now wife Karolina Rygiel. The band they started together is called STFUR. Through a musical platform they met up with Antti Martikainen, a Finnish producer and composer who wanted to make Nordic-style folk music, mixing ethnic folk instruments with his signature epic orchestral sound. Together the three of them started working on an album. Ren and Karolina wrote the music and recorded it. Antti was resposible for the orchestation, the mix and the mastering. The end result is a wonderful pagan folk double album called Alatyr and brought out under the name Runecraft.

Two albums in one

The album Alatyr comes in two versions; an orchestrated version and an acoustic one. From a CeltCast point of view the acoustic version is more in keeping with our station, so I’ll focus on that album first.

The first note of the first song Svyatogor immediately sets the tone. Runecraft aim to tell the stories of old gods, heroes, rituals and mystical Slavic creatures through music and do so instantly. That first strike sounds primordial, ancient and oozes mythical history. The guitar, the Irish tin whistle, Ren’s dark, deep throat singing voice and the way the song is produced, with aeons of time smeared over it just make these first notes stand out. I’m there, you got me hooked straight away.

There is so much happening that I find it hard to pinpoint the highlights in this opening track. The song itself is the highlight actually. It’s dark and cheerful at the same time. You have the dark throat singing of Ren and the archaic, tribal sound on one side, but then you have the cheeky slightly mischievous Irish whistle notes flowing all over this song. Not to mention the upbeat percussion that make it impossible to sit still while listening. The perfect mix of Ren’s other band Furda and the positive flute vibes of SeeD‘s Koen van Egmond, with a slight touch of Omnia meets The Moon and the Nightspirit to finish things off.

A beautiful ode to Svyatogor, a legendary gigantic Slavic knight, who according to legend was so big that Mother Earth could only barely hold him, so he lived in the mountains.

Mavka, a delicate touch of heaven

Passing the Furda-meets-Sowulo ballad Nocne Istoty we reach the second highlight on Alatyr, called Mavka. This time I can pinpoint exactly why I love this song so much: just listen to that tantalizing flute melody coming in after the intro this time written and played by Karolina. Both Karolina and Ren are virtuosos on their wind instruments, just as Koen van Egmond is. That nostalgic, almost lonesome feel Karolina is able to put into this flute melody is just astounding. The perfect mix between pagan folk and acoustic ambient dance music. After a first listening session my notes said: ‘This song feels like a warm bath with you weightlessly floating around in the water.’

The song is actually about a Mavka, a female spirit in Ukrainian folklore and mythology. Legend says she is the long-haired “Soul of the Forest”, typically depicted as a temptress figure who lures men to their deaths. Well, every note of that flute solo oozes out that legend. Well done, Runecraft.

The fourth song, Wotan, can only be about one legendary figure. The mighty Allfather himself. And you can hear that: this song breathes epicness from start to finish. Going back to my initial notes again: ‘This song is deep and dark. As if the spirits of the underworld are forcing themselves out of the caverns of the earth. And they are no white lighters. No, these spirits are warriors, wolfriders and black knights. These spirits are scary.‘

Still the music stays playful. Everything feels right here. The tribal rhythms, the driving bow string sound (made by attaching a guitar string to a cardboard tube with an iron nail), the flute solos, and especially the vocals. Ren throws everything at this song. Heilung-style chants, throat singing, whispered screams. This is how you use your voice as a bonus instrument.

The final duel between Ren’s monotone chant and the flute energetically swirling around it is a magical example of how Karolina and Ren created the perfect musical world for this Runecraft project.

Ren: ‘Karolina and me both do the vocals. We also both play a similar set of instruments: string, mandolin, guitar, bowed instruments (partly self made), viola, cello and all kinds of flutes. Beside these I alone take care of: jaw harps, reed instruments, didgeridoo, horns and more advanced, ethnic flutes like the Bulgarian kaval. I also recorded the drums on our songs. And of course made some instruments myself, like the cardboard tube ‘nyckelharpa’ you spotted. We write songs together. When it comes to who composes the songs, sometimes Arunka (Karolina) takes the lead, sometimes I do, but it is very much always a collaboration process.’

Instrumental Pagan folk (with vocals)

Which takes us straight into the next highlight, Maypole, which can only be described as an instrumental song with vocals. Come again? The explanation is simple: while Ren and Karolina sing a lot on this album, their voices are mostly used as an added instrument. The perfect way to transfer even more emotions and feelings into their already rich and evocative sound. This song, Maypole, just oozes spring sunshine and joy. You are there, dancing in the sunlight. A breeze flowing though your hair. Your loved one dancing in front of you. The wet grass tickling your bare feet. A perfect bliss of peacefulness.

Mavka, my favourite song of this amazing pagan folk double album

From that spring feeling, we dive straight into the underworld. I love that about this album, the contrast between one song and the next. From the joys of a maypole dance into the deep realms of the Polish underworld. Rotika is a Polish demon who lives in the gateway to the underworld, be it in the wetlands or deep in the Polish forests. Some even say he lives inside old willow trees. In some legends he is seen as the equivalent of Leshy, the protector spirit of the Slavic forests.

The clever musical contrast between dark epic folk and beautiful ambient folklore continues yet again. After the haunting musical portrayal of Rokita, we get the mesmerising epic melody that is called Zoryas, the feminine personification of dawn.
According to Wikipedia she is often depicted as the sister of the Sun, the Moon, and Danica, the Morning Star, with which she is sometimes identified. She lives in the Palace of the Sun, opens the gate for him in the morning so that he can set off on a journey through the sky and guards his white horses.
Well, you can hear all that in this majestic tune.

After which we dive straight into the darker side of Slavic mythology again. First with a visit to the Nav, the souls of the dead, and then the Bald Mountain, Lysa Gora, where the witches would gather for their sabbath. Ending with another more epic sounding tune featuring the gold-like warrior-musician Misizla.

It is hard to compare Runecraft’s music with other bands. They have their own distinctive archaic pagan folk sound just like Furda. Sometimes I sense a whiff of SeeD, sometimes a wave of the darkness of the Moon and the Nightspirit, especially in the male vocals. And quite often I feel a natural connection to the first two albums of Sowulo: Alvenrad and especially Sol. If you have music of these artists in your collection you are definitely going to like the acoustic Runecraft album too.

Meet Antti Martikainen: Epic Music Composer

So what does Antii Martikainen add to this already wonderful music? Well, in short, a whole orchestra with a full choir as a side dish.
Svyatogor opens in almost the same way as the acoustic album. But soon a male choir adds flavour, strings come in and before you know it a brass section and kettledrums open up a whole new dimension of epicness. This is Slavic folk music on a GRAND scale. This is Sowulo’s Alvenrad meets Nightwish‘s orchestral interlude in Ghost Love Score. This is truly epic with a capital E. This you want to play as loud as you can just to feel the whole scale of it. You just have too. Think Lord of the Rings soundtrack. It really sounds this grand. And the cool thing is Antti, doesn’t throw all his musical cards on the table right away. Even with the epic beginning, he manages to build on it during the five minutes of the song, making Svyatogor end on a stunning climax with the whole orchestra shining in its full glory. A song so worthy of the mighty giant knight/hero Svyatogor. Music so epic it can only be carried by a mountain.

Listening on, Antti does the same thing with Nocne Istoty. It begins small again, as Karolina and Ren originally wrote the song. Then you can hear how Antti takes the song and starts writing himself, including more and more melody lines. Adding to the original melody; building on it; layer upon layer; epicness upon grandness. Building this rhythmical chant into an epic war song.

A small introduction

On Bandcamp Antti introduces himself like this:
“I’m an independent composer from Finland. I make all sorts of stuff from ethnic, folk and traditional music to epic orchestral battle music and metal. My music is usually very melodic, rhythmic and simple, but diverse.”
Well he and I may have a different opinion on the term simple, but everything else fits. On Runecraft, he kinda does what Michael Kamen did with Metallica‘s music on their S&M album. Weaving his interpretation into the original music he was given.

And the result—although pagan folk, not metal—is just as grand and full-on as S&M was. In the end, I just had to contact Antti Martikainen and ask him about Runecraft. How he met Ren and Karolina, why he chose them for this project, about the whole process behind this amazing album. Luckily Antii was happy to oblige:

“It’s a pleasure to share a bit of the “behind the curtain” magic for this project. As a composer and producer rooted in the Finnish orchestral tradition, I’m always looking for voices that carry a specific, ancient weight—and that’s exactly what led to the birth of Runecraft.

I actually discovered Arunka [Karolina Rygiel’s nickname] and Ren through Fiverr, a freelancer service. I hired them to produce some Slavic-sounding music because I lacked that musical style in my library. From the first track Ren delivered, it was obvious to me that he and Arunka were a great fit for the project. They didn’t just deliver the usual cheap and fast “Fiverr-slop,” but very carefully crafted pieces that sounded original, authentic, and fresh to me. This raw, earthy authenticity contrasts beautifully with my epic orchestral arrangements. Runecraft wasn’t a planned project; it simply emerged from our collaboration.

While Arunka and Ren were the architects of the core songs-composing and recording the primary melodies and structures for the tracks on Alatyr – my role was to enhance the songs with orchestration, percussion, choirs, and SFX [atmospheric sound effects], and finally to mix, master, and publish the album. In this case, it actually became two albums because there was so much content! My goal was to ensure that the delicate folk instruments and vocals weren’t swallowed by the orchestra, maintaining a balance where you can feel the intimacy of the vocals alongside the scale of the symphony.”

As is already clear from this review, in my opinion Antti achieved all he was aiming for.

So which album do I like best? Is that important? Both albums are great. Both I can recommend highly. Both are good in their own way. The acoustic album I adore for its archaic, slightly dark sound and its cheekiness. The orchestral album I love for all its grandeur. That wall of sound that sweeps me off my feet time and time again. A few weeks ago I saw a performance of gaming in concert by the Danish National Symphony Orchestra on television and all the orchestral Runecraft songs would have fitted in there perfectly. None would have sounded out of place. Is there a bigger compliment possible? I think not!

Luckily both albums come in one package, so you don’t have to choose. Enjoy them both. They are well worth it.

Cliff

Editor: Iris
Artwork: Karolina & Ren Rygiel
Pictures: STFUR, Antii Martikainen

You can find Runecraft here:

You can find STFUR here:

You can find Antii Martikainen here: