ENSLAVED guitarist Ivar Bjørnson has been announced as one of the curators of Roadburn Festival 2015 alongside WARDRUNA's Einar Kvitrafn Selvik. As curators, both Ivar and Einar will personally select the bands for their curated Roadburn event, named ‘Houses of the Holistic’, and play special shows with ENSLAVED and WARDRUNA respectively as well.
The Norwegian pair, both former Roadburn performers, have played an important role in bringing together the past, present and future sounds of hard rock, progressive metal, and alternative scenes, which makes them the ideal choice to carry on the tradition that began in 2008.
One of the most hard-hitting and progressive bands to come out of Norway, ENSLAVED has drawn other musical genres and artistic expressions into the realm of metal, while being recognized for merging tradition and modernity in a unique blend of rock, prog and black metal, earning them Spellemann Awards (Norwegian Grammys) for much acclaimed and groundbreaking albums such as »Isa« (2004), »Ruun« (2006), and »Vertebrae« (2008) among others.
ENSLAVED 's performance, dubbed ‘House of Northern Gods’, will consist of a set list specially put together for ‘Houses of the Holistic’, featuring songs from the band's entire catalogue that embody the Norse gods, with accompanying visuals created by revered Romanian artist, Costin Chioreanu. Be prepared for a surprise or two, or even more.
Ivar Bjørnson comments: “To say that my dream as a kid was to one day curate the Roadburn Festival would perhaps be to take it a tad too far – but it isn’t that far from the truth. There’s some ridiculously big shoes to fill, but luckily negative pressure, idea draught and performance anxiety aren’t something I’m into. It is my favourite festival in one of my favourite parts of the world; so this is nothing short of one the biggest honours I’ve been given! It is a privilege to undertake this challenge in twosome with Einar; an artist I truly feel in tune with artistically and philosophically – now it is all about hard work and dedication to ensure that the audience and the festival itself is given a Friday to enjoy, experience and remember. I for one can’t wait!”
Roadburn Festival 2015 will run for four days from Thursday, April 9 to Sunday, April 12, 2015 at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands. ‘Houses of the Holistic’, co-curated by Ivar Bjørnson will take place on Friday, April 10, 2015.
ENSLAVED 's most current album »RIITIIR« was released on September 28, 2012 via Nuclear Blast. You can order your copy here: http://smarturl.it/EnslavedCD