Interview:	NYTT LAND
Title:	Pathfinder to the essential

When Natasha 'Baba Yaga' and Anatoly Pakhalenko met for the very first time, fate had something very specific in mind for them - first they became a couple, then the metaphysical quickly took hold.

In 2013 the two Siberian necromancers first set out to turn their arch-mystical, shamanic-spiritual visions into musical deeds, and this brought forth one of the most creative and fascinating legations from the Nordic Ritual Folk field ever.

Currently, with the new and seventh album „Torem“, the maximally authentic sound wizards from Kalachinsk, Russia, are once again enabling their followers to exit and return to their own souls.


As percussionist Anatoly, who is responsible for Nytt Land's beguiling throat singing and who also knows how to elicit highly engaging sounds from his talharpa, lets us know, „Torem“ marks the beginning of a new trilogy. 


„A trilogy about a shaman's journey through the three worlds. This is a reference to the traditional beliefs and cosmology of the indigenous peoples of our native land of Siberia. Torem, translated from the Khanty language - Finno-Ugric language branch - means ‚Great Sky‘. And it was with a journey to the Great Sky that we decided to start this new chapter of our creative and life path.“



Great new compositions with so many touching, evocative and summoning moments - how do you rate the new album itself compared to its predecessor „Ritual“?



„As I have repeatedly mentioned in various interviews - the ‚Ritual‘ album, the work on it has become very important for us, in many ways a key milestone on our path. And two years later, I can confidently confirm these words. A lot has happened during the pandemic, first of all within ourselves, in our thoughts and views on the world around, rethinking, reevaluation of many things in connection with the feeling of a changing world. And the album ‚Ritual‘ became a reflection of the experience. To a certain extent, the new album is an evolution of us, our music in ‚Ritual‘. This is precisely the evolution, and you will undoubtedly hear it, listening to them in a row. There are many common points, but at the same time there are new, deeper feelings. This is the evolution of ourselves. Those experiences that we had at the time when the work on the album was going on.“



Please bring the lyrical main content of „Torem“ closer - nature, spirituality, shamanism, legends, myths and deepest connection and monumental love for over-mother nature?



„All this, passed through personal, personal experience. As always - first of all, inspiration comes from the native Siberian nature. Legends and mythology of our indigenous peoples, and of course the peoples of the North. The Scandinavian theme has been with us from the very beginning, and we carefully continue to work with this invaluable cultural treasure of the world. Like historians. Like musicians. Like connoisseurs. If we talk about shamanism, then of course it is personal, first of all. We cannot call ourselves shamans, because shamanism is a gift or a curse, and this is not given to everyone. Now it has become fashionable to be called a shaman, but this is just a fashion that has nothing to do with real shamanism. We have encountered real shamans in our lives and we know that this is not always what this person wanted in his life. The gift or curse is given regardless of your desire. Great Sky chooses. Our path is to listen, hear and project in sound what we want to say to the world. Constantly reminding the modern world of what really matters.“



What do you experience, feel and perceive most in yourself when you unite with Mother Nature in a profound to contemplative way? 



„First, harmony, complete detachment from the surrounding reality. And then the music comes.“



Would you like to describe your most formative, most interesting or most haunting and most supernatural experience in - nocturnal - nature?



„As a child, when I first stayed in the taiga alone at night, of course I was scared. The forest is louder at night than during the day, I think everyone here will agree with me. And it doesn't matter where - in the Siberian taiga or in the Amazon jungle. But this night in the taiga in my childhood became one of those steps that I still follow. Fear of the dark and the unknown is normal. But after a while, he succumbs to curiosity, and from here the discovery begins.“



Founded 2013, now seven albums … did you ever expected to stay this long and to keep such a spiritual way in your art? Or is it anyway the case that the more superficial and indifferent the majority of societies become, the more the proportion of those who want to break out of it
increases, seeking their salvation in archaic recollection, which in turn fully confirms, affirms and only drives you guys on even more?



„Well, we just create, we create. We can no imagine our existence without it. Creativity is a drug, it's a fact. This music is not just music for us. This is the rhythm of our life clothed in sound. To some extent, opposition to the modern world with its politicians mad with thirst for blood and power.“



Did you get reports from listeners so far, which did serious shamanistic rituals, nature summonings etc. with your sounds? I can easily imagine that …



„Yes, we are regularly in touch with many of our listeners. Sometimes there is absolutely no time for this, but nevertheless we try to read and respond to messages. The connection with nature, the feeling of its infinite power, the rituals that help to reveal this, we discuss all this and share our experience. The most important thing is not to forget that man is just a part of nature, and our strength is given to us in order to help, to create - but not to destroy.“



Which - old - instruments and real, physical sound generators did you use for all the fascinating new sounds?



„In the new album, we mainly use our classical set of instruments - talharpa, leather drums, vargans, flutes and noise percussion. But at the same time, we also discovered some new ones - for example, a musical bow, this is an real primal overtone instrument, the progenitor of the vargan, a very unusual instrument with deep vibrations that, when played, are transmitted throughout the body. And also from our travel to Latin America, we brought several Aztec clay flutes, and they also sound in the new album. These are amazing instruments with their wild and archaic sound. They fit perfectly into our music.“



The touching, archaic throat singing styles .... how did you develop them so far? That surely doesn't happen overnight ... one knows such things mainly from Mongolian bands like The Hu.



„We practice Siberian throat singing, more precisely two main styles - khoomei and kargyraa. Constant practice, without it in any way. Throat singing is a real treasure of the peoples of Eastern Siberia and Northern Mongolia. A tradition inherent in the steppe peoples. Sometimes I come across rather bold statements that allegedly the Vikings also had throat singing, but as a historian and researcher I can safely say that this is complete nonsense. You can ask The Hu band, I'm sure you'll hear the same thing.“



High time for me to interview Nytt Land, as I appreciate your outstanding serious and in-depth art since years. I mainly listen to Metal - from which musical camps do you get the most interest? All seem to know Wardruna, but these ones also should know Nytt Land, I say!



„In music, my preferences are predominantly classic British rock and American country. A strange combination, but this is exactly the kind of music that I listen to most often on the road. This is not inspiration, but relaxation, ideal when I am traveling train or bus, or flying on an airplane.“



Btw, are there any things, books, movies, etc. that can or have influenced you as musicians?



„I have not read fiction for a long time, but if we talk about it, then probably one of the first books that dragged me into the world of Scandinavian mythology is ‚The Lord Of The Rings‘. In my childhood and youth, I reread it every year, at some point it even became a tradition for me. Now these are mainly scientific historical monographs and studies. Sometimes on long winter Siberian evenings there are moments when I put everything aside and play video games, mostly adventure like ‚Tomb Raider‘.“



Who of you guys out of the band did the lion's share of the new song material - and how did your collaboration for the new work go?



„Natasha is our main composer and songwriter. 99 % of the album is her work. I help her with the realization of her ideas, with the recording of instruments, as well as mixing and mastering the material. Just like all our videos - in terms of creativity, this is mainly the work of Natasha. She acts as the director of all the clips, and she also edits the material. I help with camera, drone and color grading.“



How was the selection of songs for it done - was it difficult or rather easy for you?



„And there is no choice or selection. The album is created as a whole - from the first composition to the final sound. From the very beginning. The first composition is born and the next one is born from it, and so on, to the climax and then to the finale. Natasha creates exactly as a single piece of work.“



What is the one song with the most meaning for you on the new album and why?



„Depending on what aspects to judge. Emotionally, my favourite track on the new album right now is ‚Manito‘. In it, I feel that full-fledged harmony, coupled with some otherworldly energy. Charging, calming energy.“


Nearly everything has changed since Covid - the world, the music business, the societies - how much have you changed, how much have your views on true art changed now?



„Just listen carefully to the ‚CVLT‘ album, recorded and released in that old, pre-pandemic world, and the ‚Torem‘ album, and you will hear everything in our music. As I said, everything that we experience, everything is reflected in it. It is our reaction to the world around us. Take care of your local nature, treat it with respect and teach it to your children. Thanks for the interesting questions, It was interesting to talk. Best regards from Siberia!“


© Markus Eck, 23.09.2023

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