A song produced by A.T. (of Nest and Syven) for a fan mission campaign "The Hammerite Imperium", for the classic first person sneaker game Thief 2. Heavily inspired by Eric Brosius' work. Features a considerable amount of distorted kantele, backed up by M. Marjomaa (of Aarni) on guitars. You can dowload all the tracks A.T. did for this project for free at: http://www.mikseri.net/artists/unguardedreliquary.116326.php?displ_lang=en

A.T. - Night's Work

Nest plays beautiful and atmospheric acoustic ambient, where the driving force is the traditional Finnish lap harp - the kantele. Originally released on Nest's demo "Fabled Lore".

Nest - The Elk King's Daughter

Nest - An Oaken Citadel

Nest plays beautiful and atmospheric acoustic ambient, where the driving force is the traditional Finnish lap harp - the kantele. Originally released on the "Hidden Stream" split CD with Isafjord.

Nest - Enchantment For Few

Nest - Harbinger Of A Greater Winter

Nest plays beautiful and atmospheric acoustic ambient, where the driving force is the traditional Finnish lap harp - the kantele. Originally released on Nest's debut full length "Woodsmoke".

Nest - The Silvershade Lynx

Nest - Renewal

Nest plays beautiful and atmospheric acoustic ambient, where the driving force is the traditional Finnish lap harp - the kantele. Originally released on a split vinyl with Agalloch. Includes vocals by John Haughm and acoustic guitar by Don Anderson of Agalloch.

"Once we played in this forest
in the shade of the tall trees at the dawn of this particular time
but many an aeon has passed since
and many a fate has changed

...and our great woods died
no new seeds have been planted for ages
and those that were have been torn out from the soil"

Nest - Last vestige of old joy

Nest turns their acoustic ambient into a more viscerous direction. Shades of darkness color the atmospheric music that is still grounded on the sound of the Finnish lap harp - the kantele. Originally released on Nest's full length "Trail Of The Unwary".

This melodic tune flirts with the mystic. It is based on the interplay of the kantele and the flute, but it also contains varied song structures, a hefty dose of atmospheric elements and steadfast drumming.

Nest - Moonbow

Nest turns their acoustic ambient into a more viscerous direction. Shades of darkness color the atmospheric music that is still grounded on the sound of the Finnish lap harp - the kantele. Originally released on Nest's full length "Trail Of The Unwary". This bear themed song features John Haughm of Agalloch on vocals.

Kontio is one of the many euphemisms we Finns have for the bear. In older times we dared not speak its real name aloud. Doing so would have brought all kinds of misfortune to our lives, so we came up with dozens of these nicknames for the king of our forests. This is a straightforward tune honouring the great beast with the suitably grandiose sound of horns accompanied by flowing kantele melodies, steadily hammering drums, and a strong primal atmosphere.

Nest - Kontio

Syven plays atmospheric, dark, and heavy ambient. The traditional Finnish string instrument - the kantele - is joined by atmospheric synth layering, ritualistic percussion and heavy distortion where appropriate to convey shamanistic and primordial themes. Originally released on Syven's debut full length "Aikaintaite".

Syven - Syvyys

Syven - Jäljet

Syven plays atmospheric, dark, and heavy ambient. The traditional Finnish string instrument - the kantele - is joined by atmospheric synth layering, ritualistic percussion and heavy distortion where appropriate to convey shamanistic and primordial themes. Originally released on Prophecy Productions' exclusive compilation "Whom the Moon a Nightsong Sings".

Syven - How Fare The Gods?

A.T. of Nest & Syven got carried away with inspiration when he saw Ulver perform live February 1st in Finland. There was a certain improvisational jam that struck him particularly, and he wanted to study what made the piece so enticing. A study turned into something more, and before long there was a full blown reinterpretation of the song. This version includes elements from the improvisation heard in Helsinki as well as the version performed in the Czech Republic on February 7th, and A.T.'s own personal touch.

A.T. - Live Improvisation Jam (Ulver reinterpretation)

A unique glimpse into how the kantele was played in Finland in the times of old. Very few, even in Finland, have had a chance to witness the old way where the player played for himself, wrapped in thought, and letting the music take him to uncharted places of inspiration. Time lost all meaning, and nothing could break the connection between the musician and the instrument while his fingers danced on the strings made of horse hair or steel.

The kantele is traditionally an instrument of the lone player, who often dedicated time for playing as night drew close and open flame provided illumination in the corner of a simple wooden dwelling. The other members of the family would take awhile to listen or to tend to their tasks in the household. Children would play, and animals run around nearby, but the concentration of the player remained unbroken until the spell of the music was finally lifted. The player seemed as he was being torn back into this world from somewhere beyond his understanding, like he woke up from a dream.

This is the old way that I, A.T., want to present to you, and I hope I have been able to convey the tradition with the respect it deserves.

Nest - Valkeaa

Audiokratik is an independent Finnish label dedicated to releasing music of a specialized nature. We strive to put the same passion into releasing that was put into the art in the first place.

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