Danheim | |
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Birth name | Reidar Schæfer Olsen |
Born | Brøndby, Denmark | 29 April 1985
Genres | |
Occupation(s) |
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Years active | 2016–present |
Labels | Ballista Records |
Website | danheimmusic |
Reidar Schæfer Olsen (born 29 April 1985), known professionally as Danheim, is a Danish ambient and Nordic folk musician. [1] [2] [3]
Olsen was born in Brøndby [4] in 1985 and produced mostly in the electronic genre until 2016, when a strong interest in Norse mythology led him to start combining that with his music. [1] His stage name approximately means 'Danish home', taken from the Old Norse language word heim, meaning 'home'. [5]
Since 2016, Danheim has released eight records on his own independent label. [6] His style has been described by reviewers as "Brian Eno doing the soundtrack for Game of Thrones" [2] or "inspired folk music, with dark undertones". [7] Lyrically, his music deals with such tales from Norse mythology such as Hrungnir's fight with Thor, the story of Fimbulwinter and much more. [7]
In his 2019 release Hringrás, Danheim recorded the last three minutes of a track using only parts of dead plants and animals, as well as some real human bones. [8]
In 2019, Danheim also contributed music to the soundtrack of three episodes from the second half of the sixth season of the History Channel series Vikings . [9] One of the actors from the show, Georgia Hirst, enjoyed Danheim's contributions to the score so much that she released a social media video praising his music. [10]
As of July 2023, [update] his YouTube channel had 555,000 subscribers and received more than 220 million video views. [11]
In March 2020 Danheim released his third full-length album of 11 tracks, Skapanir. [12] He decided to release the album earlier than planned, to help entertain his fans under lock-down or in isolation due to the 2020 Coronavirus/COVID-19 Pandemic. [13] Reviewers praised the album's 'visceral and hypnotic' composition, and noted the varied instrumentation that produced a 'multidimensional Viking soundbath'. [14] Teemu Esko of Kaos Magazine called Skapanir "versatile and touching, while rich and immersive". [15]
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