Jorden kallar by Vargkvint
If you’ve ever felt a desire to disappear with the gentle but formidable force of nature, Jorden kallar is the perfect soundtrack to vanish with. Swedish for “the Earth beckons” Jorden kallar is composed of nine whisper-light songs by Sofia Nystrand, a Stockholm-based multi-media artist. Working with creative partner Jakob Lindhagen and Swedish female folk choir LYN, Sofia delicately stretches stillness into loudness, bringing worry under the command of a magical spell.
“I wanted to explore my own thoughts on grief and the worry I feel for the times we are living in, where conflict and ecological decline are part of everyday life,” explains Sofia.
She also believes we dearly need hope.
“That awe of our surroundings, and the joy to discover them in a time where connection sometimes feels weakened is what I want to bring to others through these new songs.”
Hope comes by way of haunt on Jorden kallar, the songs eliciting a sense of collective grief that leads to altered consciousness and renewed connection with what it means to be human. “Skogen kallar” reminds of David Crosby’s haunting 1971 a cappella “I’d Swear There was Somebody Here”. A darker electro-twist of uncertainty introduces itself in “Älvdans” interrupting otherwise sparse but stable piano and waves of synth.
Sofia kindly answered a few questions about these songs and her work exploring Scandinavian folklore and human connection with nature… she even tells the story of the dancing fog fairies.
//wendy
Are there stories behind these two songs, “Skogen kallar” and “Älvdans”?
Sofia: I’ve always been interested in Scandinavian folklore and in my new album Jorden kallar I’ve let those parts of me come out a little bit more than before. The track “Skogen kallar” (“the forest is calling”) was written kind of as a lament about the beauty we have surrounding us. I had this idea of the forest as a friend, beckoning the person listening to enter, to come back and to realise the wonder we sometimes miss. In the times where ecology seems to be less and less valued I wanted to make songs where I put it front and center.
In Sweden there is an old folk saying called “Älvdans” that when the fog is laying low over the ground, it’s because the fairies, or Dísir, are dancing. No matter what they say, you can not follow them into the dance, because then you will be pulled under the hill and dance until you die. I wanted the track to have this pull to kind of join this otherworldly event that you know you really shouldn’t be a part of.
I assume that your lyrics are in Swedish? Not knowing Swedish, I am curious about these two songs because one reminds me of something else and the other feels like a dark point in the album.
Sofia: I sing in my native language, Swedish, but I’ve always been a part of a very international scene, where I think there can be an exciting thing about not knowing the lyrics. One of my favourite bands is Icelandic Sigur Rós and through their vocals I’ve always felt a sense of wonder, even without understanding exactly what they are saying, it’s just this magic, and I hope people who don’t speak Swedish will feel it in my music too.
But in this album there is always this darker question, about what happens to folk stories when nature disappears, and I think that is a part of what you are picking up on.
Are you the lead vocalist, backed by the choir LYN? Also, are you playing piano, synths or any other instruments?
Sofia: I'm the main person behind Vargkvint even though my partner Jakob Lindhagen always has had a big role in the music as well. For this album we also wrote a lot of the music together. I am the main vocalist and I also play the piano on most of the tracks, Jakob plays a lot of harmonium and the synths. And then we also had the pleasure of being joined by the Scandinavian folk choir LYN who sang with me on all the choir arrangements, that has surely been a treat.
How does Jorden kallar as an album compare sonically to your earlier works?
Sofia: I think it is different in many ways; it of course builds a lot on my second album Månens hav (The oceans of the moon), since both of them have been recorded in German pianist and composer Nils Frahms’ LEITER studio in Berlin alongside the amazing engineer Antonio Pulli. It does something special when you come into a studio like that, it gives a certain awe just in the air that it moves. But this album is also a bit bigger sonically. I wanted to explore a lot more and to use a lot of instruments. Since the theme is also completely different, this time it's kind of a lament for all the forests, I wanted this album to have more of an earthy sound. And of course there is the beautiful choir made by LYN, a four-piece folk choir that is so immensely talented. I'm so glad to have had the pleasure to work with them. It's been a long time dream to work with more female vocalists and this one really came true under the most beautiful of circumstances. We took the night train together to Berlin and recorded them and it was just such a beautiful experience.
Is there something unique to Swedish folk music that you include in your works?
Sofia: I think one main thing this time is in the lyrics since some of them are centered around older myths, such as “Älvdans” and the story of the Dísir, but there is also a great deal of tonality that can be heard in some of the songs. I wrote the piano piece “Sagolandet” based on a Finnish tango that is really beautiful; it’s called “Saatuma” and it also has this perfect depiction of longing that I think is central in Scandinavian folk music. There is always a sort of pull towards something – a home, a lover, a forest. I think that is what sings to me in folk music and that I try to capture in my music as well.
You note that you hope these songs can give listeners a sense of awe and joy in their surroundings. What elements are necessary for people to feel a renewed sense of connection with nature and other human beings?
Sofia: For this album I’ve been inspired by the Romantic era, and how it became a reaction to the Industrial Revolution. Artists wanted to create a new focus on the beautiful and otherworldly around us, and I can strongly relate to that. The need to just stop and to admire something that is incredibly beautiful and important, while at the same time being just something that exists in the background of our busy lives, such as a leaf or an insect that has landed in your window.
All over the world people have their folk stories connected to their surroundings. I guess my larger question for the whole album is “What happens to the stories if the forests are cut down?” Will they still exist? I think by inviting the romantic, or otherworldly eye into the music, I hope people will remember that awe and have a chance to realise the importance of nature. We are all part of nature, it is not just a commodity.
Jorden kallar will be released on 24 April 2026, available on limited edition bio vinyl and streaming platforms. Opening track “Forsen” was released on 10 March with accompanying stop-motion video created by Sofia. In the video a moth explores its surroundings, which in this case are decaying flowers, scaley bark, dried twigs, and lush moss. “I knew I wanted to capture the beauty of nature, but at the same time I also wanted the video to give way for something more uncomfortable,” Sofia explained. A third single “Att komma hem” will be released after “Älvdans”.
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