Dark Nordic, pagan folk singer and multi-instrumentalist Kati Rán celebrates the ten-year anniversary of her debut album Lys (meaning “light” in Norwegian) with a brand-new physical release, available through Svart Records as of 8th April.
In 2015, Lys was recorded, produced, and released by Kati Rán and producer Christopher Juul (Heilung) at the renowned LAVA Studios in Denmark. Together, they shaped, recorded, and performed all the tracks, bringing Kati Rán’s inner world, voice, and historical instrumentation to life. Lys contained ten original tracks performed in Norwegian, English, German, and Old Norse, including the hit song ‘Suurin’, Kai Uwe Faust and Maria Franz of the Danish act Heilung – The 2025 Anniversary Edition of Lys features the album’s ten original songs and the acoustic bonus track ‘Vinda’ (featuring Helisir).
Svart Records is rereleasing Lys in its very first vinyl format for listeners and collectors of the Nordic & Dark Folk music genre, along with a digipack CD format. All editions include updated artwork, a booklet with original lyrics and English translations, and the bonus track “Vinda Acoustic.”
As a testament to her passion for music and her determination to stay true to her vision, Rán originally released LYS in 2015 as a solo artist after her folk band L.E.A.F dissolved over artistic differences. During this transition to a solo career, Christopher Juul provided his immersive audio production expertise, which continues to shape the Nordic folk genre today through various projects and bands. Their collaboration is evident on the album, as well as in her singles ‘Blodbylgje’ and ‘Unnr Mindbeach’, that were featured on her latest album, Sála, in 2024. Since its original release, Lys has sold out all physical editions, garnered over 10 million streams across music platforms, and is widely considered a genre-defining record in Nordic dark folk.
Lys features collaborations with various artists and bands. These include Oliver S. Tyr of the German pagan folk act Faun, Kai Uwe Faust’s signature throat vocalisations on ‘Suurin’, a duet with Maria Franz (Heilung, Euzen) on ‘Vinda’, soothing harmonising vocals by drummer Kristian Uhre (Euzen) on ‘Sol’, and instrumental contributions from Rán’s former bandmates in L.E.A.F. The album also features Rán’s first duet recordings with Heilung’s Kai Uwe Faust on the opening track ‘Flamme’.
Originally crowdfunded by listeners and supporters. Several international artists contributed campaign support videos, helping to make her first album an international success. The new edition of Lys can be ordered here and you can check out exclusive videos of songs from the album here at RAMzine.
