SKÁLD at Pyrkon
2 January 2026
It’s impossible to ignore the performance of our next guests – the band SKÁLD, which, despite the pressures of the modern world, continues to cultivate folk traditions. Prepare to see the legends of the far north come to life. This won’t be a reconstruction of a bygone era, but an adventure and experience that will allow you to feel the essence of Scandinavian sagas and northern tales.
Music rooted in myth
SKÁLD is a French band founded in 2018 that produces music inspired by Norse mythology. The project is headed by producer and composer Christophe Voisin-Boisvinet, who gathered together a group of incredibly talented musicians, thus restoring the spirit of skalds – old poets of the Scandinavian and Icelandic courts. On stage you will see Steeve Petit, Marie Potosniak, Marti Ilmara Uibo, Guillaume Levy i Christophe Voisin-Boisvinet. Together, their voices and instruments create a hypnotic vortex of sound, within which tradition comes alive. The band sings their songs in Old Norse, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Danish, and Faroese, capturing the atmosphere of ancient music with remarkable authenticity.
Who were the skalds?
To better understand the group’s inspiration, it’s worth examining the role of a skald in the medieval courts of Scandinavian and Icelandic rulers. This term referred to court poets whose oral traditions encompassed both song and acting. Skalds conveyed in song the deeds of kings, warriors, and heroes, which are well-known even today.
These poets traveled from court to court as honored guests, receiving valuable gifts such as rings, jewels, or monetary payments in exchange for their songs. By the end of the 12th century, the spread of Christianity and the spread of writing led to the decline of this oral art form, leaving behind a legacy later recorded in sagas and eddas.
If the echo of old songs calls to you and you feel an inexplicable longing at the thought of Norse mythology, then SKÁLD’s performance at this year’s Pyrkon is definitely for you!
Katarzyna Zakrzewska
Człowiek-orkiestra, człowiek-chaos i wszystko w jednym naraz. Z wykształcenia genetyk sądowy, zawodowo organizator szkoleń medycznych, prywatnie postapowiec, który marzy o końcu świata. W wolnych chwilach trenuje wspinaczkę sportową, organizuje eventy Drugiej Ery, rysuje, gra w RPG, ratuje ludzi w stowarzyszeniu SOPR, gra na basie, umiera w moshu na koncertach, szuka vintage ciuchów po lumpach i zastanawia się czy nie rzucić tego wszystkiego i nie zostać archeologiem.