Heilung are more than just a band, they are a sonic and visceral extension of life itself.
Since their inception in 2015 and through albums Ofnir (2015), Futha (2019) and Drif (2022), Heilung have traversed the musical landscape, describing themselves more as a ritual collective than a band, with their music described as amplified history.
They are a musical enigma and force unto themselves, and now, on the eve of their first-ever trip to Australia, Maria Franz (vocals), Kai Uwe Faust (music, production) and Core (Christopher Juul, vocals) take some time to answer some questions posed by HEAVY.
Due to language barriers, the interview had to be conducted as a Q & A, but don’t let that deter you from exploring the wonders that are Heilung.
HEAVY: Heilung will be in Australia for three special shows in a couple of weeks, starting in Sydney on March 2 before heading to Melbourne for shows on May 4 and 6. This will be your visit to this country, so what can we expect from you?
Maria: You can expect native sounds from ancient Europe presented in the shape of a pre- Christian ritual, performed by 15 souls from 11 different countries��
The other side to that is you won’t really know what to expect from Australian fans either. Do you do your research about countries you go to for the first time or do you more like to take things as they come?
Maria: Cultures may vary, but humanity’s taste for trancing out to the drum beat stays more or less the same. We like to think that we connect to something that rests deep within us all, our primal selves if you like, and at this core is the focus, not so much where you have chosen to settle physically on this earth. That said, travelling so far from where we are settled is of course very exciting for us all and I have personally vacuumed the internet for what to eat and where to see fruit bats and we are generally VERY excited about it all��
You have chosen to only play in Sydney and Melbourne. Was that because you wanted to get a feel for how the band would go over here before booking a longer run of shows?
Kai: Decisions when to play and where are carefully taken in close cooperation with the booking agency, the tour management and the local promoters. Originally, we only planned one concert in Melbourne but when we realised that the demand was there, a second gig was added.
The tour has been called The First Heilung Ritual Down Under. Can you explain the name further for us?
Kai: Well, it’s the first time that Heilung performs a ritual in Australia, which is often called “Down Under.”
You have been referred to as a “ritual collective”. Can you elaborate on that term please?
Core: Heilung consists of a group of authentic individuals performing a live ritual. The term ritual collective originates from a journalist who made a review of one of our concerts and as Heilung can be hard to explain in a few words, we liked this description and chose to keep it.
Can you describe a typical Heilung live show for us?
Kai: It is technically not a show. It follows the structure of a ceremony or ritual. It starts with a protection circle and invocation of helpful and compassionate spirits, has a middle part which consists of different sound offerings, ritual movements and dances, and it has a finishing where the spirits get released again and the circle closes. A regular show would normally have the possibility for an encore, but you will never experience that in a Heilung performance since the ceremonial closing is a fixed part of it.
The band uses a plethora of different instruments ranging from rattles to ritual bells to human bones. Is it difficult to get the sound right live with those instruments without the ability to track each separately as you can in the studio?
Kai: We are blessed to have the most brilliant sound engineers and excellent technicians with us that know how to handle top class hardware and software to deliver perfect sound every time.
Where did your sound originate from?
Kai: Our sound originates from the earliest Stoneage ranging all the way to the late Ironage since we use replicas of instruments from these time periods. Furthermore, there’s the fusion of these ancient sounds with the most modern up-to-date sound manipulating systems.
The band yourselves have described your music as “amplified history”. Can you go into more detail?
Kai: As said before, we use historical sounds that are amplified with modern techniques.
You are touring on the back of last year’s album Drif, which came out in August of last year. Will you be playing much of that live?
Core: Because of a certain global situation pausing all live activities for two years, we never got to finish touring with our second album Futha. We therefore bring a collection from all three albums, including two songs from Drif.
Kai has said that each of the songs on Drif have their own stories. Can you run us through a few of those stories.
Kai: I will run you through one: Nikkal is the oldest fully notated song of mankind. Not only the lyrics have been preserved but also the melody and the suggestions on how to tune the harp or lyra in order to perform the song. It is a hymn to Nikkal, an ancient babylonian deity, goddess of orchards, fruits and fertility.
If the stories tell a certain narrative, do you find it difficult putting them into a set list for continuity or do they each tell stand-alone stories?
Kai: Each song can stand for itself but can also be a module incorporated in a live performance. Some pieces have fixed parts in the live performance, others are exchangeable.
What’s next for Heilung?
Kai: Live, breathe, enjoy and make the former awesome the new standard.
Maria: We are looking forward to finishing the two live video recordings from Red Rocks and The Apollo in London, to be released sometime in 2023.
