HEILUNG Update European Tour Dates For 2022 & 2023
Ritual collective HEILUNG are proud to announce two additional dates for their upcoming European trek which will kick off at the end of the month. Not only will there be an extra French show at the Transbordeur venue in Lyon on December 11, there will also be a second Dutch show at the 013 in Tilburg on the 6th of January besides the already sold out date of January 12. A full list of confirmed shows can be found below.
Tickets are on sale HERE!
HEILUNG comment on the tour: “It has been wonderful to feel the ground shake under our feet again on the various festival stages around Europe this summer and experiencing the joy of all of you being able to reunite, sing and dance in large gatherings again. It has been like a colourful sunrise after a long night. We are now ready for our next step on our continent: The Europe Tour. We would like to give thanks to everyone working hard behind the curtains for the past two/three years to make this happen. It has not been easy sorting out as the world has changed. On this tour we are bringing you our newest studio album “Drif”. “Drif” means “gathering”, just like we will gather again to heal, bond, and create, and be greater together.
We are deeply honoured to reveal that the amazing artists Eivør and Lili Refrain will be joining us on this tour, we look forward spending time with you on the road. This will truly be a once in a lifetime experience. See you all out there. Love Heilung”
HEILUNG EU tour
26 Oct 22 Copenhagen (DK) @ Forum Black Box
28 Oct 22 Stockholm (SE) @ Annexet
30 Oct 22 Helsinki (FI) @ Black Box **LOW TICKETS**
02 Nov 22 Krakow (PL) @ ICE Krakow Congress Center **SOLD OUT**
04 Nov 22 Prague (CZ) @ Forum Karlin **LOW TICKETS**
06 Nov 22 Halle (Saale) (DE) @ Händel-Halle
08 Nov 22 Zurich (CH) @ Halle 662
11 Nov 22 Brussels (BE) @ Cirque Royal **SOLD OUT**
13 Nov 22 Berlin (DE) @ Tempodrom **SOLD OUT**
16 Nov 22 Bochum (DE) @ Ruhrcongress **LOW TICKETS**
18 Nov 22 Paris (FR) @ L’Olympia **LOW TICKETS**
02 Dec 22 Budapest (HU) @ Barba Negra
05 Dec 22 Ljubljana (SI) @ Hala Tivoli
07 Dec 22 Frankfurt (DE) @ Jahrhundert Halle
09 Dec 22 Milan (IT) @ Alcatraz
11 Dec 22 Lyon (FR) @ Transbordeur **NEW DATE**
14 Dec 22 Stuttgart (DE) @ Liederhalle Hegelsaal
16 Dec 22 Vienna (AT) @ Gasometer
18 Dec 22 Munchen (DE) @ Zenith
HEILUNG EU/UK Tour 2023
06 Jan 23 Tilburg (NL) @ 013 **NEW DATE**
08 Jan 23 Rouen (FR) Le 106 **SOLD OUT**
10 Jan 23 Metz (FR) @ La Bam
12 Jan 23 Tilburg (NL) @ 013 **SOLD OUT**
14 Jan 23 London (UK) @ O2 Academy Brixton
17 Jan 23 Manchester (UK) @ Bridgewater Hall **LOW TICKETS**
19 Jan 23 Dublin (IE) @ National Stadium **LOW TICKETS**
22 Jan 23 Glasgow (UK) @ Barrowland
HEILUNG Pacific Dates 2023
02 Mar 23 Sydney (AU) @ Big Top, Luna Park
04 Mar 23 Melbourne (AU) @ Forum
11 Mar 23 Bangkok (TH) @ Siam Pic-Ganesha Theatre **SOLD OUT**
Since its inception in 2015, the enigmatic ritual collective HEILUNG has been paving melodic paths to the past with their unique and mystifying sound. Evading all conventional genre tags and the confines of any specific labels, the group aptly self-describes their sound as “amplified history,” emphasizing their ability to connect modern society with the rudiments of humanity’s beginnings through music. HEILUNG once again journeys back in time with its new chapter, ‘Drif;’ however, unlike previous offerings that centered around prehistoric northern Europe, album number three will explore other great rudimentary civilizations outside of Europe.
“All the songs on ‘Drif’ have their own stories,” adds HEILUNG throat singer and one of the band’s three composers, Kai Uwe Faust. Each has its place and sense of belonging, with inspiration not only from Northern Europe, but from the ancient great civilizations,” explains the band. “We took the ancient surrounding advanced civilizations in account, because our ancestral Nordic civilizations did not just pop up, exist and disappear in isolation. Already in the Bronze Age, we found silk on German land that was imported already from the far, far East 3000 years ago. From the Viking age, we found beads that were brought there from present-day Syria high up in the Northern mountains.
“Centrally important concepts, still in extensive use today, like the number Zero and all the mathematical universes deriving from it, the use of iron and the general concept of settling all originate from traditional high civilizations outside the north and still fundamentally changing our ancestor’s world.
“With singing these primordial songs we want to give tribute to these cultures, reconnect to the beginnings and remember that we all, from East to West, from past to present, are connected through the exchange of ideas and inspiring each other.”
Meaning “gathering,” ‘Drif’ serves as more than merely a gateway that bridges history with modern day society, but is also a statement of the strength in unity and togetherness, which will come as no surprise to those who have experienced HEILUNG’s live ritual, in which every ceremony starts with a reminder that “we are all brothers.” “‘Drif’ means ‘gathering,’’ explains HEILUNG. “A throng of people, a horde, a crowd, a pack. In symbiosis with the album title, ‘Drif’ consists of a flock, a collection, a gathering, a collage of songs, that much like little flames were seeking towards each other, to join, to bond, to create, and be greater together.”
While HEILUNG features authentic and archaic instrumentation that ranges from rattles and ritual bells to human bones and throat singing, their captivating brand of music is far from primitive. Producer and founding member Christopher Juul implements subtle electronic elements that elevates the musical atmosphere and provides a more in-depth and layered soundscape.
“This album has very clearly dictated its own path. Our attempts to tame it were repeatedly fruitless, and once we came to this realization, the creative flow surged forward with immense force. So much so that sometimes it felt like the songs wrote themselves,” the band adds.
HEILUNG’s success has been unprecedented, achieving milestones in its few short years of existence that many do not see in a lifetime. The collective already had rapidly been growing a buzz upon the self-release of their first full-length, ‘Ofnir,’ in 2015, but their dizzying upward trajectory really took off from the moment they set foot on the stage at Castlefest in 2017 for the now-legendary debut of their live ritual. Luckily for those who were not fortunate enough to bare witness to this magical event, the full ceremony was captured on film, having since been viewed by tens of millions of fans across the globe.
As HEILUNG trekked across Europe and brought their mystifying experience to new audiences, talk of this new band and their stunning ceremony made way to Season of Mist label owner Michael Berberian, who quickly offered the band a record contract after seeing their undeniable musical impact for himself.
By 2019, HEILUNG launched their second full-length record, ‘Futha,’ which contrasted the masculine and battle-heavy themes of their debut with a feminine counterpart that celebrated fertility and female energy. Upon the first week of the record’s release, it graced the Billboard charts with coveted numbers, debuting at #3 on the Heatseekers Charts and #4 on the Billboard World Music Chart, placing on a total of seven Billboard charts while meeting critical-acclaim from the press on a global scale.
Having already made its way around Europe, HEILUNG announced its first ever North American tour for the start of 2020, which sold out entirely within 72 hours of ticket on-sale. The band later returned to the United States and performed their live ritual for a sold out audience of 10,000 people at the historic Red Rocks Amphitheater in Denver, CO (USA), further solidifying their early legacy status.
By this time, the band’s music started to appear in places outside the confines of music venues, videos, and vinyl. From hit television series like ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘Vikings’ to video game giants like ‘Conqueror’s Blade VII: “Wolves of Ragnarök’ and ‘Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II’ to the blockbuster Robert Eggers film ‘The Northman,’ HEILUNG’s music has risen far above the underground and has transcended into a greater world. Even a global pandemic couldn’t slow down HEILUNG’s success; it only strengthened them and gave them the gift of time to complete work on album number three, ‘Drif.’
According to Greek philosopher Pythagoras, three is a divine number, signifying harmony, wisdom, and understanding. He also believed it to be the number of time – past, present, future; birth, life, death; beginning, middle, end. Purposefully or not, ‘Drif’ embodies this philosophy, putting forth a divine work of art that ties together the beginning of civilization with the modern world today. Make no mistake, HEILUNG still does not represent any modern political or religious ideology, but rather delivers a humbling reminder of where we came from. “Remember, we are all brothers. All people, beasts, tree and stone and wind, we all descend from the one great being that was always there, before people lived and named it, before the first seed sprouted.”
Line-up:
Kai Uwe Faust
Christopher Juul
Maria Franz