As announced, Norway’s jazz rockers Sex Magick Wizards will release their new album Suola ja Noaidi on the 4th of September.
With three critically acclaimed albums behind them, their upcoming release Suola ja Noaidi (The Thief and the Shaman) stands as a powerful new statement in Sámi-influenced experimental rock and shows a new chapter for the band.
The third single from the album is the title track for the album, Suola ja Noaidi, which is released on the 7th of August. Please check out the song here:
Photo by Margit Rønning Omholt
The band has this to say about Suola ja Noaidi:
Built around a hypnotic, trance-like groove, the track draws subtle inspiration from spiritual music traditions such as Gnawa, combined with an ethereal vocal arrangement. Viktor Bomstad’s joik-influenced vocals, performed in English, move between the perspectives of the Suola (the thief) and the Noaidi (the shaman). The song’s three distinct parts conjure up soft, mellow winds venturing into the dark abyss before the final vengeful and volcanic eruption.
The song also reflects the band’s fascination with historical source material. The middle section is built from translated and reconstructed fragments of a travelling diary written by a crew member sailing with Norwegian King Christian IV during an expedition to Northern Norway and Russia in the 1500s. Christian IV is historically associated with the violent persecution and execution of people accused of witchcraft and sorcery.
The track captures the essence of Sex Magick Wizards: ever-churning riffs and grooves, long-form musical development, and exploratory improvisation balancing light and dark in ritualistic and apocalyptic atmospheres.
The album features cover artwork by Henrik Sørlid, incorporating collages based on works by Sámi artist Ingunn Utsi, put together by Lasse Marhaug. All English lyrics by Sex Magick Wizards have been translated into Northern Sámi by Risten Sofie West and are presented in a booklet inside the folder. The album also includes the original surviving poem Suola Ja Noaidi in both a modernized Northern Sámi transcription and English translation by Harald Gaski. The track for Suola ja Noaidi is as follows:
1. Without My Wings
2. Transform
3. These are Spirits
4. Suola Ja Noaidi
5. Ipmilan
6. Mouth of a thousand flames
7. Ledjen go mun goassege dás?
8. Murjjiid geđggiid rásiid
9. To Sing These Spirits Once Again
10. I’d rather break
11. I leave, I return
12. Old Unbaptized Realms
Suola ja Noaidi will be available on Digital format, 6-panel Digipak CD with 12-page booklet and double gatefold LP with lyrics insert. It can be pre-ordered here:
Sex Magick Wizards formed back in 2017 and have spent the last years touring extensively across Europe’s underground and experimental music scenes. They’ve become one of the more influential Norwegian bands in the borderline between experimental rock and jazz acts and have constantly developed their sound over the years.
The band members Viktor Bomstad (guitar, joik, vocals, synth), Sigrid Aftret (saxophones, flutes, vocals, synth), Henrik Sandstad Dalen (bass, vocals, sampling) and Ingvald André Vassbø (drums, vocals) are all active across the Norwegian jazz, rock and experimental scenes, known through work with groups including Kanaan, Full Earth and Trondheim Jazz Orchestra. Together they create uncompromising, forward-moving music drawing from psychedelic rock, Sámi culture and the avant-garde tradition.
For more information about Sex Magick Wizards:
facebook.com/SexMagickWizards
Tour:
05.09.26 Riksscenen
12.09.26 Arendal Rockklubb
30.09.26 Wild Rover, Aachen
01.10.26 Neue Zukunft @unlimited_sonic_use_booking
02.10.26 Tor 9, Bremen
03.10.26 KuBa, Jena
04.10.26 IMMERHIN WÜRZBURG
05.10.26 Ostpol Dresden
07.10.26 TBA, Leipzig
08.10.26 Clubhouse SV Arminia, Hannover
09.10.26 KoFabrik
10.10.26 Sojo Orange Factory
24.10.26 Høstsabbat