RavenzCraft Arts Interview Project 2019 presents
Gealdýr
A young artist on the rise who takes inspiration from the legends of this genre today, we have a feeling Jonathan will go a long way in the music scene, his natural talent and ear for good music will turn him onto an amazing path in his musical career.
We look forward to seeing what he has for us on his new upcoming album in the works...
Hello and welcome! I want to thank you for participating in the RavenzCraft Arts interview project ..it means a lot to us to be able to meet new artists and learn about their experiences in life ..it is also an amazing thing to help bring attention to them to help get discovered. ...There are so many great artists and musicians out there hidden within!
1.Well first, I would like to ask you to tell everyone about your backround, where you are from, and a bit about the meaning of the title and expression of your music project Gealdýr...
Hello RavenzCraft Arts, it’s a huge pleasure for me to do this interview with you! So my name is Jonathan Barendsma and I live in a village in the Netherlands surrounded by a lot of water and beautiful forests.
I started the music project Gealdýr last summer around June.
The name Gealdýr is a combination between the Gaelic word Geal (White) and the Old Norse word Dýr (Deer).
It’s an interesting story how I came up with this name. At the time that I developed Othala (My first song) I still didn’t had a name.
One day I was walking in the forest with a good friend of mine and we were talking about my music and what could be a good name. Faith chose it that we came across a white deer while talking about it and from that moment I knew I wanted my name to be White Deer in a ancient language. My music is a combination of Nordic Folk and Celtic elements so that’s why I came up with a name combined of two ancient languages.
2. So how were you first drawn to music?
Was it schooling or a particular person who inspired you?
a lot of us have artists and musicians that we clung to and where inspired by greatly as a young child. What particular songs albums or artists really inspired you musically right from the start?
So I discovered Wardruna in a very difficult time period of my life. Their music really helped me through it. I started to understand the healing power that music can have on the mind, soul and body of a human.
I started to look into the Poetic Eddas and I found a lot of ancient old wisdom that most people have been forgotten these days. I already played guitar and piano, but I got so inspired that I started to create Nordic Folk music myself. I never had any singing lessons or what so ever. I just taught myself how to play instruments and how to sing. From there it went on and here we are now today.
I started to look into the Poetic Eddas and I found a lot of ancient old wisdom that most people have been forgotten these days. I already played guitar and piano, but I got so inspired that I started to create Nordic Folk music myself. I never had any singing lessons or what so ever. I just taught myself how to play instruments and how to sing. From there it went on and here we are now today.
3. Where you involved in other small musical projects in the past or is Gealdýr your first "official" project?
Not really. I played guitar for a song for a friend of mine. He needed someone who could create a studio recording so that’s what I did, but nothing too serious.
4. I also wanted to compliment on the Gealdýr logo design...amazing artwork.. can you tell us about the artist who created it and how the design came together?
Yes of course… Camila Maldonado (also known as Skadi.Knotdrawing on Instagram) made the beautiful Urnes deer around my bindrune. It all started when I first created the bindrune together with my friend Étaín (Who plays flute and sings the back vocals in Sær) She has a lot of knowledge about runes and the old ways. After we created the bindrune I came in contact with Camila and through good communication we ended up with the current logo.
5. Do you have any other interest or hobbies outside of music that you still peruse or work on from time to time?
I love history a lot. It’s besides music one of my passions. Nowadays we live in a very complicated world. I believe very much in cycles. Every society/empire, you name it has a beginning and an end. It fascinates me every time to see that through history every empire has fallen. To understand life beter is to understand what once has been and was so we may understand what will be or become.
6. What about your spiritual interests or following? Obviously you have nordic, pagan theme to your music ...is their any old literature or books you can recommend that you have read that inspired your following and interest in your path?
Spirituality is a very deep topic that is not easy to answer in one question. To keep it simple for your question…. I believe that we are spiritual beings living a human experience. Life and death is just a cycle that we are all are going through. It’s neither a beginning or an end it’s simply the start of a new journey as I see it.
Norse mythology goes very deep and it has a lot of wisdom in it. For me creating songs inspired by the Poetic Edda means a lot because it’s spiritual knowledge and wisdom that never should be forgotten. All the stories stand for a deeper meaning.
If I can recommend a book to read according to this topic I would highly recommend ‘’The Poetic Edda : Stories of the Norse Gods and Heroes’’ by Jackson Crawford.
7. So tell us about your process of creation,, do you have a small recording studio or area? Or do you just create within your own personal space?
Yes so basically I love to work in very small places. I create everything in my own house at the moment. I have a special recording area so to say. I worked a lot with Jiří Hájek for my music project Gealdýr. He plays Tagelharpa, Didgeridoo and many other instruments. He is a very talented artist. He also creates the music at his own home in a recording area.
8. So Have you ever recorded outdoors or by natural sounds such as rivers or in forests to capture specific effects for your music?
Yes I did. At the moment I need beter equipment for it, but I have done that in the past yes. For the future I want to record a lot of nature sounds myself to use that for my upcoming songs.
9. So what about online platforms?..such as facebook, instagram, bandcamp etc...
What are your favorites to use for sharing your content and viewing others music?
I personally really love to work with Youtube, Instragram and Facebook. All Online platforms are amazing, but with these 3 platforms I keep most contact with my fans/listeners.
10. So i understand some things come more naturally to others but truthfully , how difficult is it being an artist?
I personally know getting things perfect and replaying songs and editing over and over can be exhausting..do you do all this on your own?
Yes I totally get your point. I arrange all my recordings on my own. I have had the honor to be part of Fimbul Records now. So the publishing and promoting part goes through them and that’s an amazing opportunity for me as an artist.
I am a perfectionist myself so when I create a song I only publish it when I am 100% happy with it. Writing a song is one thing, but producing one is a whole other story. I have a lot to learn, but when I look how I have grown these last months as an musician I can say I am very happy.
11.So if you dont mind id like to share something to the audience about a personal conversation me and you had prior to this interview...
This is a very interesting thing i have found out personally as well..
I’ve discovered that a lot of successful or great artists a lot of time have personal issues , such as physical or mental health problems or ailments that seem to hinder our ability to work and perform, but in some cases this often creates a drive in you that pushes you to go even harder then normal ...to overcome the odds and the setbacks..imagine the things we could create at full health lol...Can you explain your own personal struggle with this?
Yes so I have been struggling with a severe autoimmune disease over the last 6 years that made me mostly house ridden for the most part of it. This has been quite a battle, because many doctors didn’t know what it was exactly… In this time I learned immensely much to appreciate everyday like it is your last. live life fully as much as you can… I also noticed that as a person I have been living so out of contact with nature at the start of my sickness.
Earlier in one of your questions I said how Wardruna helped me through a hard period and I was talking about this health issue. reconnecting with nature helped me a lot to become more in balance. To create music now and being able to see how other people get touched by my music is just so inspirational for me.
Earlier in one of your questions I said how Wardruna helped me through a hard period and I was talking about this health issue. reconnecting with nature helped me a lot to become more in balance. To create music now and being able to see how other people get touched by my music is just so inspirational for me.
12.So on a lighter note lets talk about your new partnership with Danheim and Fimbul Records...amazing collaboration with him on Odin by the way..tell us how you connected and where you a fan of his music beforehand?
Thank you so much! creating the song Óðinn together with Mike (Danheim) has been an amazing experience. I have been a huge fan of Mike’s (Danheim) music before we worked together. He inspired me a lot to start creating my own music aswell just like Wardruna inspired me. We came in contact with each other when Mike created his music label Fimbul Records.
13. So can you let us in on anything new? Something that may be upcoming or plans of things to come for Gealdýr and your partnership with Fimbul records?
Possibly any more collaboration projects?
At the moment I am really busy with creating a full album. It will be my first album and for me it’s quite something special. I will take my time with this one. So far the whole process of creating this album has been amazing and I think my fans will like it a lot. I am currently working on the 4th song of the album and this whole journey of creating a full album is just amazing to me.
14. So if you could travel anywhere in the world where are some places you may visit? Have you, or would you ever visit the U.S?
I have traveled quite a bit over the world, but for me there is nothing better then Northern Europe to be honest. I love the weather and nature so much. I just feel home. I love Sweden a lot for example. the forest and calmness is amazing there!
I would love to visit the U.S. one day! You got such beautiful nature over there that I would love to see!
To be honest I’ve not been to many live performances. I still have to see Wardruna live and that one is first on my list.
16. So im not sure if you are able to do so but in the future would you be open to creating a collaborative music video or single music track with an upcoming similar artist of your genre?
I am always open to collaborate with an artist from the same music genre. It’s very important that there is a good chemistry when you create. Creating a song is not possible with just everyone. In my experience you really need to have that connection with each other so to say.
17. So in your career so far have you made contact with any other great musicians or artists besides the great Danheim of course 😀 ..you would like to mention?
If not, Is there anyone in particular you would like to eventually meet one day or learn from?
If I can dream it would be an amazing honor to meet Einar Selvik (Wardruna) one day. His music has helped me so much through a heavy time. I hope to be able to tell him that one day.
18. So not many are as open as you and we don’t always get responses from artists we try to reach out to we thank you for that...what do you think about RavenzCraft Arts? Is their a main reason you accepted the interview project ?
Well I really liked to see that RavenzCraft Arts has done a lot of interviews with amazing artists in the Nordic folk music genre! So I didn’t need to think twice when you asked me!
19. So I will leave this question open to you my friend... is there anything you would like to mention or say to all the followers and fans out there?
I want to thank everyone so much from the bottom of my heart! Since day one that I started posting my music online I got supported by so many who believed in me and what I am creating! I met amazing artists on the way that I could collaborate with and this whole journey has just been one big adventure for me.
Everyone who send me messages made me believe more in myself and what I could create with my music. One of the most beautiful moments for me was when a lady contacted me who explained her struggles and health issues what she is going through and how my music helped her to get through that all…. Knowing where I came from with my own health and hearing how my own music helps people now… That’s what I wanted to achieve… Creating music that heals or help people. Music can be an amazing medicine.
Everyone who send me messages made me believe more in myself and what I could create with my music. One of the most beautiful moments for me was when a lady contacted me who explained her struggles and health issues what she is going through and how my music helped her to get through that all…. Knowing where I came from with my own health and hearing how my own music helps people now… That’s what I wanted to achieve… Creating music that heals or help people. Music can be an amazing medicine.
I want to thank you a lot for asking me for this interview! It has been an honor for me and an amazing pleasure to answer all the questions that you had for me. I hope that all my listeners/fans have a bit better picture who I am and why I started this musical journey.
Follow and listen to his amazing talent here at these links below:
Bandcamp
Facebook Page
Youtube channel
This is the official music video introduction featuring a track called Lívstræðrir for the upcoming written interview release with Jonathan Barendsma the creator of the musical project from the Netherlands Gealdýr
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv6Sb7oso9M
New music video releasing soon!
Follow us at RavenzCraft Arts on facebook at
Jonathan Barendsma, azaz Gealdýr a kedvenc zenészem, nagyon inspiráló, és emberileg is szimpatikusnak tűnik.
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