Psychedelic, ethereal, ambient, tribal, meditative, trance inducing, dreamscapes, electro-folk, psy-ethno, psy-fusion.

About Astralseid

Astralseid makes music for you to either lie down and journey within, or, even better, dance naked around a huge bonfire. Deep drones, booming rhythms and ethereal vocals takes you out of time and brings you inwards, towards your own core.

The project was started late in 2018 with the release of the demo song: Skydance. May 2020 the first digital album, “Spirit Symbiosis” , was released. A deep and atmospheric psybient (psychedelic ambient) album. In November 2020 the next digital album, “Shamanic Love“, found its way to all streaming platforms. A much more tribal and a bit “darker” album. In August 2021 another album was dropped: “Electric Love“. An album best described as psychedelic fusion or psychedelic ethno. This fusion style evolved even further with the next release in 2023: “A Leaf in the Stream of Creation“. Finding inspiration within nature and the nature of human consciousness, the songs are made through improvisation and exploration of sounds, rhythms and melodies.

Music has always been an integral part of Gustav Holberg’s spirituality, which is deeply intertwined with nature. This connection reflects in all the music he creates. In concerts, he prefers improvisations, as it allows him to channel the energies of the universe, to become one with the sounds and traverse the landscapes of the mind and soul. For him, music is seid and seid is music.

He leads a “primitive” life compared to most people in Western culture, residing in an off grid cabin at an organic mountain farm, surrounded by natural beauty where he can follow the flow of Mother Nature.

For the New Year’s Eve of the year 2000, he was asked to perform a Viking music concert at a private cultural event. Gathering some friends, they created what they believed sounded like Viking music, and this concert set him on the path to where he is today. They were subsequently booked for several historical reenactment markets around Norway, giving rise to the band “Ehwaz.” After three years of concerts and two CD releases, the band disbanded, but it ignited numerous musical careers, particularly within the Viking genres, including Maria Franz, now lead vocalist of “Heilung,” and Kjell Braaten, who now excels in his solo work and plays for “Wardruna.”

Even before Ehwaz, he had his own solo project: “Origami Disharmonika.” Starting as a noise and dark ambient project, it gradually evolved into something with more of a folk and tribal feel, necessitating a change in name. “Origami Disharmonika” had only one release: “Underworld,” which was solely a web release and is now lost due to a hard drive crash years ago.

For many years, he has collaborated with Benny Braaten in his project “Folket bortafor nordavinden,” another Viking-related project involving lectures on ancient music and instruments, concerts, and ceremonies, characterized by humor, joy, and deep spirituality. “Folket” has one CD release to date: “Sagnamadr,” with another expected to be released in 22/23.

He has also been traveling to Sweden a couple of times each year to conduct courses on the drum and voice as spiritual tools, resulting in another release: “Rhythms of the Soul: The Four Elements,” not merely a musical piece but rather a meditation and spiritual journeying tool featuring predominantly drumming, a collaboration between him, Runahild, Lasse Ström, and Viktoria Nilsson.

He has studied Indian classical music under Ustad Faiyaz Ali Khan, a sarangi maestro from Varanasi, India.

In 2020 Gustav and Rúnahild started “Astral Synergy Productions” and alternative music production company and anti-label. In 2023 he opened up his new professional studio at the farm where he resides. The studio is a large earthen cabin, inspired by the viking halls of old. From there he now works as a producer for several musical projects.

In addition to his musical pursuits, he is also a storyteller, actor, course instructor, artisan, farmer, and bushcrafter.

Albums