Flowers of the Forest is a musical journey created and composed by Sigmund Vatvedt (Ziggy Bané) and Rutti Atitasha. The group combines various musical expressions, culture and languages. It is a meeting between the ancient and modern, inspired by folklore and traditions from the west and the east, the north and the south. The songs express the beauty of nature and the creative Life Force. The lyrics speak of the hearts longing to be free. In the core of the music lays a deep spiritual calling which comes to life through the melodies, harmonies and sounds. Created is an expression of the souls yearning to awaken and to live life fully.
Long Bio
Sigmund was born in Norway and started his musical exploration as a child. When he reached the age of 12 he started playing classical guitar, which lead to more elaborate studies in collage where he deepened his study of music. At the age of 21 he moved to India to study sitar and dilruba where he spent 1,5 years transforming all his belief systems and former education of music. In 2006 he was diagnosed with MS (multiple sclerosis). He lost his ability to play guitar, and was condemned to a life in a wheelchair, which initiated a deep journey of healing and self exploration. He heard the calling and decided to go to the Amazon rainforest in search of healing. After spending some months with a medicine woman he received the gift of total restored health and was completely healed. This great transformative miracle deeply effected all aspects of his life. And is shining through the music and his compositions.
Rutti Atitasha was born in Estonia to neohippie parents that used to sing freedom songs and were part of a local independence movement. Expelled from the former Soviet Union led to a life in various countries in the world and a love for different cultures and traditions. Music has always been a big part of her life, growing up with three musical sisters, playing piano and singing in choirs. She is a devoted student of the mysteries of Life, continuing the travels and journeying the different dimensions of the inner and outer landscapes. The spirit of freedom and compassion is clearly present in her voice and her music. She is also a doula and a visual artist, channeling messages through paintings, poetry and sound.
Sigmund and Rutt were brought together in 2011 by a synchronistic orchestration of events and have ever since journeyed side by side, co-creating the expression through sound and music as Flowers of the Forest. Their music has been described as medicine, contributing to the ceremonial healing atmosphere of sound. Together they have traveled extensively through Northern Europe, Brasil and South America sharing their music and gathering teachings and inspiration from several different cultures and tribes. They are also very much inspired by ancient mystery schools and sound harmonics. Often conducting sound healing journeys with a vast range of instruments as well as working with ceremonial cacao and offering sacred space infusions with music and prayers.
Their recently released debut album “The Calling” is the result of many years of searching for the Great Spirit, diving deep into the mysteries of Life. It is an invitation to the listener to undergo the journey of self exploration, transcendence, inner peace and connection to nature. (The songs are laid out so that each song leads to the other, where the first stops, the second one picks up the torch and continues the adventure that life has to offer. ) The music bloomed in the encounter between indigenous and western cultures. The result as an album is a multilingual meeting/melting between ethnical traditions, medicine music and the singer songwriter genre. Flowers of the Forest creates a sound that is genuine to the source, relevant to the listener, forming something new where the ethnical diversity forms the foundation of the compositions.
