Ancient Bear Cult is a Finnish folk music band that draws its inspiration from prehistoric and
early medieval soundscapes. All of the instruments used by the band have a history of hundreds of
years, so it is possible that similar bands have existed in the distant past. Since no music has survived
from those times, neither as sheet music nor any other form, the members of A.B.C. have composed most of the songs in
the band’s repertoire by themselves, with the exception of performing also some old European folk tunes.
Instruments used by A.B.C. include Viking lyre, crwth and hurdy gurdy. Viking lyre is a replica of an instrument that
was found in a grave of a Viking chief in the island of Gotland and has been dated to ca. 700 A.D. The ancient Welsh
instrument crwth closely resembles Viking lyre but is, instead of plucking, played with a bow. Hurdy gurdy was used in
medieval Europe for dance accompaniment.
The name Ancient Bear Cult originates from a bear-worshipping people that once lived in Northern Europe. The people
was described, for example, by the Roman historian Tacitus in 98 A.D. Every year they killed one bear in a ritual cult,
the main purpose of which was to transfer the force of the bear to the people. The cult included songs that are now performed
by A.B.C. A part of bear worshipping was also a legend of the bride of the bear – a young woman who spent the
winter in a bear’s den and gave birth to a bear cub.
About half of the repertoire of Ancient Bear Cult is instrumental music, while the other half has also got vocals. The
songs can be performed either in Finnish or in English. Ancient Bear Cult started performing in the spring of 2007 and
has mostly performed in small occasions with a historical theme.
A.B.C. debut album Sounds From The Past is out on 10th of September 2008. The album contains ten mainly self-written
tracks: six instrumentals and four vocal songs with lyrics in English. Samples are available at MySpace.