Biography:
In Germanic mythology, Forseti is the god of justice and righteousness. I discovered this German neo-folk band around Andreas Ritter at the Wave Gotik Treffen in Leipzig a few years ago, where I was impressed by their concert. Some time ago finally their first release Jenzig appeared, vinyl only, on Eis & Licht. Seven songs, all in German language are on this record. With no exception the music is of high quality: good songs, interesting lyrics (including the famous ‘Der Erlkönig’ from Goethe) and a wide variation in instruments (guitar, strings, acoordeon, horn, flute, piano). Forseti only uses acoustic instruments. The singing of Ritter is very convincing, seldom sounded the German language more beautiful. A lot of inspiration for their music comes from German traditions and nature. Andreas Ritter also worked together with Death in June on the “All pigs must die” album. Furthermore he contributed to the Sonne Hagal debut cd.

“FORSETI is in fact only Andreas Ritter aided for live gigs and studio recordings by musicians and friends. I guess meanwhile there are around 20 people which are involved in any way. The idea for FORSETI was born in 1997, even though I made music before.”
[interview for abovetheruins.com]

“In 1997 I bought my first guitar and discovered my love of acoustic music. By then it was clear to me that Forseti would never use electronic instruments, neither in the studio nor on stage. A purely acoustic arrangement produces much more warmth and emotion.”
[interview for L’Ame Electrique]

“I have found that if you have the nerve to play guitar and sing in German, you may find that a self appointed freedom fighter will stand up and accuse you of being a facist. Forseti has nothing whatsoever to do with any particular political viewpoint. It is about an inner search, finding your inner fulfilment or at least making an attempt to. Closer to my real aim is that the music encourages people to develop a feel for nature or natural things, and encourages us to view ourselves as an integral part of the natural world.”
[interview for L’Ame Electrique]

“Musically I prefer at the moment Backworld, Argine, Leonard Cohen or Simon & Garfunkel etc. just that kind of special “singer-songwriter”. It depends on my mood. On some happy days you can find me listening to the songs of Pet Shop Boys. In the time FORSETI was founded I listened to a lot of “neofolk”bands and I still do. There are also some songs of the “Bündische Jugend” that enchants me especially if they are based on old traditionals, love- or homesongs. And not at least I like music from the classical period.”
[interview for Seküencias De Culto]

Interview at funprox.com

“Some people will probably not be pleased that FORSETI has moved somewhat from the typical campfire romanticism. But for me and the involved musicians it was very important to progress further. Actually it would have been more sad when nothing would have changed after so much time.”
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Reviews at funprox.com:

Forseti - Erde (release: 2004)

Forseti has become in the past few years one of the most prominent neo-folk /folk noir projects. In fact the band only consists of Andreas Ritter. He is accompanied by guests and befriended musicians. The first album (Jenzig) was nice with melodic acoustic folk songs, the sequel (Windzeit) was simply very good. This upward trend is continued on this third record, entitled Erde…

Forseti - Windzeit box (release: 2002)

“Windzeit”, from the neo-folk group Forseti around Andreas Ritter, was one of my favourite albums of 2002. And although I already possessed this album, the limited (rather expensive) box version sounded too good to let go. And when the package arrived I directly knew that it was worth the investment…

Forseti - Windzeit (release: 2002)

An album which many neo-folk lovers have been waiting for… Forseti, the German act around Andreas Ritter, has built up a very good reputation in the last years. Nevertheless Forseti only had one release before “Windzeit”, the brilliant mini album “Jenzig”, which was released only on vinyl and rapidly sold out…

Forseti - Jenzig (release: 1999)

I discovered this German neo-folk band at the Wave Gotik Treffen in Leipzig a few years ago, where I was impressed by their concert. Some time ago finally their first release appeared, vinyl only, on Eis & Licht. Seven songs, all in German language are on this record…

Author: HD. Published on: Wednesday, November 13th, 2002.
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