Dark folk/progressive ritualists Rakinua will unveil their debut album Esi Um Ninu – Heal Us, Mother on 29 May via Dusktone, introducing the first chapter of an ambitious artistic vision shaped by myth, archaeology, and immersive storytelling. The video for the album’s first single, “Shepherd Of The Clouds”, is now available to watch below.

Born from the union of two complementary creative forces — one rooted in musical exploration, the other in narrative craft — Rakinua forge a world meant not just to be heard, but entered. Their debut unfolds as a conceptual journey inspired by Alpine sacrificial sites that have carried nearly three thousand years of ritual memory.

At its core lies the tragic tale of a priestess whose desperate rites to appease wrathful gods ultimately doom her tribe. The story is revealed through the voice of an oracle, a liminal presence suspended between eras, witnessing a fate already sealed yet eternally retold.

Musically, Rakinua traverse a wide spectrum: the ritual pulse of Heilung and Wardruna, the shadowed introspection of Myrkur, and the progressive depth of Opeth, Porcupine Tree, and Anathema. Yet Esi Um Ninu – Heal Us, Mother stands apart, guided by an archaic, primordial spirit rather than genre allegiance.

Produced by Fabio D’Amore (Serenity, Perchta) at Synonym Of Sound, the album’s concept and lyrics — crafted by Velis and Madame Noctinebra — draw on archaeological insight, Raetic symbolism, and the evocative cadence of a forgotten tongue. The result feels both meticulously constructed and unearthed from ancient soil.

Rakinua’s vision extends beyond the studio. Their ceremonial live manifestations — from the full‑electric Tribe Ritual to the intimate Acoustic Tribe Ritual — transform the album’s themes into communal, immersive rites.

With Esi Um Ninu – Heal Us, Mother, Rakinua opens a passage into a world where forgotten rituals echo through time, and where myth, memory, and fate converge in a single, haunting narrative. Link