My name is Ing Leif Nicklas Rudolfsson (ILNR / ᛁ · ᛚ · ᚾ · ᚱ).
I have spent most of my life creating music. It has always been something I return to, not out of obligation but because it feels necessary. My roots lie in death, doom, black metal, and dark ambient, and I have always been drawn to what exists beneath the surface rather than what is immediately visible. The underground has never been a scene to me, but a natural place to exist.
Today, Runemagick stands at the center of my creative work. Since the album Cycle of the Dying Sun (Dawn of Ashen Realms), something shifted. Not only in sound, but within. Earlier, lyrics were often something that simply had to be there. Now they carry weight. They come from a different place and matter just as much as the music itself. There is more depth, more reflection, and a stronger sense of honesty.
Around this core, other projects take form when they need to. The Funeral Orchestra, Unformulas, ᛁᛚᚾᚱ, NIRU, Draugurinn & NIRU, Doula Infernum, Gravfraktal, Kosmonom, NIRU & LUSSIDOTTER, Dödsvaka, and various other collaborations. I do not force them into existence. Sometimes years pass in silence, and then something begins to move again. Some may never return, others reappear in cycles. None of them feel entirely gone. That rhythm feels natural to me.
Earlier and partly dormant projects include Sacramentum, Necrocurse, Bells of Doom, Rotified, Masticator, Blasfemia, Neurotic, Deathwitch, Heavydeath, Swordmaster, and many more. Each of them has left something behind that still lives on in what I do.
You can explore more of these projects throughout this site.
In recent years, writing has become a more present part of my life. Not as something separate, but as something closely intertwined with everything else I do. I write reflections, thoughts, and interpretations, often rooted in nature, runes, animism, and personal experiences that are not always easy to define. Some of it is shared, some remains only for myself.
Some texts have found their way to Shamanistiskt Förbund Sverige, where I occasionally contribute. I have also worked with interpretations of Hávamál from a more modern perspective, gathered in a small book titled Hávamál för vår tid: Insikter från Den Höges Sång. Writing has, in many ways, become another way of listening rather than explaining.
Creative work moves in cycles. There are periods of strong presence, and periods of silence. I no longer see silence as absence, but as part of the same movement.
Alongside this, I sometimes work with web. I tend to prefer a direct approach using HTML and CSS, but I also build in WordPress when needed. It is not something I actively pursue, but I take on smaller projects now and then when it feels right.
I also draw and paint occasionally, mostly for myself, sometimes for others. It is another way of exploring form without needing to translate everything into words or sound.
Earlier, I worked with mastering music, including demos and full releases, and occasionally mixing. Today, I have stepped away from that, except for my own smaller projects, where I prefer to keep things close and self-contained.
Through Nirucon Productions I have released a number of cassette and CD editions, primarily featuring my own music. Whether that will expand further remains open.
I was born and raised on the west coast of Sweden, and nature has always been close to me. Forest, stone, and sea are not just surroundings, but something I return to in order to find balance. Walking in the woods brings both recovery and presence. Sometimes I bring a simple frame drum and sit for a while, letting rhythm move through the space rather than trying to control it.
I experience nature as something alive, something that carries presence. It is not something I claim to fully understand, and I do not see myself as someone with answers. I am simply exploring, following what feels meaningful, and practicing what gives a sense of grounding and direction. Runes, rhythm, silence, and presence are all part of that.
This is also why I am a member of and support Shamanistiskt Förbund Sverige, where different ways of relating to the world are allowed to exist without needing to be reduced into fixed definitions.
My children are a central part of my life. They remind me, in a very direct way, of what actually matters. They keep me grounded.
I spend a lot of time walking and hiking, mainly in Sweden and Norway. These landscapes continue to draw me back. At the same time, I remain open to new places, new experiences, and whatever may come.
If you prefer Swedish, there is also a simpler page at n.rudolfsson.net.
I move forward at my own pace, guided more by instinct and experience than by any need for certainty. I do not need to define everything along the way. It is enough to remain present, to listen, and to follow when something begins to take form.
April 3, 2026