Norway - Vestland Part I

 

Bergen in 1982

We arrive in the county of Vestland and in the main city of Bergen.  Apparently it's one of the rainiest cities with at least 300 days of precipitation every year.  I visited briefly back in the summer of 1982 and was lucky to catch one dry day.  

Anyway, onwards with the music.  Nordic dark folk band Wardruna were formed in Bergen in 2003.  They are in the pagan folk genre, playing traditional instruments like deer-hide frame drums, flutes, kraviklyra (lyre), tagelharpe (another lyre), mouth harp, goat horn and lure (another type of horn).  This is the title track from their latest album from 2022 called Kvitravn (White raven):

Jazz trumpeter Karl Strømme was born in Bergen in 1976.  With his band the Karl Strømme Quintet he combines the American standard jazz tradition with Norwegian folk music and other rhythmic inspirations, influenced by the likes of Miles Davis, Kenny Wheeler and Joe Zawinul.  They have only issued the one album in 2018 called Dynalyd.  This is the title track from the album:

Singer, composer and producer Heidi Torsvik was born in Bergen in 1982.  Her background is mostly jazz and she has played with Toots Thielemans as a teenager.  She has had some success as a solo indie artist as her alter-ego Heidi Goodbye.  In her latest venture she combines with American producer Lazerus Winter to produce an album inspired by the fjords of her home country.  The 2020 album Hidden Soul of the Fjords paints a soundscape in 4 movements which veers between classical, jazz, Nordic folk, rock, ambient electronica and trip-hop.  Here's the 4th Movement: Heart.  It's a bit long, but definitely worth listening to the whole thing:

For something completely different Bergen based world fusion band Meelodi started of as a duo of Norwegian multi-instrumentalist Ole Andre Farstad and Iranian singer Medi Farmani.  For their latest 2021 album The Great Blue Wheel they added musicians from Syria, the UK, Senegal and Canada to their line-up for a truly international collaborations.  Instruments that feature include the oud, banjo, Indian slide guitar, kora, nyati (kenyan lyre) and guzheng (Chinese zither) all held together by the strong lead vocals of Farmani.  It's a beautiful combination.  Here is an extract from the launch concert of the album:

Next we are heading to the village of Eidfjord in the beautiful historical region of Hardanger, which gave its name to the Hardanger fiddle, which is now incorporated into Vestland county.  This is where Handanger fiddle player and composer Benedicte Maurseth was born in 1983.  Her latest 2022 album Hárr is inspired by the nature and sounds of her home region, comparing hiking in nature and music composing as similar activities.  She is a follower of 'ecosophy', which was founded by Norwegian philosopher Arne Næss.  This is based on the fact that humans are integral part of the eco-system and interdependent on it, something I can only endorse.  The album is not traditional folk, but is rooted in the landscape and history of the place Maurseth calls home.  Here is a track from the album called Reinsdyrbjøller with some reindeer bells ringing:

So as not to make this post too long, we will continue our journey through the county of Vestland next time,  Until then you can follow my virtual journey on my tripline map.

Norway - Agder & Rogaland Counties

Before leaving the Vestfold og Telemark County we stop in the coastal city of Sandefjord.  The above picture was taken there, when I had the pleasure of spending a few days on a private island there back in 1982, attempting to learn to windsurf and waterski.  Jazz guitarist Andreas Haddeland was born here in 1977.  In his latest project he combines with folk singer Liv Ulvik and percussionist Ulrik Ibsen Thorsrud to form a band called Østerlide.  On their 2020 self-titled debut album they re-invent traditional Norwegian folk songs enveloping them in an eerie, haunting soundscape.  Here's a track from the album called Varulven: 

We're heading back south, rounding the nose of the Scandinavian bear to arrive in Agder county.  Hardanger fiddle player Ånon Egeland and viola player Mikael Marin explore the darker side of the traditions of the region with their instruments tuned an octave down.  They call their style folk noir and the tunes are associated with songs of grief, godly reverence and lost love.  They are both considered legends of the Scandinavian folk scene in their own right and got together for a couple of albums, including their 2020 recording Farvel Farvel. Here's a tune from the album called Adam den første:

Singer/songwriter, record producer and novelist Jenny Hval was born in Tvedestrand in Agder county in 1980.  She has dabbled in various genres, including alternative rock, experimental folk and avant-garde, having started her music career in Gothic metal.  She cites Kate Bush as one of her main influences.  She is known for controversial lyrics tackling subjects like pornography and the patriarchy and felt a bit of a hypocrite when she got married recently, given that she has previously been critical of conventions around love and relationships.  She dealt with those conflicts in her own persona with her latest album Classic Objects and particularly with this song of the album called Year of Love:

Back to something more traditional, folk singer and silversmith Kirsten Bråten Berg was born in Arendal in Agder County in 1950.  Trained as a silversmith she got into singing traditional Norwegian folk songs in the 1970's.  She has given concerts and recorded numerous albums since.  In 1990 she met jazz bassist Arild Andersen (whom we met in an earlier post) and has joined his band since.  Her last solo album was in 2010 called Songen and this is a song from it called Astrid, mi Astrid:

Moving on to Stavanger, the main city of Rogaland County for something a bit different.  Here we meet a band called Naaljos Ljom, who play what they call "Traditional Norwegian Microtonal Dance Music".  Essentially it's another complete re-invention of Norwegian folk music, by giving it the electronic dance floor treatment.  I'm not entirely sure it's my cup of tea, but I'll leave it out there anyway for yourselves to judge.  This is from their 2021 self-titled debut album called Langeleikslått:

Singer/songwriter Aurora Aksnes, known simply as Aurora, was born in Stavanger in 1996, although grew up in Høle in Rogaland and a remote village in the Os Mountains near Bergen.  Being surrounded by nature in a relatively isolated location has very much influenced her outlook on life and musical style.  She has achieved some considerable international success with her Nordic folk influenced pop.  She also sites Kate Bush as her influences, as well as Bjørk, Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan.  Here's the opening track to her 2016 debut album All My Demons Greeting Me As A Friend called Runaway:

    `Finally we revisit Slovakian-Norwegian Gypsy orchestra Angrusori, whom we met before in Slovakia.  They are a collaboration between 2 cultural centres involving the Kitchen Orchestra from Stavanger and a group from Slovakia's Roma community.  They got together to record an album at a venue called Tou in Stavanger in 2021, which then appropriately was named Live at Tou.  This is a track from the album called Pre ada baro svetos:

This is it for today, next we'll head up the west coast of Norway towards Bergen.  In the meantime, as usual you can follow my virtual ramblings on my Tripline map.