Sweden - Värmland to Stockholm Counties

 I visited the county of Värmland once in the 'spring' of 1984 on our way north.  I was with my girlfriend and parents at the time, and we were given the use of a cottage somewhere in the countryside, and our first task on arriving was to shovel a path through 5 foot deep snow from the house to the outside privy.  So my memories are of an undulating countryside, interspersed by lakes and covered in a thick layer of snow.  We nearly froze to our toilet seats!  

As for the music, we'll start with something traditional.  Whilst fiddler and accordionist Mats Edén was born in Stockholm county, he has roots in Värmland and his style is very much influenced by the traditions of the region.  Here is an early recording in duet with Leif Olsson from a 1977 compilation album called Unga spelmän från Värmland (Young fiddlers from Värmland).  It's a polka called Djävulspolskan från Brunskog:

More recently Mats Edén was also involved in a project called Nordic Raga, creating a fusion of Nordic folk and classical Carnatic music from Southern India together with Bangalore born fiddler Jyotsna Srikanth as well as 2 other Swedish musicians in Dan Svensson and Pär Moberg.  Here is the opening track of their 2018 self-titled album called Vildhonung (Wild honey), which is almost like a call and response conversation between Sweden and India:

Norberg in the county of Västmanland is the birthplace of jazz percussionist and composer Erik Nylander.  Amongst many projects he is also the Swedish part of the multi-national project Monoswezi (whom we already met in Oslo) along with musicians from Mozambique, Norway and Zimbabwe. Here's the opening track from their 2017 album A Je called Loko U Muka:

Kolonien is the Swedish word for allotments or community garden such as the one below on the outskirts of Stockholm.

They are designed to be a refuge from city life, a place where people can grow a few vegetables or flowers and chat to their neighbours.  Kolonien is also the name of a family band from Järna in Stockholm county just south of the capital.  They consist of 2 brothers Erik and Arvid Rask, their cousin Anna Möller and childhood friend, neighbour and blood brother Mischa Grind.  Their music is an upbeat folk / folk rock dealing with the subjects of our time such as climate change, the pandemic and war.  They have been playing together since 2010.  Their latest 2022 album Till Skogen (to the forest), marks a return to their roots of growing up on a farm in the forest and their inspiration of Dylan-esque progressive folk.  Here is a track from the album called Drömmen:

Maybe we'll just leave it at this for today, before we head into Stockholm city next time.  In the meantime, as usual, you can follow my virtual travels on my Tripline map.

Norway - Innlandet County

 On the next leg of our virtual journey through Norway we meander away from the coast eastwards to the county of Innlandet.  First stop is the municipality of Folldal, where young folk singer Synnøve Brøndbo Plassen is from.  Most traditional Norwegian folk we have come across so far is instrumental led by the Hardanger fiddle.  The 26 year old Plassen however has taken a different approach by singing the dance tunes of her home region a Capello or with minimal accompaniment.  She has released her debut album Hjemve (home sickness) in 2021 and it is a real fun listening experience.  Here are a couple of songs from the album:

Next up we are getting our first taste of Sámi joiking (or anglicised yoiking) as we head into the southern Sámi reindeer herding district of Svahken Sijte near Engerdal on the border to Sweden.  This is where young Sámi joiker Marja Mortensson hails from.  She also is only about 26, but has already 3 critically acclaimed albums to her name.  On her latest 2022 album Raajroe - The Reindeer Caravan she is collaborating with tuba player Daniel Herskedal and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra.  On it she brings the annual reindeer migration to life.  Here is the title track from the album:

The young Kjorstad brothers Hans and Rasmus come from the municipality of Sør-Fron in the district of Gudbrandsdalen.  They are both fiddlers and immerse themselves in the traditions of their home region, some of it embellished by vocals, Norwegian dulcimer, different flutes and Jew's harp.  Here is a tune from their 2016 debut album Pusishi Ulla called Redvaldhalling:

Heading south we arrive in the village of Furnes, where jazz pianist, composer and conductor Jon Balke was born in 1955.  In 2007 in the aftermath of the invasion of Iraq he founded the conceptual project Siwan as a counterpoint, amalgamating sounds from the Arabic world initially with Moroccan singer Amina Alaoui, then with Algerian singer and oud player Mona Boutchebak.  Here is a track from their 2017 album Nahnou Houm with the latter on lead vocals.  The song is called Itimad:

Next we are heading to the village of Kirkenær in the municipality of Grue.  This is where singer and Kantele player Sinikka Langeland was born in 1961.  Her mother was a Karelian, an ethnic group from the border area between Finnland and Russia, who awakened an early interest in her daughter in the Finish kantele (a 39-string dulcimer).  Sinikka has since immersed herself in Rune songs and chants from Finland and Karelia, including shamanistic, ritualistic music.  Here she plays a tune called Winter Rune from her latest 2021 album Wolf Rune with some amazing overtone singing by Anna-Maria Hefele.  In the introduction there is a short and interesting interview giving some background.

That's it for today, next we are heading back into Sweden, heading towards Stockholm.  As usual you follow my virtual journey on my Tripline map.

Norway - Vestland Part II & Møre og Romsdal

 

Next on our virtual journey we are doing a bit of fjord hopping along the west coast of Norway to the municipality of Jølster.  This is where multi-award winning Hardanger fiddle player Erlend Apneseth was born in 1990, whom we have already met duetting with Margit Myhr.  He performs solo or as part of his trio and his written music for cinema, theatre, dance performances, poetry and musical ensembles and orchestras in different genres.  His latest 2022 solo album Nova was recorded in the Vigeland mausoleum in Oslo, giving the sound an eerie reverberation.  Here is a tune from the album called Speglingar:

Staying in Jølster, which by all accounts is a bit of a hotspot of traditional music, we meet another Hardanger fiddle player in Gro Marie Svidal.  She started on the instrument aged 5 and has 2 solo albums to her name to date, plus various collaborations.  Her 2016 album Eilov is pure unadulterated Hardanger fiddle playing traditional tunes from her home region.  Here are a couple of tunes from the album, beginning with the opening track Håstabøen:

We head on further north to the municipality of Hornindal, where we meet yet another Hardanger fiddle player in Britt Pernille Frøholm.  She combines traditional Norwegian folk tunes with some contemporary and jazzy notes, adding her own compositions.  In her latest 2021 album Årringar (year rings) she collaborates with bass player Sigurd Hole, which is themed around the harsh seasons of western Norway.  Here is a tune from the album called Elerida:

Also from Hornindal is singer Unni Løvlid.  She is also rooted in Norwegian folk, but combines it with jazz, experimental sounds and influences from other parts of the world.  In her latest project she combines with Japanese musicians playing traditional Japanese instruments such as the sho, a free reed instrument, and the shakuhachi, an end blown bamboo flute.  Together they explore the classcial Japanese gagaku tradition of imperial court music and dances, together with definite Nordic inspirations.  This is a live version of a track from the resulting 2017 album Hymn called Vind, kom, which is inspired by the northern lights:

We continue our journey north along the west coast to the county of Møre og Romsdal to the small community of Mauseidvåg near Ålesund, where perhaps the most famous Hardanger fiddle player of all, AnnbjørgLien, grew up in a musical household.  She initially learned the instrument from her father, then went on to study under various masters, eventually achieving a PHD in 2019 in Hardanger fiddle at the University of Agder.  During the early part of her career she played with folk group Bukkene Bruse, whom we already covered in Oslo.  She has since a number of solo albums and has collaborated with folk musicians from all over the world, crossing musical borders on her way.  This a tune called Inoque from her 2002 album Aliens Alive:

Also check out her latest album Janus.

We conclude our tour of the west coast for the time being in the municipality of Kristiansund, where singer and composer Lynni Treekrem grew up, although she was born in Seattle in the USA in 1958.  There isn't much information out there about her, except that she won a Spelemanprisen award for her 1995 album Haugtussa, which is based on a selection of poems by  Arne Garborg.  So here is a song from the album called Den Snilde Guten:

That's it for today, next we are heading back inland to the appropriately named county of Inlandet.  In the meantime you can follow my virtual route on my tripline map as usual.