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.