Sweden - Dalarna

 Next we are heading for the county of Dalarna, which literally means valleys, in central Sweden.  It is a large, sparsely populated county the size of Belgium.  First stop is the capital city Falun, where the folk music association Falu Spelmanslag was founded in 1989.  The group has about 70 active members, mostly fiddlers, from all over the Nordic countries and anybody is invited to join.  They tour widely with their material of traditional music from Dalarna and other regions, although they haven't actually recorded much.  This tune I uploaded onto YouTube some years ago, but I can't for the life of me remember where I got it from.  It's called Nylandssetet, Polska fran Bingsjö and comes with some scenes from Dalarna:

Also born in Falun was young fiddler Anna Ekborg.  Her 2021 debut album Solo has gained her much praise for her deft touch in interpreting a deep pool of traditional tunes from her home region, learned both from her teachers and dug out from old archives. Or to put it into her own words:

 And here is a tune from the album called Polska efter Höök Olle:

English guitarist Ian Carr is originally from Cumbria, but he moved to Falun in Sweden in 2001.  His unique finger-picking style has accompanied the likes of Cumbrian piper Kathryn Tickell (who is his cousin) and many others.  in 2022 he decided to record a solo album of traditional folk tunes of his new homeland called Covers Traditional Melodies of Dalarna - Sweden.  One reviewer apparently likened it to John Fahey having moved to Sweden, and I have to agree with that assessment.  Here is a tune of that album called Knöl Lars Polska, recorded live at his allotment:

Violinist Ellinor Fritz was born in Hedemora in southern Dalarna in 1988.  She started at a young age and in various genres, but always with Swedish folk as her starting point.  Together with Belgo-Argentinian cellist Leonor Palazzo she formed the string duo Ellinor & Leonor playing folk tunes from south Dalarna.  Palazzo trained in classical cello decided to widen her horizon by playing traditional Swedish folk and added a 5th string to her cello.  In 2019 they released their second album called Årsringar.  Here is a tune from the album called G-moll polska efter Jon Åman:

Two of the 3 members of folk trio Frifot are from Dalarna.  The trio formed in 1987 and apparently are still going, although they haven't actually released any new music in the past 15 years.  The members are Lena Willemark (born 1960 in Älvdalen, north Dalarna) on vocals and fiddle, Per Gudmonson (born 1955 in Falun) on fiddle and bagpipe and Ale Möller (whom we already met in Scania County), all of whom also have successful solo careers and collaborations.  Here is a piece that was released on the 2000 edition of The Rough Guide to The Music of Scandinavia, (which may no longer be available) and is called I denna ljuva sommart:

This is it from Dalarna for the moment.  Wishing you all a happy New Year and see you next year back in Norway on our way north.  In the meantime, as usual, you can follow my virtual ramblings on my Tripline map.

England, Durham & Cumbria

Before we leave Northumberland we pop into the city of Newcastle-upon-Tyne to meet the Andy May Trio.  They formed in 2015 as a colloboration of 3 accomplished musicians, Northumbrian piper Andy May, guitarist Ian Stephenson and fiddler Sophie Ball.  They only have one album to their name so far called About Time (I reckon it's about time they record another...), which is a collection of traditional tunes.  This tune, Cuckold Came Out of the Amrey, features on that album:

The Northeast of England is of course historically famous for its coal mines and it is from this tradition that The Pitman Poets come from.   This is a collaboration of 4 musicians from Northumberland and Durham who get together whenever their individual busy schedules allow in Newcastle.  Their albums are only available in CD form directly from their website.  This song, Black Leg Mining Man, features on their Live album:

One of the quartet above, Jez Lowe, was practically born in a coal mine in the village of Easington Colliery in County Durham.  He is one of the busiest folk musicians in the country and has a huge back catalogue of recordings.  Many of his songs have been covered by the likes of Fairport Convention, The Dubliners, The Unthanks and others.  Apart from collaborating with the Pitman Poets he has his own band The Bad Pennies featuring amongst others Andy May.  He also wrote a song which gave the above collaboration its name, The Pitman Poets, which features on his 2014 album The Ballad Beyond: 

The young, mostly accapello trio appropriately named The Young'Uns hail from Stockton-on-Tees.  This is a song from their 2015 album Another Man's Ground called You Won't Find Me on Benefit Street:

Next we are heading west to the Lake District in the County Cumbria.  Here we meet singer-songwriter Maz O'Connor for something a bit more contemporary. From her latest album, Chosen Daughter, a tribute to the feminine, this song is called Cordelia: 

So much for today.  Stay safe in your homes.  As usual you can follow my virtual ramblings on tripline.