Greece - Crete - The West

 Next we are heading to the west of the island beginning in the Lefka Ori Mountain range near Chania.  It is this region that his home to a distinct vocal tradition called Rizitika, which traditionally was performed by men a capella.  Singer and composer Xanthoula Dakovanou is actually from Athens, but she has just released an album inspired by Cretan vocal traditions called Rizituals, giving the songs female voices and adding instrumentation.  Here's a song from that album called Rizituals Sousta featuring some stunning landscapes:

Heading back towards Heraklion we stop in the village of Anogeia, which is home to the Xylouris family, which has several great musicians.  Starting with the most contemporary member, singer and Cretan laoto player Giorgos 'George' Xylouris, also known as Psarogiogis.  When touring with his father composer and Cretan lyra player Antonis (known as Psarantonis) in Australia he met Australian drummer Jim White and together they formed Xylouris White combining  traditional Cretan sounds with free jazz and avant rock.  Giorgios now spends time between Australia and Crete.  Here is a song from their 2018 album Mother called Only Love:

And here is some archival footage of 3 members of the Xylouris family playing together:

Father Antonis, known as Psarantonis, was born in 1939 and is still active.  He is known for his distinct gravelly voice.  Here is a thought provoking piece by him called Greenhouse Effect:

Cretan laoto player Yiagos Hairetis is also from Anogeia.  He got together with English experimental harpist Maria-Christina Harper (great name for a harpist!) to form the duo Hairetis Harper to create a fusion of Cretan music and London avant-garde jazz.  Here is a song from their 2020 debut album Draft called Bell.  Note how all the men from the region appear to have long hair and a beard, I'd fit right in!

And that concludes our tour of Crete, next we'll hop around some of the other Greek islands.  In the meantime you can follow my virtual journey on my Tripline map.

Greece - Crete - Heraklion and the East

 Sadly there are no direct ferries from Cyprus to the Greek islands, but we'll just pretend there are as we arrive in Greece and hop around the islands.  I have been to Greece 3 times in my life, Greek food was the first 'ethnic' food I was exposed to as a kid as Greek restaurants became popular in Germany, and in the background you'd always hear the sound of a bouzouki and the soundtrack of Zorba the Greek.  My first big hitchhiking trip was to Greece with a friend in 1981.  In preparation for the trip and I did a trial hitchhike from Bremen to a place called Bad Segeberg, to see an open air concert of legends of Greek music Mikis Theodorakis and Maria Farantouri.

There will be more about those two much later, but we'll start on the Greek islands, beginning with the largest on Crete.  I stayed a week on the island once back in 1991 or 1992, and if I'll ever find the photos from that trip I'll stick one or two up here.  Crete is culturally a bit different from the rest of Greece, having been the cradle of Europe's first advanced civilisation in the Minoans from 2700 to 1400 BC.  It only became part of Greece in 1913.  The music of Crete is collectively known as Kritika.

Minoan art. photo credit: By Jebulon - Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=99294843

We begin our journey of Crete at the main entry point and capital Heraklion, where trailblazing folk group Chainides formed in 1990 by a group of students of Crete University.  They treat Cretan folk with respect as something very much alive rather than a thing of the past and have paved the way to a whole generation of young Cretan musicians.  Here is a song of theirs called To Syrto Toy Ouranou (The Wind's Sweep), which features on their 2005 double album O Giteftis Kai To Drakodonti:

Poet and musician twin brothers Michalis & Pantelis Kalogerakis were also born in Heraklion.  They match their own and other poetry, often spoken, to Rebetika influenced music collaborating with various other singers including Maria Farantouri.  Here is a song from their 2021 album Rempotika called Mona Zyga.  The singer is Lena Kitsopolo, but sadly I can't understand the words:

Ross Daly was actually born in King's Lynn in Norfolk, England in 1952, but he has made Crete, specifically the village of Achanes south of Heraklion, his home back in 1982, where he is now a highly regarded master of the Cretan lyra and where he has established the Labyrinth Musical Workshop.  He has travelled the world and worked together with musicians from all over the world, including Mongolia's Huun Hur Tu and musicians from Mali, having released over 35 albums.  Here is song from his latest, brand new album tin anixi perimenes - You Waited for Spring called Tsi mousikis i methi (Drunk by Music):

Bouzouki player Manolis Dimitrianakis was born in Mirtos, Crete and is well known for his traditional Rebetika around the country.  Here he is performing in his home village:

Stelios Petrakis (born 1975 in Sitia in Eastern Crete) first learned to play the Cretan Lyra aged 8 and counts Ross Daly as one of his early teachers.  He has now forged a successful career with various international collaborations and his own quartet.  Here is a piece from his highly acclaimed 2022 album Spondi called Maleviziodis with some impressive dancing:

We'll leave it here for the moment and explore the western half of the island next time.  It's been a while since my last post since I was travelling in real life and life has been busy in general.  As usual you can follow my virtual travels on my Tripline Map.

Finland - Uusimaa & Helsinki Part I

 Next on our virtual trip around Finland we reach the region of Uusimaa, which includes the capital Helsinki.  First up we stop in the city of Espoo, where the all female kantele quartet Kardemimmit come from.  They were formed about 2005 by 2 sisters Anna & Leeni Wegelius and Jutta Rahmel and Maija Pokela.  Apart from playing various forms of the kantele, the national instrument of Finland, they sing self-composed or rearranged folk songs in tight harmonies inspired by the traditions of different regions from all over the country.  Here is a carefree love song from their 2009 album Kaisla called Huoleton rakkaus:

Also born in Espoo in 1964 is accordionist Maria Kalaniemi, who we met on our last post together with Eero Grundström.  She has also worked with pianist Timo Alakotila, whom we also met last time round.  In 2018 they produced an album together with Johanna & Mikko Iivanainen (vocals and guitar respectively) called Seimiyö.  Here's a song off the album called Heinillä härkien Kaukalon:

Finally we arrive in the capital of Finland and the 'Pearl of the Baltic Sea', Helsinki.  It is ranked as one of the most desirable cities in the world to live and is brimming with culture and music.  I have never been, but it's on the bucket list.

We start with one of my all time favourite acts, the vocal quartet Loituma.  They've been going since 1989 and still occasionally get together, but have only released 2 albums during their long career, both of which are hard to get hold of these days, but they scored one huge hit, when initially a Flash animation featuring their song Ievan Polkka went viral.  An old performance from 1996 of the full song soon surfaced and went viral too.  The song featured on their 1995 self-titled album (later released internationally as Things of Beauty) and reinforces my impression that Finnish is just a joke language...

More recently we have electro folk outfit Okra Playground.  They combine traditional Finnish folk with instruments including the kantele and the bowed lyre with a more modern contemporary approach.  Recently their most recent album Itku won the best European album of the year award from Songlines magazine.  The music is dominated by the 3 female vocalists and strong rhythms.  Here is the title track from the album:

'Vocal folk hop group Tuuletar are also relatively new on the scene.  The all female quartet has made some waves at Womex in Budapest and New Zealand, using only their voices, beatbox and even overtone singing, but deeply rooted in Finnish culture and language.  Here's a haunting song from their 2019 album Rajatila / Borderline called Lähteellä (At the Source):

The first musical instrument I ever set eyes on was probably a harmonica.  My Dad had an old diatonic harmonica from his days in the Rotterdam Harmonica Orchestra (yes there used to be such a thing...), which lived in a drawer of our living room cabinet with old shoelaces, buttons, scissors and other useful paraphernalia.  Later, as a teenager, I got into the blues and as harmonicas were cheap, I bought myself a Hohner blues harp.  I managed to get bluesy sounds out of it almost from the first moment I picked it up and managed to get quite good at it.  People still ask me how I do it, and I literally can't explain it, except that I seem to have a natural affinity with the instrument, even though I rarely play it.

Anyway, this long preamble serves me as an introduction to the next act, the harmonica trio Sväng, who were established by Eero Grundström, whom we met in the last post.  It consists of 4 varying types of harmonica, playing anything from Balkan rhythms, Slavic melancholy to passionate tango, world music from the north and wild improvisations.  It is quite a unique combination.  Here's a funny video of them explaining what their name means, whilst playing harmonica and cooking sausages:

Here's a medley from their 2021 album In Trad We Trust called Katrilla, Pilkkua ja Wappua:

Born in 1966, Sanna Kurki-Suonio has been part of the Nordic neo-folk scene for a long time.  She was a founding member of both Swedish-Finnish act Hedningarna as well as singing and playing the Kantele with Loituma and British/Finnish collaboration SANS.  She has also had a successful solo career with her band the snappily named Sanna Kuurki-Suonion Kuolematon Erikoistysteemi (Sanna Kuurki-Suonio's Unparalleled Special System).  This is more folk informed indie rock with elements of psychedelia. This is a track from their self-titled 2015 album called Häävalssi:

As I said Sanna Kurki-Suonio is also a vocalist for British/Armenian/Finnish quartet SANS.  It's the brainchild of British multi-instrumentalist and zither player Andrew Cronshaw and he is also joined by Armenian duduk player Tigran Aleksanyan and reeds player Ian Blake.  The music is roots inspired, but a conversation of different traditions, including Karelian, Armenian and English folk.  Here is an extract from a Womad concert with some of the songs included on their 2018 album Kulku:

That's it for today, next time we'll carry on exploring the music of Helsinki.  Until then you can check out my musical ramblings on my tripline map.

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.

Sweden - The South

 

After crossing the almost 8km long Öresund Bridge from Denmark we arrive in Sweden, land of elks and Ikea, lakes and laid back people, Abba and a treasure trove of Nordic folk.  I visited a couple times many years ago, the photos have long ago disappeared in the archives and again visited Stockholm a couple of years ago to visit a friend, when the photo above was taken.

The first place we encounter in Sweden is Malmö in the Scania county.  Folk musician and multi-instrumentalist Ale Möller was born around here in 1955.  He started off as a jazz trumpeter, but after a spell of living in Greece he learned the bouzouki and played with Greek maestro Mikis Theodorakis.  Returning to his native Sweden he dedicated himself to traditional Swedish folk as well as various fusion collaborations with musicians from as diverse places as Shetland, Greece, India and West Africa playing mandola, accordion, flute, shawm, dulcimer, harp and harmonica as well as bouzouki.  He played with Aly Bain of Shetland exploring the Nordic and Celtic crossover influences of those islands.  This is the opening tune to their 2001 album Fully Rigged called The Fully Rigged Ship/The Newly Rigged Ship:

The Swedish half of husband and wife team Sousou & Maher Cissoko also comes from the Malmö region while husband Maher comes from the Casamance region of Senegal.  Sousou grew up surrounded by music, especially the music of West Africa.  Her love of the Kora, the west African harp, led her to Senegal, where she studied in a family of Griots, where she met her husband.  Now the two of them tour the world, playing kora and guitar and singing their own compositions.  Here's a song from their 2018 album Made of Music called Lamp Fall:

Just north of Malmö is the town of Lund, where multi-instrumentalist and record producer Erik Asp-Upmark is based.  He plays many early instruments including the Säckpipa (Swedish back pipes) and harp in various bands.  One of his projects is Swedish folk band Svanevit, named after Sven Svanevit, a character from a Medieval Swedish ballad, who goes on a quest involving mythical creatures, magic and knights in shining armour.  Here's a tune from their 2008 album Rikedom ochGåvor called Åleätarns vals:

Next we are moving on to Skurup, also in Scania county, where Danish/Swedish folk quintet Tailcoat are based.  Their music is based around Rasmus Brinck's Nyckelharpa, acompanied by fiddle, bass, drums and cittern, giving their tunes a bit of a jazzy feel.  Here's a tune from their 2019 album Tall Tales in Tiny Pieces called Havgusens March:

Next we are heading a long way up the east coast of Sweden to the Baltic Sea island of Gotland.  According to legend a guy called Tjelvar was the first inhabitant of the island, after he freed it from a curse of sinking under the waves during daylight hours.  Folk band Gunnfjauns Kapell named themselves after Tjelva's grandson, thus carrying on the traditions and legacy of Gotland.  They've been going since 1982 and here is a song from their 1998 album Vollund called Andetag (Breath), referring to the wind that is a constant feature of the island:

Next stop is the city of Linköping, where accordionist and composer Lars Hollmer was born in 1948.  Sadly he died in 2008 of cancer in his adopted home town of Uppsala.  His music ranged from prog rock to jazz to Nordic folk tunes.  He was a member of numerous bands, collaborated with Japanese jazz players and composed music for films.  His last solo album released before his death was Viandra in 2007, and this is a tune from the album called Prozesscrik, where his prog rock influences can be clearly heard:

Next we are heading for Gothenburg or Göteborg, a lively port city on the Swedish west coast.  This is where singer/songwriter Sofia Talvik was born in 1978.  She combines Nordic folk influences with pop and jazz.  In her latest venture she combined with German David Floer to form the duo Hansan in reference to the Hanseatic League that was once a major trading link in the Baltic region.  They've created a melancholic Nordic sound.  This a song from their 2020 debut album Nattflykt (Night flight) called Fjärilsvärld:

In 1972 Folk-rock band Folk Och Rackare was formed in Gothenburg by Carin Kjellman and Ulf Gruvberg in the footsteps of English folk rockers Faiport Convention.  In 1976 they were joined by Norwegian members of the band Folque as guest musicians on their self-titled album, who subsequently became established members of the band.  This is the opening track from that album called Herr Olof och Havsfrun:

Once upon a time Scandinavia and Britain were connected by a large land bridge where the North Sea now is.  There were people living on that mass of land and moving backwards and forwards.  Refugees didn't have to risk dangerous crossings of the Channel in rubber dinghies (mind you they might have had to dodge bears and sabre tooth tigers perhaps...).  

This preamble takes us to the Koster Islands on Sweden's west coast just before the border to Norway.  This is were folk-jazz combo FatDog met during a music festival in 2011.  The name is an amalgam of the names of 2 bands namely Norwegian jazz trio Fattigfolket and Swedish/English folk trio Doggerland.  They very much place their music as a meeting point between Britain and Scandinavia on a mythical island between the 2, which may have once existed, all with a big dose of jazz.  Here is a song from their only album to date New Found Land issued in 2014 called Ring the Changes:

That's it from Southern Sweden for today.  We'll come back to Sweden as we zigzag our way around Scandinavia, but next stop is Norway.  In the meantime you can follow my virtual travels on my tripline map.

Denmark - Sjælland Part I

 Next we are heading over the bridge to the island of Sjælland or Zealand, which includes the capital city of Copenhagen.  I visited Copenhagen once a looooong time ago and my memory of it is a bit hazy.  We approached the city from the north and visited the Tuborg brewery first at 9 am.  Being this early most people only wanted one of the two beers offered for free at the end of the tour, so I volunteered to finish off everybody else's beers, so they wouldn't go to waste.  The rest of the day in Copenhagen kind of disappeared in a blur for some reason... can't think why.  

Anyway, we start in the small town of Næstved, where part of the folk band Baltic Crossing comes from, namely fiddle player Kristian Bugge, the rest of the band come from Finland and also includes Northumbrian pipe player Andy May, whom we have already met in Newcastle on this blog.  The name of the band derives from the fact that wherever they get together, at least one of them has to cross the Baltic Sea.  They play lively traditional dance tunes from all over Europe.  Here is a fun tune from their 2019 album Carry On Crossing called Oyster Wife's Rant:

Next we are heading to the small town of Gadstrup, 20km southwest of Copenhagen, where Dark Nordic folk singer and composer Nanna Barslev is from.  She employs ancient Nordic instruments and singing techniques to paint an atmospheric soundscape of the north.  Her latest album, released this year, is called Lysbærer (carrier of light) and this is a track from the album called Mod Vrede:

In a similar vein we finally arrive in Copenhagen where Nordic folk musician Mike Schaefer Olsen, better known as Danheim, was born in 1985.  Unlike Nanna Barslev his background is in electronic music, which he incorporates in his Nordic folk sounds with traditional Viking instruments.  Here's a song called Reida from his from his 2020 album Skapanir:

The band Myrkur was initially founded in 2014 by singer and multi-instrumentalist Amalie Bruun as a black metal group in Copenhagen, but on their their third album Folkesange in 2020 changed to a more upbeat folky style.  At the outset the identity of Bruun was kept a secret, but has since been revealed.  She clearly likes to do things differently, playing many of the instruments in her recordings herself, including guitar, bass and nyckelharpa.  Here's the opening track to that album called Ella:

The members of Nordic trio Dreamers' Circus, Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen (Faroe Islands), Ale Carr (Sweden) and Nikolaj Busk (Denmark), met at a jam session at a folk festival in Copenhagen in 2009.  Their music defies genres with influences of Nordic folk, jazz and classical music melding into something of a Nordic Penguin Café Orchestra.  It has been described as New Nordic.  Here's a track from their 2018 album Rooftop Sessions called Kitchen Stories:

Fiddler Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen is also part of the Grammy-nominated Danish String Quartet, who are mostly a classic chamber music quartet, but often delve into traditional Nordic tunes.  The 3 Danish members of the band are joined by Norwegian cellist Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin.  Whilst they all have beards and may or may not be Vikings, they assure their fans they only pillage the coasts of England occasionally.  Here's a tune called Shore by the aforementioned Fredrik Sjölin from their 2017 album Last Leaf:

On this calming note we'll end it for today, exploring more of Copenhagen and Zealand next time.  In the meantime, as usual, you can follow my virtual ramblings on my tripline map.

Denmark - Aarhus & Funen

We're taking the long journey back from Greenland via Iceland and the Faroes to continue our journey through Denmark.  Next stop here is the second largest city of Denmark, Aarhus, in the east of the Jutland peninsula.  There are a few acts active here.  Let's start with something soothing and gentle from folk/jazz trio Hvalfugl.  They combine light jazz with Nordic folk to create moods often associated with the seasons.  Here is an atmospheric tune from their 2021 EP En Dag I Oktober called Stilhed før Stormen:

Folktronica band Sorten Muld (Black soil or dark ground) formed in Aarhus in 1995.  They interweave Nordic Medieval ballads with trip hop and techno to create a unique Scandinavian sound.  Here's the opening track from their 2021 album Mark IV - Lånt Tid called Hillelil:

The 3 members of Turkish psych band Ipek Yolu got together for a spontaneous jam session at the 2018 Aarhus Roots & Hybrid Festival.  They blend Electro-tinged Cumbia with Turkish folk and 60's Psychedelia.  Their name is the Turkish for Silk Road.  They released their debut album Tropical Anatatolia in 2021 and this track is called Ayvaz:

Next stop is the small town of Gelsted on the island of Funen, where folk singer Helene Blum was born in 1979.  Gelsted is in the delightfully named municipality of Middelfart.  Starting off as a classical pianist, Helene graduated from the folk music department of the Carl Nielsen Academy of Music in Odense.  She sings mostly own compositions inspired by Nordic folk, but also dabbles in opera and other genres.  Her 2013 debut album Men med åbne øjne gained her immediate critical acclaim from the Daily Telegraph, as did her 2017 album Dråber af Tid (Droplets of time).  This is the opening track of the latter album called En lille dråbe blod (A little drop of blood):

Helene Blum often performs together with her fiddler husband Harald Haugaard, who is also from the island of Funen.  Here they are together as the Helene Blum & Harald Haugaard Band playing a song called Stranden from their 2020 album Strømmen:

Moving on to Odense, the largest city on Funen we meet folk musician Rune Barslund (whistle and accordion) who is part of the Celtic folk trio Inver, the other parts being Kevin Lees (fiddle) and Matthew Jones (guitar) from Newcastle in England.  Rune studied at Limerick University where he picked up some traditional Irish folk tunes.  Here is a set of tunes called The Mouse in the Cupboard / The Cat's Meow / Dick Sherlock's from their 2019 debut album Heading Out 

Also from Odense are Nordic folk band Basco, who combine various Scandinavian influences  with some Anglo-Saxon folk leanings. On their latest 2021 album Raek Mig Faklen they collaborate with folk singer Jullie Hjetland, who was born in Svendborg on Funen of Norwegian and Danish heritage, and has lived all over Scandinavia and Greenland, therefore having had a thorough immersion in various Nordic traditions and speaking the different languages fluently. Here's the opening track from the album called Sortøjet Dreng:

That's it for today, next we are heading to the island of Zealand, where the capital Copenhagen is located.  Until then you can follow my virtual travels on my Tripline map. 

Iceland Part I

 From the Faroes we take another ferry to arrive in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, the land of the northern lights, glaciers and geysers, where everybody knows everybody else and singing and late night story telling is central to the culture.  Iceland's most famous person by a country mile is singer/songwriter Björk Guðmundsdóttir, who is better known by just her first name.  She is mostly known for her avantgarde rock, electronic and jazz influenced style, singing mostly in English in her unmistakably unique voice.  However she has also released songs in her native Icelandic such as this song from her 2004 album Medúlla called Vokuro:

Indie rock band Árstíðir were formed in 2008 in Reykjavik.  Their style has elements of chamber music with cello accompaniment and is sung both in Icelandic and English.  Here is a live and acoustic version of a couple of tracks from their 2012 EP Tvíeind:

The traditional folk music form of Iceland is the Rímur, a very old tradition of epic ballads, and one of its prime modern interpreters is Bára Grimsdóttir, who was born in Ryekjavik in 1960.  Here she performs the title track to her 2004 album Funi, which means fire in old Icelandic, together with her English partner Chris Foster:

Another proponent of the Rímur tradition is fisherman Steindór Andersen.  He is most noted for his collaborations with Icelandic rock band Sigur Rós.  Here's a song from their 2001 album Rímur called Á Ferð Til Breiðafjarðar Vorið 1922 (On a trip to Breiðafjarðar in the spring of 1922):

Multi-instrumentalist and composer Ásgeir Ásgeirsson combines Icelandic folk songs with influences from all over the world.  His mastery of a variety of string instruments such as the oud, tambura, saz baglama and bouzouki adds Eastern flavours to the folk songs of the far northwest of Europe.  He released a trilogy of albums collaborating with musicians from Turkey, Iran, Bulgaria and Greece as well as well known Icelandic folk singer Sigrídur Thorlacius.  This is a song from his 2017 Turkish inspired album, Two Sides of Europe called Hátíð fer að höndum ein:

That's it from Iceland for today.  we will continue exploring the music of Iceland next time.  In the meantime you can follow my virtual journey on my Tripline map.

Germany - Berlin Part 2

 We'll start the second part of our visit to Berlin with something a bit more traditional.  Violin duo Trad Töchter (Trad Daughters), consisting of Berlin-born Vivien Zeller and Ursula Suchanek, take their inspiration from the traditional dance music of Northern Germany and give them their own twist with their own compositions and arrangement.  This is a tune called Sturmflut (Storm Surge) from their album Neue Geigenmusik:

Klezmer trio Sukke seems to have been just a one-off collaboration of 3 of Europe's most in-demand klezmer musicians, accordionist Sanne Mörike from the Netherlands, clarinettist Merlin Shepherd from England and bassist Heiko Lehmann from Berlin.  They keep their klezmer sound fairly traditional, but add own compositions.  Here is the opening track from their one and only 2011 album Introducing Sukke called Beygele:

Australian David Stewart Ingleton, American Jason Serious and Chilean Tomás Peralta met in Berlin to form the Americana and Bluegrass band Yonder Boys.  They sometimes give their interpretations of the genre  hints at 1960's psychedelia, hence the title of their 2021 debut album Acid Folk.  Here is the opening track of the album called Rabbit Song:

Now in complete contrast something more calming from Celtic harpist Andy Ozbolt alias Andy Aquarius, who is of German and Croatian descent.  His music is reminiscent of Celtic new age music and could be used as ambient background music at a yoga session, but it holds enough melodic and rhythmic interest to hold your attention.  Here is a song from his 2021 album Chapel called The Phase Has Changed.  Why do I always feel like a Guinness when I see a Celtic harp?

And while we are on harps, Harfenduo Zirla consists of Daniela Heiderich and Merit Zloch playing music on Bohemian hook-harps inspired by old dance tunes with influences of Latin, jazz, rock, pop and world music.  Quite a combination and quite a groovy sound.  They have released one album in 2019 called Abfahrt in 5 Minuten (Departure in 5 minutes), which is only available on CD, and here is a tune by them called Cila:

That's it from Berlin for the time being, next we're heading to Saxony and Lower Saxony for some tunes.  In the meantime you can follow my virtual ramblings on my Tripline map.

France - The Northeast

The town of Trimbach in Alsace

 Before leaving Paris, there is a new album out by Gypsy Balkan band La Caravane Passe called Nomadic Spririt.  It's a joyous celebration of Balkan and Gypsy inspired music blended with punk, rap, chanson, Gnawa and Latin sounds.  The title song of the album perfectly sums up the idea of this blog of borderless music.  It features Moroccon Mehdi Nassouli:

Next we are heading south to Nevers in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, where contemporary accordionist Jean-Louis Matinier was born, for something altogether more calm.  He comes from the Jazz tradition and has fused it with various world music styles, notably collaborating with Tunisian oud player Anouar Brahem.  In his latest collaboration he just released an album called Rivage with classical and jazz guitarist Kevin Seddiki from Clermont-Ferrand.  Here are 3 songs, 2 of them feature on the album.  Schumansko, the opening track draws on a Bulgarian melody combined with a theme from Schumann.

I'm not sure where bagpipe and banjo player Julien Cartonnet was born, but he did record an album in 2013 called Musique Traditionelle du Nivernais-Morvan (which is proving tricky to get hold of), so we will visit this region next within the Bourgogne-Franche-Comte region.  Here he plays a rousing Scottish with accordionist Jean Thiery:

Together with accordionist Andy Cutting (whom we met in London) and James Delarre, Cartonnet is also part of Anglo-French folk outfit Topette!!.  Here's a piece from their 2019 album Rhododendron called Oblique Jig / Miss Heidi Hendy:

Next we are heading into the Vosges mountains to Saint-Dié-des-Vosges in the Grand-Est region, where singer/songwriter Frédérique Dastrevigne, known simply as Fredda was born.  This song called Jours Heureux is from her upcoming album Bisolaire (available from the 13th November): 

Also from the Grand-Est region, singer/songwriter Pascal Parisot was born in Pompey, just north of Nantes. He specialises in children's songs and puts on fun shows for them.  The following song called Allons Z'enfants features on the 2011 compilation The Rough Guide to Paris Lounge:

And finally with Halloween coming up, here is an extract from a fun looking kids show he did called Mort de Rire:

This concludes our tour of the northern half of France.  We will return to explore the south of France on our way south, but next we will be heading into the Benelux countries.  As usual you can follow my virtual ramblings on my tripline map.

 

England - East Anglia & Kent

East Anglia is a flat landscape with sweeping sandy beaches along its coasts on the bulge of land to the north of London.  Above a beach in northern Norfolk.  Hailing from Norwich, the capital of county Norfolk is folk trio Alden Patterson and Dashwood, who weave rich vocal harmonies, fiddle, guitar and dobro around beautifully written original songs and melodies, some of them influenced by bluegrass.  Here's a song from their 2018 album By The Night called The Cobbler's Daughter:

Near Norwich is the village of Raveningham, where performer, composer and improviser Laura Cannell hails from.  She is mostly known for her baroque violin playing and the eerie drones of her recorder producing experimental sounds exploring links between medieval traditional and modern musical idioms.  Last year she got together with fellow East Anglia singer Polly Wright to record a purely vocal album called Sing As the Crow Flies, which is a collection of haunting melodies inspired by the landscapes of Norfolk and almost puts you into a trance like state.  The source of their material apparently was a 19th century book snappily entitled 'The Norfolk Garland: A Collection of the Superstitious Beliefs and Practices, Proverbs, Curious Customs, Ballads and Songs of the People of Norfolk'.  This is the opening track called One for the Rook One for the Crow:

Folk singer, guitarist and concertina player Nancy Wallace was born in East London, but was raised in an unspecified Suffolk seaside town, but now resides in Montreal, Canada.  Her songs have featured on many compilation albums, but only released one full length solo album in 2009 called Old Stories.  This is a song from that album called I live not where I love:

Finger-style guitarist and singer/songwriter Adrian Nation was born in the Essex seaside village of Holland-on-Sea in Essex.  He lists his influences as the theme song of TV series Black Beauty, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young and Gordon Lightfoot and is said to have something of a young Martin Simpson about him.  Here's a demonstration of his guitar skills called Five Finger Rapids from his 2009 album Fall or Fly:

Legend in his own lifetime Billy Bragg was born in 1957 in Barking, Essex.  It's hard to believe the singer/songwriter and political activist is only 62, as he seems to have been around forever playing his brand of folk punk and protest songs.  Here is one of his classics, The World Turned Upside Down, performed live.  I like this version because of the intro, which says it all really.  It features on his 2016 release Back to Basics amongst other places:

Mother and daughter duo Belinda Kempster and Fran Foote have traditional folk running through their veins.  They've decided to record songs they have learned from Belinda's uncle Ernie, who was a farm labourer near Colchester in Essex, to document their family tradition.  The result is an album called On Clay Hill released in 2019, which just features the voices of these two women, plus a short bonus song, sung by Uncle Ernie himself.  This is a song called Dark-Eyed Sailor off the album:

Another family affair are multi-instrumentalists and folk singers Emily and Hazel Askew known as the Askew sisters from London (as we are passing through London again).  They aim to give ancient traditional songs a contemporary feel accompanying their voices with fiddle, melodeon, concertina and cello.  Their latest 2019 album is called Enclosure and this is the opening track, I Wandered by the Brookside:

Folk singer Chris Wood started out his musical journey as a choir boy at Canterbury Cathedral in Kent.  He has been part of the Oysterband and many other collaborations including with Andy Cutting and others, playing English, French and Québécois folk as well as his own compositions.  Here's a slightly dark song called Non the Wiser, which is the title track from his 2013 album:

And talking about the Oysterband, they are a folk punk band who started life in 1976 in Canterbury as the Oyster Ceilidh Band, then as the Oyster Band and finally adopting its present name with various changes in personnel over the years.  Here's a song from their 2008 album The Oxford Girl and Other Stories called Early Days of a Better Nation:

Also from Canterbury are progressive folk band Arlet, whose music according to their own words falls somewhere between the folk club and the chamber music hall.  Composer and accordionist Aidan Shepherd creates a fresh sound, which is drawing from English folk tunes, reminding one of the Penguin Café Orchestra and hints English composer Vaughan Williams.  Here's a tune from their 2013 album Clearing called V12:

Multi-instrumentalist and composer Tim Edey was born in the Kent village of Broadstairs near Dover, but lives in Donegal these days and is involved there in the Irish folk scene, having been part of the Chieftains and Lúnasa.  He also collaborated with New Zealand harmonica player Brendan Power to produce according to a BBC reviewer "one of the more colourful folk albums of 2011" entitled Wriggle and Writhe.  This is the title track off that album:

Sorry this was a bit of a longer post, but this concludes our trip around the British Isles, around Ireland, the Isle of Man, Scotland and its islands, England and Wales.  After one year and almost 5 months, covering 5,120 miles or 8,240 km, stopping at 178 places, we're next heading over the channel to France and the rest of Europe.  As usual you can follow my virtual tour on my tripline map.

England - London Part III & Bedforshire

'Psychedelic Turbo Folk' band Don Kipper proclaim to be playing 'traditional music of North-East London', which is one of the most culturally diverse parts of the city.  They started off in 2013 as a klezmer band around Greek/Serbian singer Dunja Botic, but incorporate many Eastern European and Balkan influences.  The name of their latest album released in 2018 is Seven Sisters, which is a sub-district of Tottenham, which they claim as their spiritual home.  Here's a mad song from that album called Opa Ela:

Folk singer and avid collector of traditional songs of Britain and Ireland Sam Lee was born in Tufnell Park, North London.  He picked up his love of folk music during summer camps as a kid.  Son of Jewish parents he has a particular interest in songs from the Roma and travelling communities.  His latest album released in January this year is called Old Wow and this is the opening track from it called The Garden of England (Seeds of Love):

Indie folk band Patch and the Giant consist of 5 multi-instrumentalists based around Highgate in North London producing sometimes a foot-stomping, clap along sound, sometimes more melodious songs.  This is from their 2017 album All That We Had, We Stole and is called Flowers:

North London is also home to a large Jewish community, especially around areas of Golders Green and Finchley.  From these areas sprung Oi Va Voi in 2000, playing Klezmer fused with indie-rock and alt-folk.  'Oi va voi' is an exclamation in modern Hebrew roughly translating as 'oh my gosh!'.  Here's a song from their 2018 album Memory Drop called Vanished World:

English folk musician and composer Andy Cutting hails from Harrow, a suburb to the northwest of London.  The melodeon player was part of Blowzabella and Fernhill and is known to perform both traditional English and French material as well as writing his own compositions.  Apart from the above bands he also extensively collaborated with guitarist Chris Wood and many others within the folk scene.  In 2015 he formed an Anglo-French band called Topette, which we will revisit once we hit France.  He has only one solo album to his name, which is the self-titled Andy Cutting released in 2010.  These are 2 tunes from that album: Old Light and The Abbess:

Moving a little beyond the commuter belt of London we hit Bedford, where we meet two musicians.  First up is '1940's compere and all round dapper chap' Thomas Benjamin Wild Esq., who went viral a while ago with his witty song I've No More ... to Give.  He performs in a smart suit playing a mandolin banjo singing some hilarious lyrics, some of everyday funny situations, others throwing ridicule at the political establishment.  In case you have missed his most famous song, here it is, and it features on his debut 2018 album Awkward Encounters While Walking My Dog: 

Secondly from Bedford is Jack Sharp, who, after 13 years of fronting psych folk band Wolf People on guitar and vocals, has recently released an album of more traditional folk songs inspired by his native Bedfordshire and pared down to just acoustic guitar and singing.  The album is called Good Times Older and this is a collection of songs off it.

This is it for today.  Next time we will finally complete our tour of the British Isles and forthwith bravely head onto the rest of Europe.  As usual you can follow my virtual ramblings on my tripline map.