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.
We take the ferry from Hirtshals in Denmark to Tórshavn on the Faroe Islands. Most people on the Faroes seem to be musicians. I suppose you have to entertain yourself somehow if you live on a group of rugged islands in the middle of the windswept North Atlantic. Technically the Faroes form part of the kingdom of Denmark, but they enjoy a large degree of autonomy, although there is an active and large independence movement. The Faroe Islands consist of 18 main islands connected through bridges and tunnels and 779 islets and skerries.
We start our musical journey with the Nordic ensemble Yggdrasil, who are based in the capital. The band was formed in 1981 with members from various countries and changing personnel. Yggdrasil in Nordic mythology is the World Tree. Their style encompasses jazz and classical elements all with a Nordic flavour. Here are a few tunes from their 2021 album Porkerisvatn which is a concept album to provide musical accompaniment to a landscape painting from a collection by William Heinesen:
Folktronica band Valravn was actually based in Denmark, but at least 2 of their members were from the Faroes, including lead singer Anna Katrin Egilstrøð, who has more than a hint of Björk about her. The band was active between 2005-2013 and released 3 1/2 albums during that time (the last one was published unfinished) and were inspired by the folk traditions of Denmark, the Faroes and Iceland with a dose of electronica. This is a song from their 2009 album Koder på snor called Kelling:
Author and musician Høgni
Reistrup was born in Tórshavn in 1984. He's written a few books on the crisis of a decreasing population in the Faroes, despite one of the highest birth rates in Europe. He has also been active in local politics. His music is mostly electronica, sung in Faroese with some classical and jazz elements. Here's a song from his 2013 album Áðrenn vit hvørva (Before we disappear) called Möðandi orka:
Folk metal band Týr formed in Tórshavn in 1998 and play some Nordic folk inspired heavy metal. Here is a song from their 2019 album Hel called Ragnars Kvæði:
Singer/songwriter Guðrið Hansdóttir grew up in Argir, just south of Tórshavn. She is the daughter another well-known musician Hans Carl Hansen. Her music is influenced by Swedish pop as well as 70's rock such as Jethro Tull and Kate Bush. She sings both in English and Faroese and also collaborates with partner Janus Rasmussen in the duo Byrta. Here is a song from her forthcoming album Gult Myrkur called Blátt Myrkur:
Singer/songwriter Teitur Lassen was born in Hoyvik in 1977. He has been on the international circuit for some years and has collaborated with the likes of Seal, Corinne Bailey Rae and others. He writes and sings mostly in English, but has included some Faroese songs on his latest 2021 album Cazador de Ostras such as this one called Lær meg at dansa, which I presume means teach me to dance:
Finally I can't leave the Faroes without giving Eivør Pálsdóttir a mention. She was my first introduction to Faroese music with her fabulous rendition of her song Tròdlabùndin on YouTube. She was born in 1983 in Syðrugøta, a village on the island of Eysturoy, and generally just goes by her first name. The song that made her famous appears on her 2004 self-titled album. This is acoustically not the best version on the net, but I love the scenes of the spectacular Faroese landscape on this version. It never fails to give me goose bumps:
That's it from the Faroe Islands, next stop Iceland. In the meantime you can follow my virtual ramblings on my Tripline map.
