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're taking the long journey back from Greenland via Iceland and the Faroesto 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.
We take the next ferry south to arrive in the capital of Greenland, Nuuk, which contains a third of the population of the country. Inuk indie-folk singer/songwriter Nive Nielsen was born here in 1979. She tours internationally with her band the Deer Children singing mostly in English, with a few songs thrown in in Greenlandic. Here is one of her songs in Greenlandic from her 2015 album Feet First called Tulugaq with some nice shots of Greenlandic scenery:
Hip-hop band Nuuk Posse formed in 1985 and rap in Greenlandic, English and Danish. They don't appear to have a website any more and might no longer be active, but here is a track to their 1995 album NP called Inupiliaqqat:
The indie-rock band Nanook was formed by brothers Christian and Frederick Elsner in Nuuk in 2008. The brothers are half Inuit, half Danish and sing in Greenlandic. They also run a record company and a musical instrument shop in Nuuk. They are the most popular current pop act in Greenland, their name referring to a mythological Greenlandic bear. This is a track from their 2018 album Ataasiusutut Misigissuseq called Aarnuaq (Talisman) filmed in Uummannaq in the north:
Finally we hop on a ferry again to the southern town of Qarqortoq, where singer/songwriter Simon Lynge grew up, although he was born in Holstebro in Denmark in 1980. He quotes his early influences as Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, Simon and Garfunkel and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and he sings mostly in English. He comes from a long line of musicians in his family, and he has been the first to achieve international success. Here is the title from his 2018 album Deep snow, which is available as a free download on his website. The video is filmed in Nuuk:
That's it from Greenland. In conclusion it seems the Greenlanders like the letter Q rather a lot in their language, I wonder what the Q is worth in their version of Scrabble (answers on a postcard, please)? Next we'll return to Denmark to continue our virtual journey of that country. Meanwhile you can follow my path on my tripline map.
For the next leg of our virtual journey we need to take a plane or hitch a ride on a fishing boat from Iceland to Greenland. It's the largest non-continental island in the world, which geographically belongs to the North American continent, but politically is part of Denmark, with a population of only about 56,000.Donald Trump famously wanted to buy it off Denmark, but the Greenlanders were not massively impressed. The population is made up of 89.5% indigenous Inuit and the climate is raw. The settlements are connected by plane or a ferry service that runs once a week and fishing is the main economic activity with no roads in the interior. Musically there is a surprising amount of it being put out. Traditionally the frame drum and shamanic chanting are the main forms of musical entertainment, but various modern influences are now predominant.
Now, given the harsh climate and long winter nights, Greenland has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, so I suppose they need to let off some steam every now and then and heavy metal and hard rock feature heavily in the music scene. So we start our trip in the far northwest of the country in the town Uummannaq, situated on a rocky island and the northernmost ferry terminal in Greenland (and apparently where Santa Claus lives...), where heavy metal band Siissisoq hail from. They were formed in 1994 and are one of most popular rock bands in Greenland. Their name means rhino in Greenlandic and all their lyrics are in Greenlandic. Heavy Metal is not my favourite genre, but we'll play you some to represent the north of Greenland. This a song called Tunersuilo, not sure where you'd get the album:
Next we are taking the ferry southwards along the west coast of Greenland to arrive in Maniitsoq, where singer-songwriter Rasmus Lyberth was born in 1951. His music style can best be described as jazz influenced pop-rock with a definite Greenlandic character. He is one of the most popular artists in the Greenlandic music scene. On his latest 2019 album Inuunerup opafigaanga/Livet skal leves på ny he includes a climate song in Greenlandic (with helpful English subtitles), a subject that affects this part of the world harder than elsewhere:
There isn't much I can find out about folk accordionist Louis Andreasen, except that he was from somewhere in Greenland and died in 1988 aged 71. However some of his music has survived in recorded form such as this polka called Saqisaaq which features on the Rough Guide to Scandinavian Music released in 2000:
In 1976 a Greenlandic rock band formed that initiated the start of a velvet revolution. They were called Sumé (which means where in Greenlandic), and although they started off in Denmark, they were the first band to sing highly political songs in the Greenlandic language advocating independence from Denmark. Whilst they haven't succeeded in their ultimate goal, Greenland now has a high degree of autonomy. Their debut album Sumat (where to) was bought by 20% of the Greenlandic population and gained iconic status in the country. In 2014 a film was released called Sumé - The Sound of a Revolution, documenting the story of the band and its influence on Greenlandic history. Here is the trailer:
Here's a live version of their song Innuneq (with helpful Danish subtitles...), which features on their 1977 self-titled album:
That's it from Greenland for the moment, next we are visiting the capital Nuuk and the south of the country. In the meantime you can follow my virtual ramblings on my tripline map as usual.
Voces Thules is an Icelandic music ensemble consisting of 5 male singers and instrumentalists playing Medieval and contemporary music in polyphonic voices. Here is an extract from a concert at the Nordic festival of Medieval music in Sweden:
Record producer, composer and musician Valgeir Sigurðsson (born 1970) creates a soundscape that blurs the lines between contemporary classical and electronic music. He has been commissioned to write many film scores, but has also written the likes of chamber operas and orchestral scores. He has set up his own record label, the bedroom community, where he closely collaborates with many other accomplished musicians to realise his projects. He wrote the film score to the 2010 environmental documentary Draumalandið (Dreamland) about the damage and destruction caused by the aluminium smelting industry in Iceland. It was also released as an album and here are some extracts from the documentary with the music and some dramatic footage:
Folktronica and indie pop band Múm (pronounced miooyyuujm apparently...) formed in 1997 in Reykjavik. Their music is characterised by soft vocals, electronic glitch beats and effects and variety of traditional and unconventional instruments. Here is a live version of their song A Little Bit, Sometimes from their 2007 album Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy:
Multi-instrumentalist and producer Ólafur Arnalds was born in Mosfellsbaer just outside Reykjavik in 1986. He mixes strings and piano with loops and beats, a sound ranging from ambient electronic to electronic pop. Here are a few tracks from his 2020 album Some Kind of Peace:
That's it from Iceland, next we're taking a quick trip to Greenland. In the meantime you can follow my virtual ramblings on my Tripline map.
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.
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.
