Norway - Vestland Part II & Møre og Romsdal

 

Next on our virtual journey we are doing a bit of fjord hopping along the west coast of Norway to the municipality of Jølster.  This is where multi-award winning Hardanger fiddle player Erlend Apneseth was born in 1990, whom we have already met duetting with Margit Myhr.  He performs solo or as part of his trio and his written music for cinema, theatre, dance performances, poetry and musical ensembles and orchestras in different genres.  His latest 2022 solo album Nova was recorded in the Vigeland mausoleum in Oslo, giving the sound an eerie reverberation.  Here is a tune from the album called Speglingar:

Staying in Jølster, which by all accounts is a bit of a hotspot of traditional music, we meet another Hardanger fiddle player in Gro Marie Svidal.  She started on the instrument aged 5 and has 2 solo albums to her name to date, plus various collaborations.  Her 2016 album Eilov is pure unadulterated Hardanger fiddle playing traditional tunes from her home region.  Here are a couple of tunes from the album, beginning with the opening track Håstabøen:

We head on further north to the municipality of Hornindal, where we meet yet another Hardanger fiddle player in Britt Pernille Frøholm.  She combines traditional Norwegian folk tunes with some contemporary and jazzy notes, adding her own compositions.  In her latest 2021 album Årringar (year rings) she collaborates with bass player Sigurd Hole, which is themed around the harsh seasons of western Norway.  Here is a tune from the album called Elerida:

Also from Hornindal is singer Unni Løvlid.  She is also rooted in Norwegian folk, but combines it with jazz, experimental sounds and influences from other parts of the world.  In her latest project she combines with Japanese musicians playing traditional Japanese instruments such as the sho, a free reed instrument, and the shakuhachi, an end blown bamboo flute.  Together they explore the classcial Japanese gagaku tradition of imperial court music and dances, together with definite Nordic inspirations.  This is a live version of a track from the resulting 2017 album Hymn called Vind, kom, which is inspired by the northern lights:

We continue our journey north along the west coast to the county of Møre og Romsdal to the small community of Mauseidvåg near Ålesund, where perhaps the most famous Hardanger fiddle player of all, AnnbjørgLien, grew up in a musical household.  She initially learned the instrument from her father, then went on to study under various masters, eventually achieving a PHD in 2019 in Hardanger fiddle at the University of Agder.  During the early part of her career she played with folk group Bukkene Bruse, whom we already covered in Oslo.  She has since a number of solo albums and has collaborated with folk musicians from all over the world, crossing musical borders on her way.  This a tune called Inoque from her 2002 album Aliens Alive:

Also check out her latest album Janus.

We conclude our tour of the west coast for the time being in the municipality of Kristiansund, where singer and composer Lynni Treekrem grew up, although she was born in Seattle in the USA in 1958.  There isn't much information out there about her, except that she won a Spelemanprisen award for her 1995 album Haugtussa, which is based on a selection of poems by  Arne Garborg.  So here is a song from the album called Den Snilde Guten:

That's it for today, next we are heading back inland to the appropriately named county of Inlandet.  In the meantime you can follow my virtual route on my tripline map as usual. 

Norway - Vestland Part I

 

Bergen in 1982

We arrive in the county of Vestland and in the main city of Bergen.  Apparently it's one of the rainiest cities with at least 300 days of precipitation every year.  I visited briefly back in the summer of 1982 and was lucky to catch one dry day.  

Anyway, onwards with the music.  Nordic dark folk band Wardruna were formed in Bergen in 2003.  They are in the pagan folk genre, playing traditional instruments like deer-hide frame drums, flutes, kraviklyra (lyre), tagelharpe (another lyre), mouth harp, goat horn and lure (another type of horn).  This is the title track from their latest album from 2022 called Kvitravn (White raven):

Jazz trumpeter Karl Strømme was born in Bergen in 1976.  With his band the Karl Strømme Quintet he combines the American standard jazz tradition with Norwegian folk music and other rhythmic inspirations, influenced by the likes of Miles Davis, Kenny Wheeler and Joe Zawinul.  They have only issued the one album in 2018 called Dynalyd.  This is the title track from the album:

Singer, composer and producer Heidi Torsvik was born in Bergen in 1982.  Her background is mostly jazz and she has played with Toots Thielemans as a teenager.  She has had some success as a solo indie artist as her alter-ego Heidi Goodbye.  In her latest venture she combines with American producer Lazerus Winter to produce an album inspired by the fjords of her home country.  The 2020 album Hidden Soul of the Fjords paints a soundscape in 4 movements which veers between classical, jazz, Nordic folk, rock, ambient electronica and trip-hop.  Here's the 4th Movement: Heart.  It's a bit long, but definitely worth listening to the whole thing:

For something completely different Bergen based world fusion band Meelodi started of as a duo of Norwegian multi-instrumentalist Ole Andre Farstad and Iranian singer Medi Farmani.  For their latest 2021 album The Great Blue Wheel they added musicians from Syria, the UK, Senegal and Canada to their line-up for a truly international collaborations.  Instruments that feature include the oud, banjo, Indian slide guitar, kora, nyati (kenyan lyre) and guzheng (Chinese zither) all held together by the strong lead vocals of Farmani.  It's a beautiful combination.  Here is an extract from the launch concert of the album:

Next we are heading to the village of Eidfjord in the beautiful historical region of Hardanger, which gave its name to the Hardanger fiddle, which is now incorporated into Vestland county.  This is where Handanger fiddle player and composer Benedicte Maurseth was born in 1983.  Her latest 2022 album Hárr is inspired by the nature and sounds of her home region, comparing hiking in nature and music composing as similar activities.  She is a follower of 'ecosophy', which was founded by Norwegian philosopher Arne Næss.  This is based on the fact that humans are integral part of the eco-system and interdependent on it, something I can only endorse.  The album is not traditional folk, but is rooted in the landscape and history of the place Maurseth calls home.  Here is a track from the album called Reinsdyrbjøller with some reindeer bells ringing:

So as not to make this post too long, we will continue our journey through the county of Vestland next time,  Until then you can follow my virtual journey on my tripline map.

Norway - Agder & Rogaland Counties

Before leaving the Vestfold og Telemark County we stop in the coastal city of Sandefjord.  The above picture was taken there, when I had the pleasure of spending a few days on a private island there back in 1982, attempting to learn to windsurf and waterski.  Jazz guitarist Andreas Haddeland was born here in 1977.  In his latest project he combines with folk singer Liv Ulvik and percussionist Ulrik Ibsen Thorsrud to form a band called Østerlide.  On their 2020 self-titled debut album they re-invent traditional Norwegian folk songs enveloping them in an eerie, haunting soundscape.  Here's a track from the album called Varulven: 

We're heading back south, rounding the nose of the Scandinavian bear to arrive in Agder county.  Hardanger fiddle player Ånon Egeland and viola player Mikael Marin explore the darker side of the traditions of the region with their instruments tuned an octave down.  They call their style folk noir and the tunes are associated with songs of grief, godly reverence and lost love.  They are both considered legends of the Scandinavian folk scene in their own right and got together for a couple of albums, including their 2020 recording Farvel Farvel. Here's a tune from the album called Adam den første:

Singer/songwriter, record producer and novelist Jenny Hval was born in Tvedestrand in Agder county in 1980.  She has dabbled in various genres, including alternative rock, experimental folk and avant-garde, having started her music career in Gothic metal.  She cites Kate Bush as one of her main influences.  She is known for controversial lyrics tackling subjects like pornography and the patriarchy and felt a bit of a hypocrite when she got married recently, given that she has previously been critical of conventions around love and relationships.  She dealt with those conflicts in her own persona with her latest album Classic Objects and particularly with this song of the album called Year of Love:

Back to something more traditional, folk singer and silversmith Kirsten Bråten Berg was born in Arendal in Agder County in 1950.  Trained as a silversmith she got into singing traditional Norwegian folk songs in the 1970's.  She has given concerts and recorded numerous albums since.  In 1990 she met jazz bassist Arild Andersen (whom we met in an earlier post) and has joined his band since.  Her last solo album was in 2010 called Songen and this is a song from it called Astrid, mi Astrid:

Moving on to Stavanger, the main city of Rogaland County for something a bit different.  Here we meet a band called Naaljos Ljom, who play what they call "Traditional Norwegian Microtonal Dance Music".  Essentially it's another complete re-invention of Norwegian folk music, by giving it the electronic dance floor treatment.  I'm not entirely sure it's my cup of tea, but I'll leave it out there anyway for yourselves to judge.  This is from their 2021 self-titled debut album called Langeleikslått:

Singer/songwriter Aurora Aksnes, known simply as Aurora, was born in Stavanger in 1996, although grew up in Høle in Rogaland and a remote village in the Os Mountains near Bergen.  Being surrounded by nature in a relatively isolated location has very much influenced her outlook on life and musical style.  She has achieved some considerable international success with her Nordic folk influenced pop.  She also sites Kate Bush as her influences, as well as Bjørk, Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan.  Here's the opening track to her 2016 debut album All My Demons Greeting Me As A Friend called Runaway:

    `Finally we revisit Slovakian-Norwegian Gypsy orchestra Angrusori, whom we met before in Slovakia.  They are a collaboration between 2 cultural centres involving the Kitchen Orchestra from Stavanger and a group from Slovakia's Roma community.  They got together to record an album at a venue called Tou in Stavanger in 2021, which then appropriately was named Live at Tou.  This is a track from the album called Pre ada baro svetos:

This is it for today, next we'll head up the west coast of Norway towards Bergen.  In the meantime, as usual you can follow my virtual ramblings on my Tripline map.

Norway - Viken County Part II & Vestfold og Telemark

 Before leaving Oslo we meet Sámi yoiker Kajsa Balto who was born in Oslo to parents of the Sápmi nation which covers the north of Scandinavia with its own language and culture.  The music of her ancestral country, which is based on yoiking or joiking, a Sámi chanting style similar to native American chanting, blended with more modern urban pop and folk are what inspires Kajsa.  Here's a song from her 2020 album Buot eallá (Everything is alive) called Min máttuid rávvagat (The advice from our ancestors):

Next we are heading northwest from Oslo to the small village of Torpo in the Ål municipality, where actor, dancer and folk singer Margit Myhr was born in 1990.  She has released a few albums as leader of the Kvedarkvintetten and last year collaborated with Hardanger fiddler Erlend Apneseth, who is from Vestland (more of him later), to record an album of traditional Norwegian folk songs called Slåttesong.  Here's a live performance of a song off that album called Gro Gudmundsrud, although Erlend is just sitting by in this one, but as I say more of him in a later post.

Also from the Ål municipality and possibly a relation is Hardanger fiddle player and singer Helga Myhr (born 1995), who works in the field of Norwegian folk as well as contemporary and experimental music, both as a solo artist and as part of various projects. One of her projects is folk band Morgonrode (old Norwegian for the red sun rising at dawn), combining traditional tunes with original lyrics and parts of improvisation, reflecting the various musical backgrounds of the band members.  Here's quite an hypnotic tune by them called Huldresull, which is the opening track to their 2020 album Du milde verden:

 

Moving on we arrive in Geilo in the Hol Municipality, still in Viken County for something quite unique.  This is where Jazz percussionist Terje Isungset comes from, who has been hailed as the world's first and only ice musician.  He has been experimenting with building instruments from all kinds of natural materials, such as arctic birch, granite, slate and sheep bells, but it was a commission to play and compose inside a frozen waterfall in Lillehammer in 1999 that led to his growing interest in making music from blocks of ice cut from glaciers.  He has since gained international fame, touring indoor venues as well as playing in situ and releasing numerous albums of his compositions.  Here is a tune from one of his concerts called A Glimpse of Light:

There is even a film out about his exploits, which sounds interesting to have a look at:

And this is from his latest album Glacial Poetry called When Ice Sings, recorded inside an igloo:

Next we are heading back south into the county of Vestfold & Telemark to the municipality of Notodden where folk singer, anthropologist and pedagogue Frode Nyvold was born in 1949.  He is head of department of folk culture at the Rauland Institute.  He has recorded numerous albums of Norwegian folk songs and his latest 2020 album is called Soldater og Redelik Sjømen (Soldiers and honest seamen), which has a hint of the sea shanty tradition.  Here's a song off that album called Soldaten:

Finally we stop in Heddal in the Telemark, where veteran harmonica player Sigmund Groven was born in 1946.  Groven has become known as one of the world's leading classical harmonica players, playing anything from classical music, to pop and Beatles covers and Norwegian folk, touring the world doing so.  In 2020 he returned to his roots and recorded an album with fiddler Knut Buen (born 1948 in Kongsberg, Viken County) of tunes from his home region, The Sound of Telemark.  This is the opening track to the album called Bruremarsj frå Seljord:

That's it from this part of Norway for today, next we are heading back down towards the coast to circumnavigate the nose of the 'Norwegian bear'.  In the meantime you can follow my virtual travels on my Tripline map.

Norway - Oslo Part III

 We continue our exploration of the music of Oslo.  The Hardanger fiddle or hardingfele is central to much of the traditional music of Norway and trio Valkyrien Allstars take it in to folk-rock territory.  They were formed in 2003 in Oslo and have varied in personnel, often backed by bass and drums.  Here's a song from their 2007 self-titled debut album called Å gjev du batt meg:

A couple of years ago Norwegian fiddler Hans Kjorstad invited Scottish folk musician Alasdair Roberts to Oslo to collaborate in a project with Norwegian band Völvur for a session combining their respective traditions.  The result was a performance at Celtic Connections and the 2021 album The Old Fabled River.  This is one of 2 songs on the album sung in Norwegian called Nu rinner solen opp:

Another Scottish collaboration sees Shetland native fiddler Sarah-Jane Summers, who has made Oslo her home, and Finnish/Norwegian guitarist Juhani Silvola get together to produce an energetic and invigorating Scottish/Nordic instrumental folk amalgam, peppered with improvisation and experimental elements.  Their self-titled 2021 album Sarah-Jane Summers & Juhani Silvola has received rave reviews, including a Top of the World in Songlines Magazine.  Here is one of the slower tunes from that album called Portobello Smile:

Norwegian Christian choir SKRUK was founded in 1973 by conductor Per Oddvar Hilde.  They have recorded some 25 albums since then and have collaborated with musicians from all over the world.  A particularly interesting collaboration took place in 2010 with Persian classical singer Mahsa Vahdat (born coincidentally also in 1973 in Teheran) interpreting Sufi poems by Rumi and Hafez.  The resulting album was called I Vinens Spel (In the mirror of wine) and lyrics are partially in Farsi, partially translated into Norwegian.  This is a song from the album, called Brevet Til Vinbæreren (Letter to the wine bearer).  I often write letters to wine bearers myself: "please send more wine, I'm thirsty"

Finally for multinational collective Monoswezi, whose Norwegian component Hallvard Godal is from Oslo.  The name Monoswezi is an amalgam of the first letters of the respective nationalities of the band members, Mozambique, Norway, Sweden and Zimbabwe and also a play on words, 'mono' for the Greek word for 'one' and 'swezi' for the South African dialect word for 'world'.  As it says on the tin they combine African sounds with Nordic jazz.  Apart from multi-instrumentalist Godal the band also consists of the vocals and Mbira of Zimbabwean Hope Masike, Calu Tsemane on vocals and percussion from Mozambique, Putte Johander on bass and Erik Nylander on percussion, both from Sweden.  Here is the opening track to their latest 2021 album Shanu called Kuwonererwa:

That's it from Oslo for today.  As usual you can follow my virtual ramblings on my Tripline map.

Norway - Oslo Part II

Hurdy-gurdy player in the Vigeland Park, Oslo

 

Me and a friend dancing to the hurdy-gurdy in 1982

In the second part of our exploration of the music of Oslo, we will delve into some more traditional folk music of Norway.  We begin with folk band Bukkene Bruse, who were formed in 1988.  They include famous Hardanger fiddler Annbjørg Lien, whom we will get to meet in a later post.  The band plays both traditional tunes and songs as well as their own material based on the various regional folk traditions of Norway.  They have toured the world with their music and were chosen as official Olympic musicians for the 1994 Lillehammer Olympic Games.  Here is a tune from their 1998 album Steinstolen called Folketone fra Sunnmøre:

Chateau Neuf Spelemanslag are a folk supergroup consisting of some 18 odd members formed in 1998 at Oslo University.  They combine traditional Norwegian folk tunes with elements of jazz using traditional Norwegian folk instruments.  They don't appear to have a website and have not really been active since 2015.  This is a waltz from their 2001 album Curing Norwegian Stiffness called Vals etter Vidar Lande:

The Norwegian/Swedish trio Ævestaden are relatively new on the scene.  They play what Songlines Magazine has described as Dream Folk, playing traditional Nordic instruments such as lyres, fiddle, mouth harp, langeleiks and kantele, but interweaving it with some sparing electronic sounds and some beautiful vocals (in Swedish I believe, correct me if I'm wrong).  Here is a song from their 2021 debut album Ingen Mere Gråter called Stanna Inte:

Pianist Ingfrid Breie Nyhus was born in Oslo in 1978 as a daughter of traditional folk fiddler Sven Nyhus.  She is classically trained on the piano, but her folk influences are very much in evidence, especially with her exploration of the Norwegian slått traditions, which are instrumental folk dance tunes.  She adds contemporary influences and improvisations to develop her own unique style with contrasting dark and light moments, but unmistakably Nordic.  Here is a tune from her 2015 album Slåttepiano called Karislåtten:

The members of Norwegian folk string ensemble Majorstuen met in 2000 at the Oslo State Academy for Music.  Concentrating purely on fiddles with only the odd cello or viola thrown into the mix, they produce a fun and uplifting style to get your dance legs twitching.  Majorstuen is named after a particularly affluent part of Oslo, which in turn was named after a well known pub in the district, the stuen part roughly translating as lounge.  I like naming districts of a city after a pub, I think this practice should catch on more widely.  This is a tune from their 2020 album Jubel called Jubelpolka:

And talking about 'stuen', I'm not not sure where and when folk band Stampestuen were formed, but we'll just place them in Oslo too.  There style has somewhat of an Americana style, in the sense that their songs are mostly ballads about strong characters that have had to emigrate or have fallen on hard times, and banjo, mandolin, harmonica and Appalachian dulcimer feature alongside the hardanger fiddle and guitar.  They have recently released a new album called Bak Lås Og Slå, which takes talks about thieves, murderers and other outcasts from Norwegian society in the 19th century, including Ole Høiland, who robbed the Norwegian Central Bank in 1835:

We leave it at that for today, finishing off in Oslo and continuing our Norwegian journey.  In the meantime, as usual, you can follow my virtual ramblings on my tripline map.

Norway - Viken County & Oslo Part I

We arrive in Norway on our virtual musical journey, the country of spectacular fjords and a rugged coastline, salted cod and reindeer, colourful houses and stoic people, trolls and the midnight sun and also a long tradition of music.  Here's a couple of pics from my visit in the early 1980's:

We start in the newly created Viken county, which surrounds the capital Oslo. First stop is the small town of Mysen near the Swedish border, where jazz saxophonist Jan Gabarek was born in 1947 as a son of a Polish former prisoner of war.  He started off with dissonant avant garde jazz, but later incorporated Scandinavian folk tunes and other world influences into his music.  His style is noted for a sharp-edged tone, long, keening sustained notes and generous use of silence.  In 1994 he famously co-operated with the Hilliard Ensemble singing Gregorian chants.  This is the haunting title track from his 1998 album Rites:

Moving on to the municipality of Eidsvoll, where jazz musician and multi-instrumentalist Stian Carstensen was born in 1971.  He started off playing the accordion and added guitar and 5-string banjo to his repertoire.   He spent some time in Bulgaria, which influenced him greatly and has since added many other world influences to his style, including folk traditions from southern Europe.  This is a track from his latest 2021 album Musical Sanatorium called Hippocampus Serenade.  I love the video that goes with it.

Carrying on with the jazz theme we move on to the small town of Strømmen, which is part of Lillestrøm just east of Oslo.  This is where Norway's most famous jazz bassist Arild Andersen was born in 1945.  He started his career in Jan Gabarek's quartet, but has since forged a varied and successful career, both as a leader and collaborator with jazz greats from all over the world.  Here is the title track from his 1997 album Hyperborean:

Next we arrive in Oslo, the capital of Norway, where we'll be lingering for a while.  I also visited here back in 1982.  Here's a picture of the fountain in the Vigeland park, a park in Oslo littered with 200 sculptures by Norwegian artist Gustav Vigeland:

This is blues guitarist Knut Reiersud was born in 1961.  To simply describe him as a blues musician is not doing him justice as he has developed his own style not just copying a Delta styles, but incorporating Nordic influences and sounds from Africa and India into his music as well as jazz and as well as the guitar he also plays harmonica, mandolin, langeleik (a Norwegian droned zither), oud and Turkish saz.  Here's a track from his 2017 album Gitar called Hard Times Killing Floor:

The members of Swedish/Norwegian alternative rock band Kalandra actually met in England, but are now firmly based in Oslo.  They weave ethereal melodies into raw and eerie musical landscapes according to their own words.  Here is a track from their 2017 EP Beneath the Breaking Waves called Lullaby:

Although born in Oslo violinist Harpreet Bansal was trained from an early age in North Indian classical music by her father Harbhajan Singh Bansal.  She initially studied for a bachelor in western classical music before gaining a master degree in Indian music at the Norwegian State Accademie of Music.  She incorporates some European and Middle Eastern influences in her music as well as elements of jazz.  Here are a couple of extracts from her 2020 album Movements:

That's it from Oslo for today, next time we'll do some traditional folk from Oslo.  Until then you can follow my virtual ramblings on my Tripline map.