Norway - Trøndelag

We continue our zig-zag journey through Scandinavia and hopping back over the border to Norway and the county of Trøndelag.  First stop is the historic and pretty mining town of Røros, which due to its large collection of old timber houses has Unesco World Heritage status.

Photo credit: By Hogne - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1705607

This is where Hardanger fiddler Olav Mjelva is from.  He has collaborated with many acts, including the Nordic Fiddlers Bloc (whom we met in Sweden before).  Another Norwegian/Swedish duo he is involved in is together with Swedish Nyckelharpa player Erik Rydvall forming the duo Rydvall/Mjelva.  Together they skilfully combine their respective national instruments to play both Norwegian and Swedish folk tunes.  This is a tune from their 2019 album Vårvindar Friska called Jubileumspolska:

Fiddler Ingeborg Ulberg Sommer is also from Røros.  She doesn't seem to have her own website, but has released her debut solo album Attkømmen in 2021.  Here is a tune from the album called simply Vals:

We already met joiker Marja Mortensson in Inlandet county, where she is from.  In 2019 she collaborated with tuba player and composer Daniel Herskedal from Molde and the Trondheim Solist String Quartet, which leads us to Trondheim.  Here is the opening track to their 2019 album Lååje - Dawn called GUBPEDE BÖÖTIM - Where did I come from:

Accordionist Frode Haltli was born in the town of Levanger in 1975.  He started playing at the age of 7 and he has had a prolific and award winning career.  Amongst other projects he heads a 10-piece super band called Avant Folk, which includes some well known names such as Hardanger fiddler Erlend Apneseth and Fiddler Hans P Kjorstad, both of whom we have met before on this blog.  They describe their music as experimental folk meeting jazz and chamber music.  Here is a live concert of theirs in Bremen, Germany with extracts from their 2017 self-titled album:

That's it for today, next we are heading back into Sweden again on our zigzag tour of Scandinavia.  Until next time you can follow my virtual 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 - Uppsala & Gävleborg Counties

 Next on our virtual journey through Sweden we stop at the university town of Uppsala.  This is where folk group Väsen started off way back in 1989 and they are still going strong 20 odd albums and numerous international tours later.  They were founded by Olov Johansson (nyckelharpa) and Mikael Marin (viola) and were later joined by André Ferrari (percussion) and Roger Tallroth (guitar).  The two original members still perform together as a duo.  Their long collaboration has lead to them having an almost telepathic understanding of each others playing.  Here are 3 of their tunes from their 2017 album Brewed at an NPR Tiny Desk Concert:

Swedish/Estonian folk band Fränder are also based in Uppsala and were founded in 2015.  The quartet, made up of flute, fiddle, Swedish mandola and double bass, bring fresh modern nuances to the folk traditions of their respective countries to give a fresh sound to their songs both sung in Swedish and Estonian.  Here is a song from their 2017 self-titled album called Sjömansbrud (Sailor's bride):

Next we are heading to the county of Gävleborg and our first stop is the municipality of Bollnäs where fiddler Lena Jonsson was born in 1986.  She is part of a new generation of Swedish folk musicians, bringing in contemporary influences to traditional Swedish tunes and own compositions, including elements of rock, pop, jazz, American old-time and bluegrass.  She usually performs with her trio and exudes a fresh and joyful charisma.  Her 2020 album Stories from the Outside has won a Swedish Grammy for best album.  Here is the opening track of the album called Rallpersgubben kör timmer:

Also born in the Bollnäs municipality, or more precisely in the village of Arbrå, is fiddler Anders Hall.  He is part of the folk trio the Nordic Fiddlers Bloc alongside Norwegian Hardanger fiddler Olav Lukengård Mjelva and Shetland fiddler Kevin Henderson.  The three of them got together in 2009 to amalgamate their respective traditions to produce a uniquely Nordic sound, respecting their varied traditions, all 3 of them being masters of their craft.  Here you can meet the boys in a video released on the occasion of their 10th anniversary as a band:

And here is a tune from their 2020 album Bonfrost called Bas-Pelles Eriks Brudpolska: 
  

That's it from this part of Sweden for today, next stop is the county of Dalarna.  Until then you can follow my virtual journey on my tripline map.

Sweden - Stockholm Part II

 

For the second part of our virtual visit to Stockholm we'll be exploring some of the more international influences on the local music scene.  Let's begin with multi-national world fusion collective Fågel Roc, which was founded in 2006 by Swedish guitarist Petter Blundell.  The members hail from all over the globe and their music is influenced by Arab pop, Swedish folk and Balkan music although more often than not veer into fairly safe pop territory and is mostly sung in Swedish.  Here is the title track from their 2018 album Sista Sommaren:

Six-piece fusion band Katzen Kapell play a highly original blend of tango, cabaret, Balkan sounds and experimental elements.  They list their influences as Astor Piazolla, Frank Zappa and Arabic music amongst others.  Here's a track from their 2007 album Si Tu Veux called Taxin:

Stockholm native KG Westman was and is a guitarist for a '70's style rock band until his father moved to Kerala in India.  Following him he fell in love with Indian classical music and specifically the sitar.  He went on to study under Pandit Rabindra Narayan Goswami and is now one of the leading European proponents of the instrument.  In his latest project he teamed up with a group of musicians from India and Egypt to create a mash-up of the traditions of India, Egypt and Sweden.  The result is the 2022 album KG Westman & Zaعfaran, which received much critical acclaim. He describes it as imagining a Swede, an Egyptian and an Indian going on a road trip through the desert together, this would be the music coming out of their tape deck.  Here is a preview of the album:

and here's a song from the album called Into the Desert:

Finally we head north out of the city to the suburb of Sollentuna, where piper Olle Gällmo hails from.  You probably didn't know that Swedish back pipes were a thing, nor do most Swedes, but apparently some 150 years ago they were considered a national instrument alongside the nyckelharpa.  Olle has made it his life goal to revive this ancient tradition.  Here is a tune from his 2008 album Med Pipan i Säcken called Hamburska efter Pehr Ericsson:

That's it for today, next we are heading north again.  In the meantime you can follow my virtual travels on my tripline map.

Sweden - Stockholm Part I

Storgoret in Gamla Stan, the old part of Stockholm

 We arrive in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden.  I spent a week in Stockholm a couple of years ago visiting an old friend.  It's a very pretty city, very chilled, and even worth visiting in February.  As usual for a capital city, there's plenty of music to discover here as well as great food such as here at the Hötorgshallen market:

This fabulous fish restaurant:

...and they even have a shop that only sells liquorice!

But on to the music.  We begin with folk band Ranarim.  Sofia Sanden, Ulrika Boden, Niklas Rosswall and Jens Engelbrecht were studying together at the Royal Academie of Music in Stockholm and got together to play both traditional folk songs and own compositions.  Sadly they no longer seem to be active.  Here is the opening track from their 2006 album Morgonstjärna called Maj Vare Välkommen:

Folk rock band Hedningarna (The Heathens) were formed in 1987 with the members coming from various parts of Sweden as well as Finland.  I'm not sure where they got together, but many of their songs on the early albums were sung in Finnish.  Their aim was to go far back to the roots of old Norse culture, including the use of ancient instruments.  Having luthier Anders Stake on board meant they make many of their own instruments.  Here is a song from their 1994 album Trä called Täss'on Nainen (Here's a woman in Finnish):

Stockholm folk trio Bazar Blå take a contemporary twist on traditional Swedish folk tunes.  The trio got together in 1996 and consists of Johan Hedin (Nyckelharpa), Björn Meyer (bass) and Fredrick Gille (percussion).  Here's the title track from their 2004 album Nysch, which is short for Den nya schottisen, the new schottis, a popular dance form in Sweden:

Stockholm based folk duo Symbio was founded in 2011 by Johannes Geworkian-Hellman and LarsEmil Öjeberget.  They combine hurdy-gurdy with accordion, accompanied by kickbox.  Their style has bee described as a meeting of folk, minimalistic art music and electronic dance music becoming a cinematic experience for the listener.  It certainly is unique and different.  Here is the title track from their 2018 album Rising:

In a similar vein but at a grander scale are the Second Hand Orchestra.  Their music has more than a hint of the Penguin Café Orchestra.  Recently they have started collaborating with Scottish singer/songwriter James Yorkston.  For their first joint album in 2021 The Wide,Wide River, Yorkston flew over to Stockholm and within hours of their first meeting went into the recording studio to produce this largely improvised album based on his songs.  A second album is in the pipeline.  Here's a song from the first album called Struggle:

Young chamber folk band Trio Törn consists of Olof Kennemark (violin), Klara Källström (cello) and Petrus Dillner (Nyckelharpa).  They play own compositions, deeply rooted in Swedish folk within a chamber music setting.  Here is the opening track of their 2018 debut album 'Debut', a polka called Hundraårspolskan:

That's it from Stockholm for today, next time we explore some of the international influences of the city. In the meantime you can follow my virtual trip on my Tripline map

Sweden - Värmland to Stockholm Counties

 I visited the county of Värmland once in the 'spring' of 1984 on our way north.  I was with my girlfriend and parents at the time, and we were given the use of a cottage somewhere in the countryside, and our first task on arriving was to shovel a path through 5 foot deep snow from the house to the outside privy.  So my memories are of an undulating countryside, interspersed by lakes and covered in a thick layer of snow.  We nearly froze to our toilet seats!  

As for the music, we'll start with something traditional.  Whilst fiddler and accordionist Mats Edén was born in Stockholm county, he has roots in Värmland and his style is very much influenced by the traditions of the region.  Here is an early recording in duet with Leif Olsson from a 1977 compilation album called Unga spelmän från Värmland (Young fiddlers from Värmland).  It's a polka called Djävulspolskan från Brunskog:

More recently Mats Edén was also involved in a project called Nordic Raga, creating a fusion of Nordic folk and classical Carnatic music from Southern India together with Bangalore born fiddler Jyotsna Srikanth as well as 2 other Swedish musicians in Dan Svensson and Pär Moberg.  Here is the opening track of their 2018 self-titled album called Vildhonung (Wild honey), which is almost like a call and response conversation between Sweden and India:

Norberg in the county of Västmanland is the birthplace of jazz percussionist and composer Erik Nylander.  Amongst many projects he is also the Swedish part of the multi-national project Monoswezi (whom we already met in Oslo) along with musicians from Mozambique, Norway and Zimbabwe. Here's the opening track from their 2017 album A Je called Loko U Muka:

Kolonien is the Swedish word for allotments or community garden such as the one below on the outskirts of Stockholm.

They are designed to be a refuge from city life, a place where people can grow a few vegetables or flowers and chat to their neighbours.  Kolonien is also the name of a family band from Järna in Stockholm county just south of the capital.  They consist of 2 brothers Erik and Arvid Rask, their cousin Anna Möller and childhood friend, neighbour and blood brother Mischa Grind.  Their music is an upbeat folk / folk rock dealing with the subjects of our time such as climate change, the pandemic and war.  They have been playing together since 2010.  Their latest 2022 album Till Skogen (to the forest), marks a return to their roots of growing up on a farm in the forest and their inspiration of Dylan-esque progressive folk.  Here is a track from the album called Drömmen:

Maybe we'll just leave it at this for today, before we head into Stockholm city next time.  In the meantime, as usual, you can follow my virtual travels on my Tripline map.

Norway - Innlandet County

 On the next leg of our virtual journey through Norway we meander away from the coast eastwards to the county of Innlandet.  First stop is the municipality of Folldal, where young folk singer Synnøve Brøndbo Plassen is from.  Most traditional Norwegian folk we have come across so far is instrumental led by the Hardanger fiddle.  The 26 year old Plassen however has taken a different approach by singing the dance tunes of her home region a Capello or with minimal accompaniment.  She has released her debut album Hjemve (home sickness) in 2021 and it is a real fun listening experience.  Here are a couple of songs from the album:

Next up we are getting our first taste of Sámi joiking (or anglicised yoiking) as we head into the southern Sámi reindeer herding district of Svahken Sijte near Engerdal on the border to Sweden.  This is where young Sámi joiker Marja Mortensson hails from.  She also is only about 26, but has already 3 critically acclaimed albums to her name.  On her latest 2022 album Raajroe - The Reindeer Caravan she is collaborating with tuba player Daniel Herskedal and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra.  On it she brings the annual reindeer migration to life.  Here is the title track from the album:

The young Kjorstad brothers Hans and Rasmus come from the municipality of Sør-Fron in the district of Gudbrandsdalen.  They are both fiddlers and immerse themselves in the traditions of their home region, some of it embellished by vocals, Norwegian dulcimer, different flutes and Jew's harp.  Here is a tune from their 2016 debut album Pusishi Ulla called Redvaldhalling:

Heading south we arrive in the village of Furnes, where jazz pianist, composer and conductor Jon Balke was born in 1955.  In 2007 in the aftermath of the invasion of Iraq he founded the conceptual project Siwan as a counterpoint, amalgamating sounds from the Arabic world initially with Moroccan singer Amina Alaoui, then with Algerian singer and oud player Mona Boutchebak.  Here is a track from their 2017 album Nahnou Houm with the latter on lead vocals.  The song is called Itimad:

Next we are heading to the village of Kirkenær in the municipality of Grue.  This is where singer and Kantele player Sinikka Langeland was born in 1961.  Her mother was a Karelian, an ethnic group from the border area between Finnland and Russia, who awakened an early interest in her daughter in the Finish kantele (a 39-string dulcimer).  Sinikka has since immersed herself in Rune songs and chants from Finland and Karelia, including shamanistic, ritualistic music.  Here she plays a tune called Winter Rune from her latest 2021 album Wolf Rune with some amazing overtone singing by Anna-Maria Hefele.  In the introduction there is a short and interesting interview giving some background.

That's it for today, next we are heading back into Sweden, heading towards Stockholm.  As usual you follow my virtual journey on my Tripline map.