Category Archives: Music

If you’ve ever asked the question “What IS Norwegian fiddling anyway?” this recording is your answer. Tron Steffen Westberg’s Bortover all vei… is just the fiddle, thank you. He is a masterful spellemann and if you listen straight through the recording without stopping you … Continue reading →

The twenty year history of the Finnish band Värttinä has been one of perpetual flux and evolution. From the group of 21(!) teenagers from the village of Rääkkylä that promoted Karelian traditional music during the 80’s, to the nine-piece outfit … Continue reading →

Väsen is Olov Johansson on 3-row chromatic nyckelharpa and kontrabasharpa, Mikael Marin on viola, 5-string viola, and pomposa, and Roger Tallroth on 12-string guitar and bosoki. Having had the opportunity over the last few years to immerse myself in many … Continue reading →

There’s something great about a world where the didgeridoo, butt-kicking percussion, and some Indian-influenced vocals seems seem right at home on an album of Finnish-Swedish folk music. Actually there’s just something great about Sjofn, Gjallarhorn’s second offering. It’s got lush vocals, … Continue reading →

Brendan Foreman penned this review. JPP — short for Järvelän Pikkupelimannit (“Little Folk Musicians of Järvelä”) — originally formed in 1983 as a local fiddle orchestra in the small town of Järvelä, Finland. Formed around the nucleus of 3 fiddlers, including … Continue reading →

Judith Gennett penned this review. What can be done with a kantele? Hannu Saha is a master of the Finnish lap harp, or kantele. In Finland, the word for “string” is “kieli,” the same as the word for “tongue,” thus kanteles … Continue reading →

Chuck Lipsig penned this reviewer. Mats Eden is a founder and the only original member of the Swedish contemporary folk group, Groupa. With Lackerbiten (which, I believe, translates to “Little Bits”), Eden goes solo and traditional, performing thirty — yes, thirty — tunes originating … Continue reading →

Sophie Parkes penned this review. Stemmenes Skygge, (“Shadow of Voices”), was initially conceived as a project for Norway’s most prolific jazz festival in Molde, a project which would join the Nordic countries in their Nordic medieval ballad tradition. Bråten Berg is … Continue reading →

Two-thirds Hedningarna (percussionist Bjorn Tollin and lute player Halbus Totte Mattsson) and one-third Swap (guitarist and fiddler Ola Backstrom), Boot is 100% original. Their first collaborative effort, Virvla, isn’t so much just a collection of tunes on a CD as an … Continue reading →

The genre of New Nordic Folk music went through a wildly creative period in the nineties, with recordings by groups like Värttinä, Hedningarna, and Väsen ranking among the essential albums in any genre for the decade. While the musical traditions … Continue reading →