Methinks that no one can keep up with all the great Nordic music that’s being released. Reynard, a band mate of mine, noted that A Fine Kettle of Fish, his favourite source of Nordic music, has tripled the space they devote to that genre of CDs! This review will be a roundup of the releases from Swedish bands Frifot and Garmarna. I’ve put on some proper music, One by the new Northumbrian band 422 to play as I do this commentary, and a pot of mulled cider brewing to keep me warm as a North Atlantic storm rages outside our garret flat. So sit back, and we’ll talk of these bands as the wind howls outside!
Frifot’s SummerSong is, like so much of the Nordic neo-folk music, heady stuff that makes one think of dead heroes, lusty maids, and tales that never quite end. If there’s a Nordic equal of the great English band Blowzabella, then it’s to be found in the drone-based hardinger fiddle and bagpipe bands that have sprouted in the cold climes of Scandinavia over the past decade. Frifot bring together three superb musicians that create a truly unique sound: Per Gudmundson (fiddle and bagpipe), Ale Möller (mandola, hummared dulcimer, and flutes), and Lena Willemark (vocals and fiddle). Per is certainly one of the best Swedish fiddlers I’ve ever been honoured to hear! And he’s one of a handful of people responsible for the revival of the Swedish bagpipe tradition. (Reynard wonders if there were any existent bagpipe traditions outside of the Celtic ones given that everyone refers to 
reviving the tradition, be it English or Nordic!) Per Gudmundson’s bagpipes add a nice Celt-ish feel to the music, and Möller’s hammered dulcimer is appropriate to the music.
SummerSong, their first release in North America, is a partial compilation of their two releases on the Swedish label Caprice: Frifot (under Möller, Willemark, and Gudmundson) in 1991, and Jårven (as Frifot) in 1996. (Their latest is simply called Frifot. That album, which has a more mellow, less bagpipe-driven sound, was released on ECM in 1999.) Northside should have released SummerSong as a two CD collection as only half of the tracks on Frifot and Jårven are on SummerSong! All of the Frifot CDs are quite fine — even Fergus, who finds much Nordic music not to his Celtic sensibilities, loves this group!
The [now sadly defunct] Hollow Ear Web Site noted “All three musicians are in the top ranks of Swedish music; traditional folk, jazz and the more 
avant garde aspect of what in Europe is becoming known as ‘newly composed folk music.’ All three have spent the last two decades making sure that the preservation of their heritage is not a museum piece, but rather an exploration of the past that leads inexorably to a new future.” Frifot to my ear has a lighter, less dark sound than Garmarna does. If Garmarna is the Winter music for the Nordic gods, than Frifot is their Summer music. There’s a jazzy feel to Frifot much as one finds in Mylliart or Kalabara. And on all of their recordings there is an emphasis on the vocals so one can always read the lyrics. And Lena Willemark screams so very, very well — If she was Irish, she’d been a Banshee! (In Nordic folklore, the banshee is always benevolent.)
I also had the good luck to tour with me band in the Nordic countries last winter. Despite not speaking a word of any Nordic language other than “skøl” which seems to mean “drink up now,” I had a great time -— though I woke with a headache on more than one afternoon after an all-night session of music-making and drinking!
One band we saw there was Garmarna. Garmarna started in January 1990, just a week after a performance of Hamlet which contained very strong, old Swedish music. According to the Northside Web site [also now sadly defunct], Stefan, Gotte, and Rickard were inspired by the show, and they began seeking out the ancient tunes and instruments. After a year of playing together, just before their appearance at Sweden’s biggest rock festival, Jens Höglin joined the band on drums. Autumn 1992 saw the band in the studio recording an EP. They realized that female vocals would provide a light contrast to the naturally dark moods of the music. Emma Härdelin, who was a long-time friend of the band, guested on that EP then joined the band in early 1993, completing the lineup. The debut EP sold well in Sweden, and helped the band tour in the Nordic region.
Garmarna started young as can be noted from their line-up: Jens Höglin, born 1st of September, 1972, on the drums, percussion, Darbuka and Djembe; Rickard Westman, born 27th of December, 1971, on guitar, bosoki, and Jew’s harp; Gotte Ringqvist, born 3rd of April, 1973, on lutgitar, violin, stråkharpa and backing vocals; Emma Härdelin, born 26th of September, 1975, on violin and lead vocals; and finally Stefan Brisland-Ferner, born 21st of October, 1973, on violin, Hurdy-gurdy, Jew’s harp and sampling.
The EP titled simply Garmarna has all the distinctive touches of a Garmarna album: strong vocals, lively (if somewhat ominous) sounding instruments, and lyrics straight out of a not very pretty Nordic fairy tale. In fact, they draw their lyrics mainly from the Nordic tales. Just listen to these lyrics from ” Sorgsen ton (Woeful Tones)” off the Vengeance CD:
In woeful tones I mean to tell
A tale of dread and wonder
Whoever hears it, listen well,
And on its meaning ponder.
In Gibbau, by the Penne sea,
In Pomerania, in Germany,
These strange events unfolded.
As I noted above, I always think of Garmarna as winter music to be played when the snow’s falling and the cold is being held at bay. This is not the light, upbeat summer music of Frifot. This is serious, winterside music with Emma Härdelin’s deep, soaring vocals and violin forming the base sound of the group. Think dark when you try to picture what Garmarna sounds like. Methinks that their music would be perfect at The Wild Hunt, the annual Celtic and Nordic music & culture festival we hold every midwinter in this city, whereas Frifot would be better suited for a Midsummers Eve festival! Not that you shouldn’t purchase the CDs of both groups as each is well-worth hearing! Northside put out two splendid CDs by Garmarna, Vengeance and Vittrad — the sound’s quite the same on both. You might be able to locate their earlier CDs via the band, but me understanding is that they are now fairly rare beasties.
(Caprice, 1991)
(ECM, 1999)
(Caprice, 1996)
(Northside, 1999)
(Massproduktion, 1993)
(Massproduction, 1993)
(Northside, 1999)
(Northside, 1999)
