One of the albums I listened to the most during the darkest days of the Covid pandemic was Norwegian guitarist Trond Kallevåg’s Bedehus & Hawaii, released by Hubro in 2019. So I’m especially happy to learn that Hubro is scheduling release of his third full-length as a leader. Amerikabåten or “The Americaboat,” is scheduled for release November 10 in physical and streaming form.
The album includes contributions from Daniela Reyes on accordion and Selma French on the Hardanger fiddle (Hardingfele), both talented and emerging solo artists, along with drummer Ola Øverby, violin virtuoso and multi-instrumentalist Håkon Aase, and bassist Jo Berger Myhre, known from Nils Petter Molvær’s band.
Here’s what Kallevåg has to say about the upcoming album:
Amerikabåten is an exploration of my deep admiration and fascination for the peculiar and beautiful American culture, as well as the great dream and life aboard the “Amerikaboats” that transported so many Norwegians to America until the mid-1900s. A time when the sea was the only travel option. Many experienced the sea as a liberal haven where they dared to be themselves without the conformity of the time. The passage had a hypnotic allure for individualists and those who didn’t fit in, often the newly religious and lawless.
My grandparents could tell stories of several close relatives who went to America and never returned, usually the individualists and the restless. It was not uncommon for close relatives to go to America. This created cultural connections, especially along the Norwegian coast where I grew up.
He takes us along with him on a journey to the “Norwegian American” states of the Upper Midwest with the first single, “Fargo.” This time out Kallevåg is playing pedal steel guitar – a role held by his labelmate Geir Sundstøl on his previous two releases – in addition to other stringed instruments. With its blend of Western Americana, American kitsch and cool Nordic atmosphere, “Fargo” not coincidentally sounds like it could be part of a Coen Brothers film soundtrack.
Enjoy this single, as I will be doing, as I await the release of Amerikabåten.
