Väsen, from Sweden, has been creating new tunes and re-imagining old ones for 28 years now. As Rob Simonds (founder/producer at Northside Records) states in the liner notes of this 2017 release, Brewed, “… they have done so continuously at the highest level, maintained their friendships, and kept their senses of humor and humility…”. This is the stuff you hear in their music whether it is a collection of their own creations, as in Brewed, or whether there are traditional tunes along with tunes written by others in the mix.
Olov Johansson (nyckelharpa, kontrabasharpa), Roger Tallroth (12-string guitars) and Mikael Marin (5-string viola) work together like a finely oiled machine. The music is tight, smooth, and overflowing with emotion. One of the things that has always impressed me with Väsen, having been following them for many years now, is the ability to take three instruments that are not extremely divergent from one another in timbre or range and providing the listener with a full-bodied, balanced, beautiful sound. Listening to this album is a giant, warm hug.
Brewed’s tunes certainly have their Nordic sense of melody, rhythm and harmony as one would expect, but I also hear some classical sensibilities (track 6, “Mellow D” – is that a shadow of the “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” from the Nutcracker Suite? Ha, it would be fun to hear them do that actually!), and Americana (track 9, “Gudda,” track 11, “Tröstemarsch,” “a consolation march for our American friends.” is reminiscent of American violinist Mark O’Connor’s style).
The bowed instruments of nyckelharpa and viola seem to turn into a full string section at times. Aren’t there really at least four of them? The nyckelharpa has a bit of a clunky look to it with its keys and big peg head but there is nothing clunky about Johansson’s playing – he is in such control of this ungainly thing. And coupled with the talents of Marin on the viola, they swirl around each other in harmony and catch up to each other in unison like birds falling in an out of formation. Often enough Marin seamlessly turns and joins Tallroth’s guitar for some rhythm playing, leaving Johansson to carry the melody alone. Although I must say that this method of jumping “roles” for all three musicians seems to be second nature. It happens a lot in these tunes. Here’s a listening exercise for you: put on the headphones and see if you can follow one instrument all the way through. Some tunes are easier than others but it’s a fun challenge.
Several albums ago this trio worked with a percussionist on the recording Gront. I loved that time in their history because I love percussion. But it was a short-lived direction because that percussionist wasn’t able to travel extensively for gigs. In the end they discovered having a regular percussionist wasn’t that necessary. I reluctantly (because I love percussion) have to agree with that. The reason is Roger Tallroth. His choices and rhythmic abilities on the guitar have always astounded me. He can pull a bass line out of the guitar like nobody’s business, move to chords pumping energy into a tune, flip into something percussive and take a left turn to a single note line. Repeat. It’s all done without feeling like the bottom has fallen out or come in too strong. Check out track 13, “Hogmarkar’n.”
My favorite tune on this album is always whatever one I am listening to at the time. They all have something wonderful to offer your ears. And as is true for most of their records, the music inevitably makes me happy and improves my day.
(Northside, 2017)
