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Recent Posts
- What’s New for the 15th of February: Some Seanan McGuire fantasy, Alison Bechdel’s latest, Pamela Dean’s Tam Lin; Nordic sounds, old time, Americana and Tex-Mex music
- What’s New for the 1st of February: Kage Baker retrospective; new Americana, Buddhist chants and Finnish songs, new and reissued jazz, and more
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Fireplaces in Kinrowan Hall
- 132030
- What’s New for the 18th of January: World music and fiction by Amal El-Mohtar
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Bridges and Paths plus a Troll
- What’s New for the 4th of January: Favorite books and music of 2025
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Mythologist John Campbell
- What’s New for 21st of December
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Pub Ghoulies
- What’s New for 7 of December: books by Alan Garner, and holiday music new and old, Celtic, Americana, jazz and more
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Several Annies, Part Two
- What’s New for 23 November
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Several Annies
- What’s New for the 9th of November: rhymers and ravens, folk songs and folk tales, jazz guitar and dark forests and constellations put to music, Hungarian tunes and knights and rakes and tinkers and fools, and more
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Kedgeree
- Whats New for the 26th of October: some Patricia McKillip books and an interview, ’70s jazz reissues, Nordic Americana and American Americana, and some Samhain seasonal albums
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Charles and Alice Pay a Visit (A Letter to Owyn)
- What’s New for the 12th of October
- A Kinrowan Estate story: A Pudding Contest
- What’s New for the 28th of September: Appalachia in books, music and more
- A Kinrown Estate story: Autumn is Upon Us
- What’s New for the 14th of September: Books, film and music with a piratical theme; plus Corsican polyphony, Balkan sevdah, Americana music, Hardanger fiddle with reindeer, Latin jazz and piano trios
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Irish Coffee
- New SF from James S. A. Corey; Terry Gillian’s Excalibur; Rolling Stones do Aaron Copland’s ‘A Fanfare for The Common Man’; An offbeat history of coffee; an interview with Russian folk singer Zhenya Wind; and a grab bag of folk music
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Waltzing Matilda
- What’s New for the 17th of August: Lots of Cropredy reports and reviews, and some new jazz and Americana;
- A Kinrowan Estate story: A Hidden Dragon
- What’s New for the 3rd of August: A mix of Heinlein reviews; new jazz out of Vermont and a grab bag of archival reviews; Italian American food writing, and more
- A Kinrowan Estate story: A Recursive Loops
Tag Archives: Nordic music
Tuuletar’s Maammo
“Ancient heritage meets global influences, contemporary expression and modern production.” That’s a pretty good description for a lot of the music we review here at GMR, but it applies particularly well to the Finnish vocal quartet Tuuletar. Maamo (Mother Earth) … Continue reading
Wör x Kongero’s Songbooks Live
The Belgian ensemble WÖR (pronounced “were”) plays new arrangements of 18th century Flemish melodies on a blend of old and modern instruments. The Swedish women’s folk quartet Kongero performs traditional Nordic songs in modern a capella arrangements, and composes new … Continue reading
Various artists’ Folk and World Music Galore Vol. 4
I’ve come to look forward to the annual Folk and World Music Galore compilation from the German labels Nordic Notes and CPL-Music. The 2025 version of this comp, Vol. 4, is no exception, and even perhaps the best one yet, … Continue reading
Posted in Music
Tagged Balkan music, Nordic music, world music
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Trond Kallevåg’s Minnesota
Drawing from the same well of history, culture and human experience that informed his previous Hubro release, 2023’s Amerikabåten, Norwegian guitarist and composer Trond Kallevåg delves even deeper into the Norwegian American immigrant experience with Minnesota. I’ve been a big … Continue reading
Mojna’s Mareld
Nordic contemporary folk trio Mojna has followed up their critically acclaimed second album, 2024’s Väntenätter, with yet another deep dive into the space where composed contrapuntal music meets purposeful improvisation. Once again the music on Mareld treats boundaries as nonexistent, … Continue reading
John Taylor’s Tramonto, and Liv Andrea Hauge Trio’s Døgnville
Some days I’d be happy listening to nothing but piano trios. Here are two recent releases that satisfy that urge. From the ECM vaults comes this splendid live recording by the late UK pianist John Taylor’s trio with Americans Marc … Continue reading
Posted in Music
Tagged Jazz music, Nordic music
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Benedicte Maurseth’s Mirra
I’ve been a big fan of the Hardanger fiddle for many years now, and Benedicte Maurseth, who grew up in Norway’s mountainous Hardanger region, has become one of my favorite practitioners. Her previous recording Harr was one of my favorites … Continue reading
Geir Sundstøl’s Sakte Film
Geir Sundstøl’s recordings have always had a cinematic quality about them. His 2025 offering Sakte Film (Slow Motion Film) pushes that envelope even further, as explicitly stated in the title. The Norwegian musician and composer here stretches his already multicolored … Continue reading
Posted in Music
Tagged Americana music, Nordic music, world music
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Øyonn Groven Myhren and Marit Karlberg’s Tostemt, and Kvedarkvintetten’s Tagal
Here are a couple of new albums by Norwegian women’s vocal groups singing in different folk traditions. Øyonn Groven Myhren and Marit Karlberg first recorded together as members of the vocal group Dvergmål, which released albums in 1996 and 2004. … Continue reading
Posted in Music
Tagged Nordic music
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Haugaard & Høirup’s Rejsedage/Travelling
This year marked a milestone for the Danish folk duo Haugaard & Høirup. It’s 10 years since they first collaborated. In those years, they’ve won seven Danish Music Awards, played more than 850 concerts and traveled the world. They’ve released … Continue reading