Tag Archives: Nordic music

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 →

Stephen Hunt penned this review. This CD (originally released in Finland in 1994) is one of many Scandinavian albums currently finding a home in the US market courtesy of the Northside label. Troka is something of a Finnish “super group,” as … Continue reading →

As an integral part of the band Frifot (with Ale Moller and Per Gudmundson) and the Nordan project (with Ale Moller and others), as well as numerous other side projects, Lena Willmark has been a fixture on the Swedish folk … Continue reading →

Emma Hårdelin is a Goddess. Go read our reviews of her vocal work with Garmarna and you’ll see what I mean. Just consider what Kim Bates had to say in reviewing their last CD, Hildegard von Bingen: ‘… the fiddle lines … Continue reading →

Sven Nyhus is a veteran folk fiddler from the Rorøs region of Norway. His daughters Åshild (fiddle, viola) and Ingfrid (piano and zither) have both become accomplished folk and classical musicians in their own rights as well. While Sven has … Continue reading →