Nordic Sounds
On today’s Folkit! Nordic Sounds menu: two recent CDs from Sweden and one from Finland. We’ll kick off with a Swedish string trio, well, a Nordic version of that. Meaning you won’t find a classical violin or a cello, but you will hear the hardingfele, the Norwegian violin with sympathetic strings. These strings resonate with the melody strings, resulting in a rich, full and powerful sound. The typical Swedish nyckelharpa also features several sympathetic strings. Completing the trio is the viola d’amore. The second album by the Swedish trio Northern Resonance, titled “Vision of Three,” never fails to captivate, despite the absence of vocals.
A complete contrast is the music of Linnea Hjertén, who is also from Sweden. She is a music producer and a music technician, so she knows exactly what a recording should sound like. Her album Nio Systrat – nine sisters – is the culmination of her passion merging with her profession. Hjertén is not just passionate about music, but also about spirituality. With a foundation in Swedish folk music, ritual primal sounds, and hypnotic rhythms, she crafts compositions that are minimalist, enchanting, and infused with elements of both folk and gothic styles.
Different again is the CD Tornadon Silmässä by the Finnish group Vimma, consisting of 7 members. They describe their music as ‘progressive folk’, which sounds more fitting than the term ‘ethnorock’, which is also often used. The members of the group are inspired by different contemporary music styles and poetry, and they compose most of their repertoire themselves. We could say that this Folkit! Nordic Sounds episode features contemporary folk music from the north.
Reviews on these CDs can be found on www.newfolksounds.nl
Northern Resonance – Vision of three – Trad Records 029
1. Fasterud 3:30
2. Kansas City 4:17
3. The Quarantine waltz 3:26
4. F-Ck That Car 3:55
5. No. 1 4:42
6. Route 83 4:27
Linnea Hjertén – Nio Systrar – Nordvis Produktion NVP165CD
7. Noder 4:45
8. Uppsåt 3:25
9. Återfödelse 3:47
10. Vägen ut 3:37
Vimma – Tornadon Silmässä – Nordic Notes NN171
11. Antrasiitille 3:48
12. Kielot 2:50
13. Kasveille 4:17
14. Unohdetaan 2:15
15. Apokalypse (Maailmanloppu) [English Edit] 3:23
Tracks 1,5 en 6: Anna Ekborg Hans-Ers
Tracks 2,3: Petrus Dillner
Track 4: Northern Resonance
Tracks 7-10: Linnea Hjertén
Tracks 11, 14, 15: Eeva Rajakangas, Pessi Jouste
Track 12: Kalle Outila, Eeva Rajakangas
Track 13: Pessi Jouste, lyrics translated from ‘the life of plants, a metaphysics of mixture’ – Emanuele Coccia)
Produced by: