Wednesday 29 June 2011

A Kristian Bugge Fest

Habadekuk
Hopsadaddy
Go’ Danish Folk Music GO1710

Impuls Trio
Bugge, Bæk & Vinther
Go’ Danish Folk GO0711

Jensen & Bugge
Hav og Land – 10 År med Dasnk Traditionel Musik
Go’ Danish Folk Music GO0611

Dwight Lamb & Jensen & Bugge
Live in Denmark 2010
Go’ Danish Folk GO0411

It’s a bit of a Kristian Bugge fest. For now at least, he’s the hardest working man in Danish folk. Habadekuk is certainly the more adventurous of the discs here, featuring not only Bugge’s fiddle, but also accordion, guitar, bass, piano, drums and three brass players. The nearest analogy might well be Bellowhead, although this is all instrumental. It certainly offers another, kicking take on the Danish tradition, whether stomping on Proptræken or offering something slow and melodic like Spilledåsen. It’s more straightforward than Bellowhead, but still wonderfully exciting, with superb arrangements that often build to a roar and make full use of having the brass section in this nine-man outfit. They do look to the repertoire of Æ Tinuser, one of the seminal Danish bands that featured trombone. But this is definitely music for dancing – hard to keep still, in fact.

The Impuls Trio disc is much more low-key, mixing fiddle with guitar (and mandolin) as well as accordion from Phønix’s Jesper Vinther. The focus here is on rare old tunes, and the sources are carefully noted. These pieces are well worth discovering, and the playing is delicate and exquisite. Not every tune here is ancient – some date from the middle of the 20th century or later in the case of Læsø Rejlænder. There are a few guests (sparing use of trombone, drums and double bass) and the arrangements are exquisite, making full use of the different tones of the instruments and setting them against each other, melodically and rhythmically. The trio are very evenly matched, and there’s huge joy in the music making here, with a real sense of playfulness. It’s a very different kind of treasure to the big band, but that doesn’t mean its treasures aren’t every bit as rich.

Bugge has been playing in a duo with accordionist Mette Kathrine Jensen for a full decade now, although they’ve known each other since childhood. That easy familiarity translates into the music here, whether it’s just the two of them or the full band (clarinet, guitar, double bass). This is (mostly) traditional dance music – they play many dances – performed not only with great vigour, but absolute pleasure. The sources are from all over the country. There’s a huge amount of skill here; this isn’t raw music from the country, but refracted through some highly sophisticated musical sensibilities who just happen to love, and have the feel for, traditional dance music. It makes for a fabulous, lively disc, and the clarinet brings an interesting, almost exotic tone to the band tracks.
Finally there’s the real trump card in the Kristian Bugge pack. It features Jensen & Bugge (along with guests – pianist Vagn Dahl Hansen and older accordion player Karl Skaarup) but the real star of the show is accordion player Dwight Lamb, from Iowa. He’s the great grandson of Danish musician Kræn Jerup, who left Vendsyssel in Denmark for the US in the 1800s. The old music – played very much in the old style – was handed down, making Lamb a repository of tunes otherwise forgotten. The three of them have played together periodically over the last couple of years, and brought Lamb to Denmark in 2010 to see the mother country – and play a few shows. This is the result, and it’s wonderfully stirring. It’s definitely old-time music, Danish style. Still ineffably Danish, but with the patina of history on the notes. It’s to J&B’s credit that they’re happen to take back seats and let the real tradition shine

Tuesday 7 June 2011

Fiolministeriet

Fiolministeriet
Fiolministeriet
Go’ Danish Folk Music GO0511

One of the great beauties of Danish folk music is its malleability. In large part this is because the music is largely instrumental, so the framework of the song can be forgotten. The Fiddle Ministry (which is how the band’s name translates) has a wonderful time turning Danish folk into neo chamber music (along with a couple of original pieces). The lineup – two violins and a cello – gives them plenty of scope for their purpose, and the background that all the players have in folk music means this isn’t dilletantism at all. The pull from some well-known manuscript books for their material, including the wonderful work of Rasmus Storm, back when English music was a great influence on Denmark (in fact they take “Storm/Engeliska”). They can play with great delicacy when needed and then push up the passion and even add nice touches of humour to the proceedings. By offering such a different take on traditional music they open it up to a new audience (no bad thing) and expand the possibilities for the music in the future (also no bad thing). Danish music continues to be the most exciting prospect in Europe, and Fiolministeriet adds to its glory.

Monday 6 June 2011

Trio Mio

Trio Mio

Love & Cigars

Go’ Danish Folk Music GO0111



Considering Denmark’s Trio Mio began as a vehicle to play the compositions of violinist Kristine Heebøll, they’ve certainly grown over the course of several albums. Now they’re the equal of any Nordic band, bringing greater depth and complexity to the music, with all three members contributing tunes and adding more instruments to give even more richness to the sound. It wouldn’t work if they weren’t all superb musicians, wonderfully in sync with each other. Their grounding is still in folk music (and there’s one traditional piece, Stormen, which is all gussied up in a superb arrangement), but the rest all comes from the band. It’s a delight to hear Jens Ulvsand using guitar as well as bouzouki, and it’s apparent on this disc that the atmosphere of a piece – what’s between the notes as much as what’s played – is vital. They can put a little Western twang into the title cut or make Mette Maries Menuet quite Mozartian, and do it all with great delicacy and style. At this point their albums have graduated to vital listening, not just for those interested in Danish or Nordic music, but for anyone who loves excellent adventurous music, period