The Nordic Sound with Jameson Foster

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Maja Kjaer joins the Nordic Sound for episode 59 to talk about her debut album "Landing", why Danish music is "like that", fiddling traditions in Denmark, and more. 

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Live from Midgardsblot, MÍO returns to the Nordic Sound for a second time for an interview about their signing with ByNorse, their new album "Hva Nå", and how they use creatures of folklore to tell their stories about modern issues through their lyrics.

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In this installment of the Nordic Sound live from Midgardsblot, Jameson the Garden Gnome is joined by Mathias Dahlsveen of Norwegian folk metal band Vanvidd for a chat about the band's history and how they approach their own style of folk metal in their latest album Avlivsritualer. Featuring special guest, Borrepus

I highly recommend checking out Vanvidd's discography if you haven't already.

Avlivsritualer: https://vanvidd.bandcamp.com/album/avlivsritualer

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Johannes Geworkian Hellman is one of the foremost names in the Nordic folk music sphere today, impressing audiences the world over with his acrobatic and innovative approach to an often underestimated instrument - the Hurdy-Gurdy.

Johannes sits down with Jameson for Nordic Sound 56 to reflect on his Hurdy-Gurdy journey and his own identity as a musician, the story of his acclaimed gurdy/accordion duo Symbio with Lars Emil Öjeberget, and his recent collaboration with highly regarded kantele player Maija Kauhanen. 

I think this is an especially important episode for the musicians who follow the channel, as Johannes offers some profound insight and perspective on what it means to be a musician in the 21st century. 

Johannes Website: https://www.johannesgeworkianhellman.se/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johannesgeworkianhellman/

Symbio: https://symbiomusic.com/
Maija Kauhanen & Johannes Geworkian Hellman: https://www.kauhanenhellman.com/

Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
2:07 Johannes’ Hurdy-Gurdy Journey
19:20 The Hurdy-Gurdy in Swedish Tradition
26:44 Symbio
50:55 Migrating with Maija Kauhanen
1:01:37 Advice for Aspiring Musicians
1:10:03 Solo Project
1:21:20 Some spiritual perspectives on musicianship

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Björn Kaidel (Akleja, Plønk) joins Nordic Sound #55 to talk about how the Scandinavian folk revival of recent decades is leading to renewed interest among German musicians to reclaim a folk music tradition of their own. Diving deeper, Björn and Jameson discuss the importance of medieval folk/rock bands such as In Extremo and Faun in keeping some semblance of folk music alive in Germany, how the folk revival is using archival work and manuscripts to reclaim a lost tradition, and the old connections between all folk musics of Europe and beyond before they became a matter of national identity. 

Of course, we then tie all of this together in talking about Björn’s project Plønk and the reclaiming of the Waldzither as a German folk instrument, and his work with his wife in Akleja that could fool anyone into believing he’s Swedish (the name Björn doesn’t hurt).

Timestamps:
0:00 Overture
1:59 Introductions
5:50 Getting into Scandifolk
11:11 Where’s the German folk music scene?
44:02 Why Folk Music?
51:24 Plønk and the Waldzither
1:08:32 Akleja

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Please join me in welcoming the inimitable Mia Guldhammer to Nordic Sound #54. Performing with acts such as Virelai, Mallebrok, and now Guldganger, Mia has long made a name for herself as a passionate keeper and performer of the Scandinavian ballad tradition at Medieval markets and reenactments, as well as a celebrated vocalist in the Danish folk music scene. Mia takes us through her experience in both, diving deep into the enchanting world of medieval balladry, how we keep them alive (and meaningful) today, and how we can bridge the worlds of traditional folk music and medieval reenactment. 

Mia, thank you so much for joining the Nordic Sound, it was an absolute pleasure to nerd out with someone as passionate and knowledgeable as yourself.

0:00 Overture
1:46 Introduction
4:06 Mia’s Musical Upbringing
12:29 Medieval Ballads
25:24 Danish Folk Music
51:40 Medieval Markets and Reenactments

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Most known through her bands Diket and Ævestaden, Levina Storåkern joins Nordic Sound #53 to talk about her recently released solo endeavor “Månadsvill”. Captivated on the first listen, Jameson sits down with this rising star to talk about her songwriting process and the inspirations that went into the record, as well as learning more about her journey as a folk musician. Along the way, we also get into a pretty interesting discussion about how we understand others through their music, and the importance of understanding what kind of musician you are so you can thrive. You can’t teach a butterfly to bark, after all.

Come join us in Nordic Sound 53 to hear more!

Album link: https://levinastorakern.bandcamp.com/album/m-nadsvill

0:00 Overture
1:25 Introduction
9:00 Levina’s story
21:03 Is folk music cool again?
35:39 Understanding others through their music
42:05 The Kantele
50:42 Musicians, artists, and virtuosos
1:00:14 Månadsvill

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Painting vivid impressionistic landscapes through their ancient instruments, Nordic folk titans Maija Kauhanen and Johannes Geworkian Hellman join forces on their debut album Migrating. Each of these musicians are heavy hitters, or even icons, if I could be so bold  on their respective instruments, Maija on kantele and Johannes on hurdy-gurdy, so I have been fairly curious in the lead up to this record to see how these musicians were going to pull off blending these instruments which, despite being rather ancient, have seldom been put together, and certainly not at this caliber.

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Faber Horbach of Sowulo joins the Nordic Sound for episode 52 to talk about Sowulo’s origins, the recent tour, and walk us through the band’s development from Alvenrad to Wurdiz. We also get into a pretty good discussion about artistic integrity when bridging music, mythology, and history. Thanks for hanging out, Faber!

0:00 Intro
1:08 Europoean Tour, Echoes and Mervailles, Opening for Heilung
12:52 Early Sowulo
26:30 Alvenrad
29:34 Sol
35:08 Artistic Integrity
47:39 Mann
55:56 Grima
1:03:20 Wurdiz
1:14:16 What’s Next?

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Rooted in ancient Finnish lore, Noiduin emerges with their first full-length album Lovi, an homage to an otherworldly state or space, a rift between worlds, and a place of crossing where the veil between the living and the dead thins. With a sound palette dominated by tagelharpa, percussion, kantele, and raw ethereal voices, Lovi brings songs both new and revisited to their already impressive repertoire.

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