* This blog post was first published on December 5th's newsletter - sign up to get all these reviews and more.
I’m going to start this review by extolling the virtues of Hubro Records - label home of this fine release. They leapt on to my radar about ten years ago and have been shedding welcome light on Norway’s jazz and improvised music scene ever since. The world improvised often doesn’t bode well for listenability but fear not the label is quite approachable on the whole and downright cosy at times, and I urge you to dive in to its impressive and constantly evolving catalogue. Norway’s got talent.
This is Hardanger fiddle player Maurseth’s first long player for them, but since winning Norway’s Young Folk Musician of the Year award in 2007 she’s been busy touring, collaborating and releasing including an album for ECM which is the sort of musical reference anyone would be proud to put on their CV, and one which few folksters can claim.
Hailing from the stunningly beautiful region of Hardanger (honestly take a peep!), home of the world’s third largest fjord, this LP is a homage to the wildlife and mountain people of the region, and I can’t help feeling she’s done it justice.
Refreshingly for a folk artists she doesn’t shy away from electronic augmentation, not that it will jump out at you, the compositions flow into each other like crystalline Nordic spring water, but amongst her evocative fiddle playing you’ll also hear field recordings of the features and fauna of the region, as well as spoken words from now departed ancestors who were local residents. Couple that with non native but sympathetic wooden percussion driven minimalism and repurposed saxophone lines and it’s quite a heady brew that shouldn’t really work, but somehow does.
Definitely a deep listen so find a moment to focus if you can on its folkloric, sometimes classical, often musique concrète, yet always beguiling sounds.
Playlist Companion:
Find a track from Maurseth and other fine roots music in the Slow Folk Playlist.
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