01	Lill-Mats polska (Little Mats Polska)						02:42
	02	Skenpolska (Seeming Polska)						03:38
	03	Jordbyggarlaten (Earth-Diggers Song)						02:37
	04	Herr Olof (Sir Olof)						03:54
	05	Tranpolska (Pining Polska)						03:55
	06	Cow-call from Halsingland						00:43
	07	Klevabergselden (Kleveberg's Fire)						03:39
	08	Garmgny (Garm's Bark)						02:23
	09	Flusspolska (Tonsilitis Polska)						01:43
	10	Manpolskan (Moon's Polska)						03:48
	11	Antiokia (Antioch)						02:31
	12	Skenpolska						03:20
	13	Klevabergselden						03:17

Garmarna by Garmarna

Around 1990, three young Swedes saw a performance of Hamlet which contained very strong, old Swedish music. Stefan Brisland-Ferner, Gotte Ringqvist, and Rickard Westman were inspired by the show, and they began searching for old tunes and instruments. In May 1992 the trio recorded a 6 song demo (tracks 8-13 of this release) -- this is the first-ever release anywhere of these versions.

Just before appearing at Sweden's biggest rock festival, Jens Hoglin joined the band on drums. Then, while in the studio making this recording, they realized that female vocals would provide a light contrast to the naturally dark moods of the music. Emma Hardelin (a longtime friend) sang 2 songs on the EP (tracks 1-7, previously released in Sweden), then joined the band.

From these small beginnings, Garmarna have expanded and succeeded.

"If you prefer your Scandinavian music predominantly acoustic, this musical rune from Garmarna is an essential listen." -- CDNow


1 Lill-Mats polska  Little Mats Polska 2:42
2 Skenpolska  Seeming Polska 3:34
3 Jordbyggarlaten  Earth-Diggers Song 2:34
4 Herr Olof  Sir Olof 3:51
5 Tranpolska  Pining Polska 3:52
6 Cow-call from Halsingland 0:43
7 Klevabergselden  Kleveberg's Fire 3:38
8 Garmgny  Garm's Bark 2:22
9 Flusspolska  Tonsilitis Polska 1:41
10 Manpolskan  Moon's Polska 3:46
11 Antiokia  Antioch 2:29
12 Skenpolska 3:17
13 Klevabergselden 3:17




Albums

Hildegard von Bingen · 2001· MNWCD 365
Euchari
Viridissima Virga
Salvatoris
O Frondens Virga
Unde Quocomque
O Vis Aeternitatis
Virga Ac Diadema
Paso
Kyrie


Vedergallningen [Vengeance] · 1999 · MNWCD 337
Gamen (The Vulture)
Euchari
Halling Jaron
Vedergallningen (Vengeance)
Nio ar (Nine Years)
Sorgsen ton (Woeful tone)
Herr Holkin
Black (Ink)
Polska
Brun (Robber Brun)


Guds speleman [The Fiddlers of God] · 1996 ·
Mass CD-69
Herr Mannelig (Sir Mannelig)
Vanner och Frander (Friends and Kin)
Halling fran Makedonien (Halling from Macedonia)
Min Man (My Husband)
Hilla Lilla
Varulven (Werewolf)
Drew Drusnaar/Idag som igar (Today as before)
Njaalkeme (Hunger)
Herr Holger (Sir Holger)
Guds Speleman (The Fiddlers of God)


Vittrad [Withered] · 1994 · Mass CD-61
Straffad moder & dotter (Mother and daughter punished)
Garmgny (Garms bark)
Namdemans-Ola (Commissioner Ola)
Kulleritova
Vittrad (Withered)
Skallen (The Skull)
Antiokia (Antioch)
Liten Kersti (Little Kersti)
Inte sorja vi (We won't grieve)
Domschottis (Doomschottis)
Den bortsalda (Sold away)
Styfmodern (Stepmother)

EP's and Singles

Euchari · 1999 · MNWCDS 278
Euchari
Viridissima Virga


Gamen [The Vulture] · 1999 · MNWCDS 273
Gamen (The Vulture)
Konungen och trollkvinnan (The King And The Sorceress)
+ CD-Rom-track Gamen - the video


En gang ska han grata · 1997 · CDS, 573 704-2
En gang ska han grata
En gang ska han grata (akustisk) One day he'll cry


Herr Holger [Sir Holger] · 1996 · CDs, MaxiCD 4247
Herr Holger
Vanner och frander(radio-edit)
Varulven (extended 12' version)


Garmarna · 1993 · Mass CDS-54
Lill-Mats Polska
Skenpolska
Jordbyggarlaten
Herr Olof
Tranpolska
Vallat fran Halsingland
Klevabergselden


1990-1992

It all began in 1990 when three youngsters from Sundsvall, Sweden - Gotte Ringqvist, Stefan Brisland-Ferner and Rickard Westman - went to see a performance of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Struck by the music (performed by a.o. Olov Johansson, nowadays in Vasen) as much as the play, the three decided to start a band the very next day. Later they stumbled upon the name Garmarna while searching for something fitting for their first gig at Matfors Folkets Hus.

Two years later, 1992, the trio had gained some local reputation and decided to have a go at a first gig outside of Sundsvall at the Umea Folkmusik Festival (where they would end up playing several years in a row). Luckily, a radioreporter saw the enthusiastic youngsters and interviewed them, which lead to a gig at the biggest of all festivals in Sweden, Hultsfred.

Feeling the need to add something appropriate for a rockfestival, drummer Jens Hoglin joined for what was meant to be just one gig. In the audience that late, legendary august night stood Emma Hardelin, later-to-be vocalissa of the band, and not to forget Mats Hammerman, president of one of Sundsvall's many small recordlabels Massproduktion. Hammerman was so impressed with what he heard that he offered the band a deal the very same night.

1993

Released early 1993, the debut-EP entitled Garmarna included both the drums of now full-time member Hoglin as well as the guestvocals of Emma Hardelin, who was later officially announced a member of the band during an interview with a newspaper, without even being asked by the others if she wanted to join. The EP received some great press and made it possible to start touring the country.

Late 1993 Garmarna started working on their first full-length album. Released on the 18th of April 1994 the album, Vittrad, became an immediate success with the press: "Probably the best folkmusic band in Scandinavia", "Folkmusic for the -90's ...fantastic!". The album was later nominated for a Swedish Grammy for best folkmusic album 1994. The rest of the year our favorite dogs from hell spent on the roads, including another gig at Hultsfred as well as several in Germany.

1994-1995

In the US, Drew Miller - Boiled in Lead bassplayer and owner of the small but great label Omnium - hear Vittrad for the first time sometime during the summer of '94 and decides to release the album in the US and Canada. Following up the release of the album, entitled Crumbling Away in English, the band makes it first trip to the US in March 1995 and after that continue to tour Sweden as well as Finland, Germany and Norway.

Before entering the studio to record the follow-up to Vittrad they play at Stockholm Water Festival in front of a crowd of some 10.000 people. The rumour of the band has now spread and Massproduktion signs deals for Germany, Austria Switzerland and the Benelux as well as for several Asian countries.

1996

With the band back from a 14 gig long tour in Germany, the album Guds Speleman was released in late February 1996. Produced by Sank (Paradise Lost, Drain,Thastrom) the album points to a whole new direction in Garmarna's music based on samples, strong beats and loops. Focusing on Emma Hardelins voice it received extremely good press and later won a Swedish Grammy for best folkalbum of 1996.

The interest from outside Sweden was even bigger this time and the album was released entitled Fiddlers of God in most countries of the western world as well as in Taiwan, Korea and Japan a.o. The release of the album was followed by a hellish tour through the summer and fall, including dates in Germany, Switzerland, USA and Denmark and totaling nearly 70 gigs. If not earlier, Garmarna had by now earned a reputation as a dazzling live act.

1997

In January 1997 Garmarna returned briefly to Germany to receive the jury's prize for their appearance in the autumn 1996 at the Malzhaus Festival in Germany, the so called "Iron Gustav Award". In the US Garmarna entered the College radio stations special "CMJ New World Music" chart, as well as placing on the Top Ten playlist of the French National radio. Joining the only previous Swedish groups ABBA, Roxette and Ace of Base on the Top Ten playlist it is worth noting that Garmarna is the first group ever on the playlist to perform in a non-French or English language.

Also in January The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation/Societe Radio-Canada published "The Fall 1996 Top 25 Albums List" for the Roots & Wings program. Representing what's been played on Roots & Wings and what listeners have enjoyed and responded to, we found Garmarna prominently featured in the 5th position of the list.

The year continued in the same great fashion as it begun; at the gala presentation of The Swedish Grammy Awards, held in Stockholm on February 17th, Garmarna was presented with a Grammy for the best folk music record of 1996 for Guds Speleman. The mandatory speech held at the gala was short but vigorous and said it all: "We want to thank two people; Mats Hammerman without whom this would never have happened, and Sank, our producer."

The next big thing to happen was the participation in the Swedish part of the Eurovision Song Contest, by far the biggest yearly mediahappening in Sweden. Garmarna appeared with a song written by Mats Wester and Py Backman, which also is the team behind the multi-platinum-selling group Nordman. Although Garmarnas appearance in this kind of commercial pseudoevent was widely questioned by certain branches of the media, the benefit of being in focus of Sweden's entire population can not. Furthermore Garmarna presented the song with their own special touch, without reducing their patented heavy sound.

During the summer they did some fantastic gigs at European Festivals (Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium) and then headed to Jens' parents summerhouse along with instruments as well as food, beer and liquor to calm down from the hectic tours and to write new material.

1998

1998 was characterized by the work on the new album, originally scheduled for release late spring the same year. Yet again with Sank as producer, the band strived to take their music another step further, to do what not yet had been done. Still, April and May was spent touring in Portugal, Spain, Germany, Switzerland and Belgium and the summer included gigs at the Falun Folk Festival in Sweden and at festivals in Finland. They also managed to squeeze in a tour with a set of songs based on the medieval works of Hildegard von Bingen between the recordingsessions.

1999

Finally however, the final mixes of the album was made on New Years Day 1999. Released in Scandinavia on the 5:th of March 1999 , the new album - Vedergallningen (Vengeance) - became the foundation for Garmarna for many years to come as it took them yet ahead of anything within the genre and beyond.

The first months of 1999 was spent promoting the album, doing two new videos and singles, TV shows and also some gigs. Among them headlining the National Radio P3 event PopStad 99, Midem in Cannes, France, Umea Folkmusik Festival and The Nordic Roots Festival in Minneapolis.
The video to the first single - Gamen - spent three weeks on the Swedish National TV show Voxpop receiving close to 10 000 votes each program. During April a compilation of Vittrad and Guds Speleman was released in Taiwan under the name of Garmgny and received quite a lot of airplay and attention. On the 5:th of May their second single from the album, Euchari, was released together with an impressive video filmed in Sardinia, Italy and in Stockholm.

The same month Vedergallningen reached number 8 on the European World Music Chart, Garmarnas highest position ever. The Euchari video also got rotation on MTV and in late May they embarked on a quite impressive summertour of Sweden. Great gigs was a packed tent at Hultfredsfestivalen, the late late gig at Storjoyran and a sold out show at Grona Lund just to mention a few. In September the band crossed the ocean for the second time this year to play six successful US gigs. Garmarna also recorded one track for Massproduktions 20 years celebration-CD - We're only in it for the money - 20 years of Massproduktion.

The millennium was closed with the beautiful voice of Emma Hardelin. Emma sang a tune by Benny Andersson from ABBA in the mastodont-transmission that took place on new years eve. It was broadcasted by 50 TV-stations all over the world, with an audience of one billion!
2000

2001 was started with the release of Massproduktions celebration-CD with Garmarnas version of legendary punk-reggaeband Rasta Hunden song - Rastlos. The reviews were great and the general view was that this band can do wonders with any material. If you want yo hear Garmarna play reggae - this is a must!


On the 14 of January the band was nominated for the third time for a Swedish Grammy but did not win it this time.

The spring was spend doing demos for the new album as well as touring all over Sweden and USA, Germany and Holland. As if it wasn't enough Emma was touring a lot with Triakel and Gotte and Jens was out playing with The $1000 Playboys as well.

During the summer the recordings finally started for the Hildegard von Bingen album. But this time it was different. In the producer-chair was not Sank, but Eric S - somewhat of a houseking in Sweden with several songs on high rotation on the national radio playlists. This means that the new album will head into a new and interesting direction.

2001

The year started with more work on the Hildegard album and also the first Garmarna gig in UK. The new album was release in Scandinavia in late April and received everything from the best Scandinavian reviews ever to the worst ever. But on the whole it got a great reception. It was released in Europe on the 7:th of June and have been enthusiastically received and also reached no 8 on the European World Music Chart.

The summer have been spent on the road all over Europe with a really great reception everywhere with a fantastic concert at Roskilde festival as the best one so far this summer.

Apart from the first gig in UK, Garmarna also played for the first time in Hungary and Italy.

In September Hildegard von Bingen is released in US.



For reviews and high-resolution presspictures - visit the Massproduktion pressroom.





Frifot, Frifot (ECM, 1999)
Frifot, jarven (Caprice, 1996)
Frifot, SummerSong (Northside, 1999)
Frifot (dba Moller, Willemark, and Gudmundson), Frifot (Caprice, 1991)
Garmarna, Garmarna (Massproduktion, 1993)
Garmarna, Guds Speleman (Massproduction, 1993)
Garmarna, Vengence (Northside, 1999)
Garmarna, Vittard (Northside, 1999)


Methinks that no one can keep up with all the great Nordic music that's being released. Reynard, a band mate of mine, noted that A Fine Kettle of Fish, his favourite source of Nordic music, has tripled the space they devote to that genre of CDs! This review will be a roundup of the releases from Swedish bands Frifot and Garmarna. I've put on some proper music, One by the new Northumbrian band 422 to play as I do this commentary, and a pot of mulled cider brewing to keep me warm as a North Atlantic storm rages outside our garret flat. So sit back, and we'll talk of these bands as the wind howls outside!

Frifot's SummerSong is, like so much of the Nordic neo-folk music, heady stuff that makes one think of dead heroes, lusty maids, and tales that never quite end. If there's a Nordic equal of the great English band Blowzabella, then it's to be found in the drone-based hardinger fiddle and bagpipe bands that have sprouted in the cold climes of Scandinavia over the past few decade. Frifot bring together three superb musicians that create a truly unique sound: Per Gudmundson (fiddle and bagpipe), Ale Moller (mandola, hummared dulcimer, and flutes), and Lena Willemark (vocals and fiddle). Per is certainly one of the best Swedish fiddlers I've ever been honoured to hear! And he's one of a handful of people responsible for the revival of the Swedish bagpipe tradition. (Reynard wonders if there were any existent bagpipe traditions outside of the Celtic ones given that everyone refers to reviving the tradition, be it English or Nordic!) Per Gudmundson's bagpipes add a nice Celt-ish feel to the music, and Ale Moller's hammered dulcimer is appropriate to the music.

SummerSong, their first release in North America, is a partial compilation of their two releases on the Swedish label Caprice: frifot [under Moller, Willemark, and Gudmundson] in 1991, and jarven [as Frifot] in 1996. (Their latest is simply called Frifot. That album, which has a more mellow, less bagpipe-driven sound, was released on ECM in 1999.) Northside should have released SummerSong as a two CD collection as only half of the tracks on frifot and jarven are on SummerSong! All of the Frifot CDs are quite fine -- Even Fergus who finds much Nordic music not to his Celtic sensibilities loves this group! If you are interested in getting the original CDs, just e-mail Stephanie at Musikfolk with your orders. Many of the Nordic CDs in particular are released well ahead of their release in the U.S. on labels like Northside.

The Hollow Ear Web Site noted "All three musicians are in the top ranks of Swedish music; traditional folk, jazz and the more avant garde aspect of what in Europe is becoming known as 'newly composed folk music.' All three have spent the last two decades making sure that the preservation of their heritage is not a museum piece, but rather an exploration of the past that leads inexorably to a new future." Frifot to my ear has a lighter, less dark sound than Garmarna does. If Garmarna is the Winter music for the Nordic gods, than Frifot is their Summer music. There's a jazzy feel to Frifot much as one finds in Mylliart or Kalabara. And on all of their recordings there is an emphasis on the vocals so one can always read the lyrics. And Lena Willemark screams so very, very well -- If she was Irish, she'd been a Banshee! (In Nordic folklore, the banshee is always benevolent.)

I also had the good luck to tour with me band in the Nordic countries last Winter. Despite not speaking a word of any Nordic language other than "skol" which seems to mean "drink up now," I had a great time -- though I woke with a headache on more than one afternoon after an all-night session of music-making and drinking!

One band we saw there was Garmarna. Garmarna started in January 1990, just a week after a performance of Hamlet which contained very strong, old Swedish music. According to the Northside Web site, Stefan, Gotte, and Rickard were inspired by the show, and they began seeking out the ancient tunes and instruments. After a year of playing together, just before their appearance at Sweden's biggest rock festival, Jens Hoglin joined the band on drums. Autumn 1992 saw the band in the studio recording an EP. They realized that female vocals would provide a light contrast to the naturally dark moods of the music. Emma Hardelin who was a long-time friend of the band guested on that EP then joined the band in early 1993, completing the line-up. The debut EP sold well in Sweden, and helped the band tour in the Nordic region.

Garmarna is young as can be noted from their line-up: Jens Hoglin, born 1st of September, 1972, on the drums, percussion, Darbuka and Djembe; Rickard Westman, born 27th of December, 1971, on guitar, bosoki, and jews harp; Gotte Ringqvist, born 3rd of April, 1973, on lutgitar, violin, strakharpa and backing vocals; Emma Hardelin, born 26th of September, 1975, on violin and lead vocals; and finally Stefan Brisland-Ferner, born 21st of October, 1973, on violin, Hurdy-gurdy, jews harp and sampling.

The EP titled simply Garmarna has all the distinctive touches of a Garmarna album: strong vocals, lively -- if somewhat ominous -- sounding instruments, and lyrics straight out of a not very pretty Nordic fairy tale. In fact, they draw their lyrics mainly from the Nordic tales. Just listen to these lyrics from " Sorgsen ton (Woeful Tones)" off the Vengeance CD:

In woeful tones I mean to tell
A tale of dread and wonder
Whoever hears it, listen well,
And on its meaning ponder.
In Gibbau, by the Penne sea,
In Pomerania, in Germany,
These strange events unfolded.
As I noted above, I always think of Garmarna as winter music to be played when the snow's falling and the cold is being held at bay. This is not the light, upbeat summer music of Frifot. This is serious, winterside music with Emma Hardelin's deep, soaring vocals and violin forming the base sound of the group. Think dark when you try to picture what Garmarna sounds like. Methinks that their music would be perfect at The Wild Hunt, the annual Celtic and Nordic music & culture festival we hold every midwinter in this city, whereas Frifot would be better suited for a Midsummers Eve festival! Not that you shouldn't purchase the CDs of both groups as each is well-worth hearing! Northside has two splendid CDs by Garmarna, Vengence and Vittard -- the sound's quite the same on both. You might be able to locate their earlier CDs via the band, but me understanding is that they are now fairly rare beasties.

It'd be interesting to have Frifot and Garmarna perform together. The resulting sound would be quite impressive!

[Jack Merry]


Garmarna
Garmarna have a unique sound: firmly based in Swedish traditional music but influenced by the rock tradition they've all grown up with. They ignore the unwritten laws of how traditional music should be performed; they know no boundaries. The music is half new - and newly-written - and half traditional with ancient instrumentation next to sampled drum-loops, suggestive mouth harps, tender violins and distorted guitars.

Stefan Brisland-Ferner - violins, viola, hurdy-gurdy, programming, guitar
Emma Hardelin - lead vocals
Jens Hoglin - drums and percussion
Gotte Ringqvist - luteguitar, guitar, violin
Rickard Westman - guitar, e-bow, bass
Profile
Garmarna started in January 1990, just a week after a performance of "Hamlet" which contained very strong, old Swedish music. Stefan, Gotte, and Rickard were inspired by the show, and they began searching for old tunes and instruments. After a year of playing together, just before their appearance at Sweden's biggest rock festival, Jens Hoglin joined the band on drums. Autumn 1992 saw the band in the studio recording an EP. They realized that female vocals would provide a light contrast to the naturally dark moods of the music. Emma Hardelin (a longtime friend of the band) guested on that record, then joined the band in early 1993, completing the lineup. The debut EP sold well in Sweden, and helped the band tour in Scandinavia. (These recordings have been remastered and expanded to full-album length and are now available from NorthSide as Garmarna [NSD 6056]).

The following year, the band decided to add samples and sequencers to the mix, giving the old tunes a modern musical foundation. Still, the heart of the music remains the harsh Swedish harmonies created by acoustic instruments, topped off by Emma's intense vocals. The album Vittrad ("crumbling away") was immediately hailed by the press, calling Garmarna "probably the best folkmusic band in Scandinavia." In the deep winter of 1994, Omnium released Vittrad in the US, with full English translations of the dark old songs. The band made the cover of Billboard and the CMJ World chart.

1996 started with a long German tour closely followed by the album Guds Speleman / Gods Musicians (named after a poem by Swedish poet Nils Ferlin.) The Swedish press went wild over it, the album made it to the Swedish sales charts, and it was released by Omnium in September 1996. Again, the band appeared on the cover of Billboard with rave reviews in Wired and Playboy.

In 1998, in-between recording sessions for their new album, Garmarna toured with a 900-year old nun! Well not really, but they did a series of concerts in churches in the North of Sweden presenting their interpretation of the medieval works of Hildegard von Bingen, together with actress Felicia Konrad. It's not exactly a Hildegard von Bingen concert; more Garmarna's interpretation of her work placed in a 21st century environment. The reviews were great, the shows sold out and the audience was very enthusiastic. One local magazine gave Garmarna five beavers (!) out of five.

In 1999 the band took a giant step forward with Vengeance. It's truly a breakthrough record for the entire genre of Nordic music. This masterpiece brilliantly fuses the ancient with the modern, traditional murder ballads with rock and trip-hop production techniques, the transcendent with the subterranean.

Emma Hardelin's work on Vengeance is sure to enhance her international reputation as one of the most compelling female voices on the planet. She delivers Swedish medieval songs about evil spells, deceit and violence with sweet, sensuous seduction. The rest of the band have risen to the task of providing real substance behind The Voice. Produced by Sank and recorded with HDCD processing, the production and sound quality are breathtaking.

If you've been feeling at all cynical about the state of modern "popular" music, one listen to Vengeance will restore your faith. The second listen will convince you to help tell the rest of the world about this amazing record.

Following Vengeance, the band returned to the studio to complete the full-length Hildegard von Bingen album. After extensive study of the source material, the band created new instrumental arrangements to surround the lyrics and von Bingen's original melodies. Layers of strings, guitars, hurdy-gurdy and percussion swirl around the traditional vocals of Emma Hardelin. Emma is at the center singing the old lyrics and melodies while the rest of the band create a new, electronic environment around her. Their collaborator is 900 years old. The programming is from the 21st century. The lyrics are in Latin. The interpretation is distinctly Garmarna. The love and care they lavish on thse songs is obvious.