01	Syen (Psychic)						03:49
	02	Vilse I Viljandi (Lost In Viljandi)						03:58
	03	Malort						03:37
	04	Tornas						03:24
	05	Drommen Om Arto (Dreaming Of Arto)						03:00
	06	Gudrun's Waltz						05:46
	07	Gart Sjouf (Did It Myself)						02:52
	08	Norsken (The Norwegian)						03:34
	09	Larven						03:01
	10	Skymning (Dusk)						05:14
	11	Kuben (The Cube)						04:59

www.noside.com

Hoven Droven, Hippa (Northside, 2001)


"I don't like them when they play that metal, I like their acoustic stuff."--Stockholm music store owner

"You like Hoven Droven?"--prog metal correspondent

Hoven Droven is one of the flagship bands of my heart. I like them so much for the tremendous skill that goes into mixing good Swedish folk music with the platitudes of hard rock without compromising either. I like them because they double the money by fusing my two favorite styles of music.

Hippa is HD's fourth album by Swedish count and strays and yet does not stray as an "HD Unplugged." It is a wonderful album by objective standards, still a mix of original Swedish folk and acoustic rock and sometimes jazz, driving and energetic. What is missing with an acoustic album? The sense of blatant arrogance and passion in heavy rock/metal that drives the live performances. Subtleties are heard in Hippa that are present but overwhelmed in the other albums; exciting instrumental proxies are formed to fill in for the searing electric guitar. In doing so HD's position at the very edge of folk is lost, not so significant except that there are so few good musical entities on that high ridge.

Unlike the last album, More Happy Moments With Hoven Droven, which featured the lilting voices of Las Rosenbergas, Hippa returns to an all-instrumental format. Still present are a couple of aces: plenty of percussion and brass, in this case Jens Comen on sax and veteran guest Gustav Hylen on horns, and these pick up the tab for the drive. Kjell-Erik Eriksson remains as always the steadfast folk definer of HD on fiddle, as his excellent musicianship flows across the tracks. Pedro Blom plays bass and for anything I cannot tell if he is playing electric or acoustic bass.

For the most part energetic arrangements and strong melodies carry the tracks to greatness on Hippa. I do not read the track names as I listen, and they conceptually blend into each other as well, so I must think to pick tracks. For samplings, I like the first march, "Syen/Psychic," infused with catchy percussion and rhythm, in fact reminding me of "Hey Jude" without imparting the dull headache that '60s pop usually evokes, more of just a generic chunka-chunka Caribbean bend. On the slow "Gudrun's Waltz," the drone of contemporary rock blends with the drone of K-E's fiddle and the jazz drone of the sax and a mist of middle eastern mood. Train track percussion and bass, and a bit of the tropics with an African party trumpet say the liner notes ... as the last track makes another hit on "Kuben/The Cube"; these superimposed on, as always, "mostly originally composed" Swedish traditional folk.

There are seven MP3 tracks on Hippa and three videos. I tried to listen to these, but as usual, it's insane to use a HP bottom end laptop as a musical device when you have a real stereo and real CD 10 feet away so I never do it. I tried and tried and was only able to hear the first goofy track, otherwise my computer kept returning to a 58 second clip from Rapture: The Masters Of Finnish Depression.

[Judith Gennett]

http://www.greenmanreview.com/hippa.html




hippa

by
Hoven Droven

Hoven Droven in suits! And, damn they look good. On this set of mostly original, instrumental tunes, they turn the volume down to reveal they have the finesse and chops to play music at any speed or volume. To some, Hoven Droven is a killer rock band with massive grooves and odd time signatures. To others, Hoven Droven is a Nordic folk band who know how to have a great time with the tradition. To those who have seen them live, they're both! Their melodies, charm, and attitude are infectious.

While they've been known to arrive in a helicopter and use pyrotechnics in their show, this quiet set includes a march from a theatrical production and a waltz for "the best granny in the world." There's a Reinlender from Norway, a tune dedicated to Arto Jarvela of JPP, and an ode to a snowmobile! The last tune The Cube features the Hoven Droven Mens Choir and Kaxen, the rooster. Former members Gustav Hylen (producer and trumpet) and Janne Stromstedt (harmonium) appear on the record as well.

Hippa is an old word for "party" or "celebration," but it can also mean "hip," as in "cool."

Once you've seen Hoven Droven live, you'll just keep coming back for more. Check out the home videos on the CD to get a glimpse of these merry pranksters in the recording studio.

Enhanced CD with 3 videos and 7 extra MP3 tracks.

"The key to Hoven Droven's appeal is their distinct sound: fiddle, brass, and rock instrumentation unite in a harmonious blend that is perfectly suited for the group's cross-genre pollination." -- Bryan Reesman, amazon.com

1 Syen / Psychic 3:49
2 Vilse i Viljandi / Lost in Viljandi 3:55
3 Malort 3:34
4 Tornas 3:22
5 Drommen om Arto / Dreaming of Arto 2:56
6 Gudruns vals / Gudrun's Waltz 5:44
7 Gart Sjouf / Did It Myself 2:51
8 Norsken / The Norwegian 3:32
9 Larven 2:59
10 Skymning / Dusk 5:14
11 Kuben / The Cube 4:56



Hoven Droven "hippa"
Label: MNW/Home Records; Home20; 2001; Playing time: 43.18 min
Hoven Droven, Sweden's happiest band, have recorded with "hippa" a wonderful album. Central instruments in Hoven Droven are Kjell-Erik Erikssons fiddle and Jens Comen's Saxophones, joined by drums and percussion (Bjorn Hoglund), guitars and accordeon (Bo Lindberg) and bass (Pedro Blom). The result is unique music, between many styles, like folk, rock, jazz, blues,...., music with a lot of groove, very appealing, very happy. Most of the tunes are composed by either Bo or Jens, steeped in the traditional ideom, yet carrying the unique Hoven Droven style.
"hippa" has managed better than all Hoven Droven albums before to catch the magic of the live band. It is definitely their best album so far, and it is in fact as good that it might well make its way into FolkWorld's Top 10 2001. Magic modern folk music with a lot of spirit.
And it is not only the above indicated 43.18 min this CD is offering, as the CD Rom section of the album offers plenty of fun, music, photos, background infos. You can find partly great, partly a bit embarrassing (the earlier material) live recordings and videos of Hoven Droven during the whole band history (fun to see how different the guys look today), as well as a highly amusing video from the recording session of this very album, in a little "stuga" (holiday house) in snow covered Sweden. One of the very few CD Rom sections of music CDs that is more than just a boring add-on, but really a welcome addition.
"hippa" is an album that is extremely hip!
Hoven Droven Homepage
Michael Moll



Hoven Droven

The closest English translations to Hoven Droven are "helter skelter" or "whatever," which happens to also describe the band's approach to their Swedish folk roots. Taking traditional melodies and rocking them hard is the band's most dominant approach, but they can also be quite melodic. But the band always seems to gravitate back to blowing your socks off.

Hoven Droven is:
Bjorn Hoglund (drums and percussion)
Bo Lindberg (electric guitar)
Jens Comen (saxophones)
Pedro Blom (bass)
Kjell-Erik Eriksson (fiddle)

Links
Bio information from NorthSide


www.hovendroven.com


Home Records, HD's Swedish label, run by Gustav Hylen, former member of the band.


Groove

hippa

More Happy Moments


"HIPPA" (Home 20)
Released on Home Records, April 2001.
Produced by Hoven Droven & Gustav Hylen.
Tracklisting: Syen, Vilse i Viljandi, Malort, Tornas, Arto, Gudruns Vals, Gart Sjouf, Norsken, Larven, Skymning, Kuben.
The disc also contains an interactive CD-ROM with three videos and several MP3 tracks of previously unreleased live material. "Hoven Droven decided not to be a hard rock band for a while and recorded this album almos completely without their usual distorted guitars and big drums. A much cooler album than it's predecessors, but still with a very recognizable Hoven Droven feel to it.
Buy this record at: CDON