Groove

Hoven Droven

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 20, 1997)
• Original Release Date: May 16, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Northside Records
• ASIN: B000003THV
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #275,381 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > Indie Music > World Music > Europe > Scandinavia

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Call it the new Viking invasion if you want, but all these Swedish bands (Garmarna, Hedningarna, etc.) are doing a hell of a lot to kick folk rock well into the next millennium. This release (a compilation of earlier material) by Hoven Droven is called Groove, but Monster Truck Groove would be a better title. It rocks, swings, dances, and, in some ways, it picks up what Miles Davis aimed for on Bitches Brew and carries it to its logical, spinning conclusion. For Hoven Droven, folk music is a starting point, not a be-all and end-all; the horns blow, the guitar squeals and the rhythm section keeps it all moving along at a steady, nimble rumble. --Chris Nickson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best of the Swedish Trad-Rockers Rock Out in 3/4 time, April 16, 1999

By A Customer

Hoven Droven do amazing things with Swedish traditional music. Let's take the instruments for a start: drumkit, trumpet, electric guitar and bass, strings and reeds.

Then let's take the arrangements. Hoven Droven takes traditional Swedish tunes and applies modern rock and jazz sensibilities to create something that's greater than the sum of it's parts.

As an example, listen to the sample of "Timas Hans" on this page. It's based on a traditional polska/waltz called "Lille Orevals" that you will hear in its original form in a sample towards the end of the piece (on the CD only). But "Timas Hans" starts off with a "Miles Davis"-style trumpet solo that plays over toms beating a tumbling rhythm pattern. Then the song moves into a distorted fiddle lead that jacks the energy of the tune up to arena rock levels. This is a tune that you will want to play LOUD. Can you believe that it's a _waltz_?

If you think that Swedish music is so much oom-pa-pa, listen to Hoven Droven rock out in 3/4 time. You won't regret it! I've had everyone from folkies to Metallica fans enjoy this CD.

Buy it and see!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow... Just Wow!, March 19, 2002

By	James Hymans (Muncie, Indiana USA) - See all my reviews

I've been listening to Scandanavian folk music for a few months now, and it has quickly become one of my favorite styles. I had heard (and loved ) Garmarna, Sorten Muld, and Hedningarna, in addition to several more traditional bands, and I thought that I'd branch out and check out something new. I had heard Hoven Droven on the Nordic Roots Sampler, and they interested me a great deal, but nothing I could have imagined would have prepared me for this album. It takes tradition, and somehow while simultaneously treating it with reverence manages to smash it to pieces and create something totally new and different. They take the base of Swedish folk, add in element of jazz and occasionally funk, and then turn the amps all the way up and just rock it as hard as they can. I can't think of anything to compare it to. It's kind of like Rage Against the Machine meets the Dave Matthews Band, and then moves to Sweden. But that's not nearly accurate enough. This is a great way for people to make the trasition from rock into Scandanavian folk, but it's not just that. This is an incredibly strong work that stands on its own as one of the most inventive and powerful collections of music ever recorded. I can't wait to hear more from these guys.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must buy..., January 16, 2000

By	C. Moscatello (Bay Area, California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I recently went to a ballet in berkeley, california and enjoyed listening to this music during a performance. To say the least, i enjoyed it tremendously. I believe it still has a freshness about it that can be enjoyed in the new millenium. I especially enjoyed "Arepolska". A beautifully romantic song. So if your tired of listening to all that junk on the radio today, turn your ear towards Hoven Droven. I think you will enjoy it as much as i have.