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If you think the fiddle is unhip, then you haven't heard the Swedish duo Harv. Magnus Stinnerbom of
Hedningarna and Daniel Sandén-Warg offer both traditional and contemporary music that's often meditative but also sprightly, as on "Olov," which cuts to the very heart of Swedish music. Backed up by percussion and guitar, the two show that this sound can also appeal to the children of the rave generation. It
is lovely to chill out with or fill your head with
polskas, waltzes, or
polses. That two people can create such a joyous noise is marvelous in itself; that they can make traditional music seem so alive, as if it were just composed yesterday, is little short of miraculous--even when they trespass on neighboring Norway's turf, as they do on "Svempa." Harv put their own original stamp on this music, turning it into something that while ineffably Nordic, transcends any geographical boundaries.
--Chris Nickson
The youthful Nordic roots explosion continues on this brilliant album by two blooming fiddle masters. Magnus Stinnerborn and Daniel Sandin-Warg boil and bake traditional fiddle tunes alone and with deep resonant drums and willow flutes, as the melodies bubble and simmer over a drone of low fiddle notes. Mostly in minor, stomp-your-foot keys, Polskas like Baten, Lumiainen and Bjorklund are arranged to start small and grow larger. Microtone oddities such as Bldd show off their virtuosity on a fretless instrument, but are demanding on the listener. Original tunes written and arranged by the duo for local theatre productions match the feeling of traditional hardanger material. As more Nordic artists become better known, they are joining a growing trend of "sitting in" on each others' albums. Harv spices up the fiddle tunes by adding the guitar and production talents of Roger Tallroth of Vdsen and percussion by Bjvrn Tollin of Hedningarna. -Brian Grosjean
