Customer Reviews

Nordic Roots 2: Northside Sampler

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This cd offers a great selection of music from Scandinavian artists trying to keep their heritage and tradition alive whether more directly (Boot, Hedningarna, and Vasen) or indirectly (Garmarna and Sorten Muld). Whether using traditinal music and instruments or traditinal lyrics, all the bands represented on Nordic Roots 2 excel. Everyone will find something they like on this cd and, at [the price] for 22 songs, it is a bargain not to be missed! The liner notes inside give great insight into the individual bands if you come to it as a first time listener like I did. If you like Celtic music or Appalachian folk music, you will probably like a bulk of what is on this disc.

If you've not heard a Nordic Roots sampler before, I would suggest you start with Nordic Roots 3 (or 1) unless your musical taste leans more towards new age than folk. That does not imply the music is new age, simply that the folk music arrangements and instrumentation move towards an electronic new age sound. As a sampler, the collection fails not because of quality but rather because the selection is less diverse than the other Nordic Roots samplers. All that being said, there are some real gems:

Wild Honey by Boot reminds me of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra with a northern flavor.

Secret Tears by Loituma reminds me of a Parisian Salon Orchestra and vocalist.

The traditional Forest Maiden has wonderful interweaving of voices.

My Wedding Day also is noteable for the vocalists, with some unusual intervals and harmonies somewhat reminiscent at time of Eastern European vocal traditions e.g. Bulgarian.

As to be expected the cut from the album Seleniko by Vartina is excellent - the Seleniko album is superb. A pair of sisters from Vartina also appear in 'Tis Time to Celebrate from a Christmas album they did on their own.

Polska Release also deserves mention for its vocals.

Unfortunately among the instrumental and/or dance cuts on this sampler, all are well done but none stand out. I would expect fiddlers to disagree with me on this but ...

Music from Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland has magical qualities that are beyond word descriptions, as beautiful as the fjords and the night-time clear skies with falling stars, an Impressionistic painting as hard to describe as the Northern Lights. The female vocalists are enchanting like the Celts and Hungarians (& just as hard to describe, ancient languages with equally mysterious origins). There is violin music played on the hardanger fiddle which has sympathetic vibrating strings, that provide a drone, amazingly hypnotic and trance-like. The music is slightly familiar if you are acquainted with Appalachian fiddle music or bluegrass, add to it some Austrian waltzes, and an occasional Polish mazurka: then once-in-awhile give it a soft velvet feeling. The fact that much of it is over 100 years old, makes it true roots music, occasionally it is up-dated with an electrified sound amplifying the intensity and magical qualities ... sometimes flutes, other times a viola, the nyckelharpa, and other ancient Scandinavian instruments provide the intrigue and enchantment. Having heard "Nordic Roots" Volume 1 (& bought it), I looked forward to Volume 2. The best and most talented musical artists provide extraordinairy examples of this genre for an unbelievable price. Undoubtedly, the captivating musical sounds by these artists will hypnotize you into wanting a full CD by one or more of these musicians. Northside is truly providing us "food for the soul" and with gratitude! Erika Borsos (erikab93).

Ranging in mood from joyful and jaunty to dark and driving, this is my favorite of the three "Nordic Roots" samplers that the NorthSide label has released to date. Intense stuff is to be found here; there is nothing half-way about this music! To those not familiar with the genre, I'm not sure how to describe it. There are elements similar to Celtic and folk, as well as liberal doses of rock and techno influence. But what shines through most noticeably are the traditional Scandinavian roots of the selections - strident and visceral, perhaps reflecting the harshness of the climate, the Nordic peoples' fierce pride in their native cultures, and the darkness of their mythology. At first listen, the music might seem eclectic to a neophyte, abundant with the sounds of hardanger fiddle, nyckelharpa and unfamiliar languages, but it all becomes quite addictive. In addition to many of the same artists featured on the previous "Nordic Roots" release, new groups include Annbjorg Lien, Sorten Muld, Varttina, Bask, Boot, and Bukkene Bruse. I find this particular CD to contain great motivational music to work by, especially in the first half. Give it a listen and see for yourself--after all, at its price, it's "still cheaper than food", as the sticker on the casing brags! (Well, some foods, anyway.)

NorthSide's second collection of wonderful music from the North is absolutely brilliant. Buy this CD! How can you lose at this price which is, as the CD boasts, "cheaper than food"? This is truly a masterful mix - you get hot jazz fusion from Groupa, expansive techno jojking from Wimme, icily brutal music from Garmarna, and precious simplicity from Sari & Mari Kaasinen, Loituma, and Bukkene Bruse. If you don't already know these bands, you won't be sorry; if you do, don't wait to get it!

If you read my review of Nordic Roots 3, you will know that I am very pleased with these CD's. This is another cheap compilation of many different artists and musical styles. Nordic Roots has wonderful songs such as: Wild Honey (Boot), Antin Mikko (JPP), Summer Night Twist (Troka) and many others.

For a person looking for an inexpensive introduction to Nordic Music, you will find Nordic Roots 2 very diverse and satisfying. With absolutely no hesitation, I would recommend this CD to others.

Again, NorthSide brings us some wonderful samples from the fertile Scandinavian folk scene on this Nordic Roots 2 CD. After taking a chance on the first one (after all, it was so cheap!) and being wowed, I had to get this one. Many of the same artistes from the previous collection can be found here, along with other interesting groups. From the infectious openers Vildhonung (Wild Honey) from Boot and Mettsän Tytto (Forest Maiden) from Hedningarna, through ultra modern twists from Garmarna (Vedergällningen, or Vengeance), Sorten Muld (2 Søstre, or 2 Sisters), to the jazz stylings of Lavalek by Groupa and the driving hard rock of Brekken by Hoven Droven, one would have to be dead not to find something to like here. Just one warning: this stuff is addictive.

i'm an extreme metal fan but i bought this anyway because it was so damned cheap! how can you go wrong with more than 20 tracks for less than [money]?? anyway it even turned out to be quite an entertaining compilation with some great performances. i always was curious about exotic and especially nordic music so i had some nice surprises here. recommended!

I bought this after listening to a sample thinking it was
classic Scandinavian music but its more modern. There are
maybe three good songs but at this price, it is more
than worth it!

I fell in love with this CD...I have come home to the music of my own ancestors. "Vildhonung (WILD HONEY)" by BOOT is a festive delight that got me dancin" and shoutin'. "Mettsan Tytto (FOREST MAIDEN)" by HEDNINGARNA captures the wonder and magic of Nordic forests. WOW! And the celestial chill of "Kyla Vuotti Uutta Kuuta (THE VILLAGE AWAITS THE NEW MOON)" by VARTTINA brings me back to hear this song again and again. Just about every group on this CD will sell their music to me.