Svøbsk - Sig mig

Svøbsk Sig mig GO' Danish Folk Music (www.gofolk.dk) Among world music enthusiasts, Norway and Sweden are known for their thriving and interesting folk music scene. The common conception is that music from Denmark is not as distinguished and complex as the music from its northern neighbors, but Svøbsk's debut reminds us once again that this is certainly not the case. Svøbsk is not tied to traditional Danish playing styles or tunes. More than half of the pieces are original compositions. One can hear strong influences from eastern Europe and European classical music, particularly in Jørgen Dickmess' violin. His companion in Svøbsk is Maren Hellberg Larsen, a great accordion player with strong technical skills. She explores the wide possibilities of accompaniment and comes up with sensitive and exciting backing ideas. Dickmess' fiddle style is special, although on certain numbers his intentional coarseness mars some of the flow and beauty. On the other hand, his singing is far from coarse. His clear tenor graces a handful of traditional Danish tunes, accompanied by Hellberg Larsen's accordion and his own guitar playing. "Skøn ridder" and the other traditional songs appear surprisingly fresh thanks to Dickmess' inspired vocals, where at times one can hear phrasings borrowed from pop music. Approaching the songs this way is still fairly rare among Nordic folk singers. The booklet reads "In Denmark folk music is currently in turmoil and rapidly progressing these years." Sig mig is proof and promise of things to come from Denmark's folk music scene. - Staffan Jonsson CD available from cdRoots

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