Mats Ed�n & Tina Quartey
While many other folk-drummers in Sweden use a multitude of cymbals, toms and other percussion to make their playing interesting, Quartey sticks to a sparse kit. On many tracks, her only instrument is the Brazilian berimbau. It blends excellently with Ed�n's ringing viola d'amore as it produces both distinct rhythms and resounding, somewhat nasal tones.
Quartey's clarity and her deep knowledge of Scandinavian folk music gives space and support to Ed�n. He says, "Playing together with Tina is like gliding in a musical sailplane." The Norwegian "Trumpen hass Trond" is euphoria in fast, divided triplets. It sounds heavy and saggy when played by many other fiddlers, but here we can really sense what Ed�n means with his sailplane. The interplay is free of resistance.
The instruments are used with lots of creativity, and the arrangements are often innovative. This is perhaps no surprise, considering the lack of fiddle and drum duos preceding them. V�gen in is a bewitching album of personal and daring character. - Staffan Jonsson
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