Together with the new folk rock phenomena Gangar, Mattias Thedens has made a ruckus in the Norwegian folk scene recently. The band’s irresistible blend of Norwegian folk tunes, old-school rock, youthful energy and unapologetic stage presence is definitely making people pay attention. In this conversation with Mattias we speak about the idea behind …

Anna Ekborg is currently one of the most prominent fiddlers on the Swedish Folk Music scene. In this conversation we speak about Anna’s musical background and her feelings about releasing an album completely solo. We also touch on a number of different things concerning the musician lifestyle, like how to best organize your life and career, how to …

Jeffrey Wasserman grew up in the hamlet of East Norwich, New York. As a young man he fell in love with the progressive folk music movement of the 70s and started playing and writing music in a wide variety of genres like bluegrass, old-time, blues and Celtic music. Since 1983 he has been living in Norway enjoying a successful career as a songwriter…

Andy Irvine has been an immensely influential folk singer and songwriter for more than 60 years. Through his work with bands like Sweeneys Men, Planxty, Patrick Street, he has been a central piece of shaping the sound of modern Celtic Music. We meet Andy Irvine in Oslo just before he is about to play a solo show there. The conversation revolves aro…

In a small coastal town almost as far south you can get in Norway, Lars Jakob Rudjord creates instrumental music that takes you to places you’ve never been before. Though often compared to the likes of Nils Frahm, Olafur Arnalds or Joep Beving, Lars Jakob Rudjord has most certainly established his very own sound in the modern classical world. His m…

Nell Ní Chróinín is one of the most prominent people in the world of traditional Irish Sean Nós singing. She has won numerous top prizes in traditional Irish music competition like the Fleadh Cheoil and An tOireachtas from the age of 12 and onwards. She was the youngest ever recipient to receive ‘TG4’s Gradam Ceoil Traditional Singer of the Year‘ a…

Mejram is a Swedish folkpop band with an appealing blend of American, Celtic and Nordic flavours. Just like the herb they take their name from, Mejram is Swedish for Marjoram, their music is subtle, sweet and intriguing. Their second album «From Town» came out earlier this year, and just like their first release «Mejram» (2019) it features captivat…

Fiddle player Dave Sheridan has been a highly respected musician on the Irish scene for a number of years, well known for his energetic and warm approach to the traditional repertoire. Originally from Tubber in Co. Offaly, he now lives in Carlow where he his a vital part of the local traditional music scene. He has released two brilliant albums wit…

Multi-instrumentalist Anna Massie is one of Scotland’s most renowned traditional musicians, known for her work with Blazin Fiddles, RANT and Mairead Green among others. We were able to sit down together for a chat during a busy weekend at the Førde International Folk Music Festival this summer. We talk about her musical background, her guitar style…

Danish Accordion player Anders Trabjerg first came to Galway in the 90s because of his deep interest in Irish Traditional music. There he first met Japanese fiddler Mayo Yanachi, who had come there for the same reason, and today they are a married couple with two kids. For many years now, they have been working as professional musicians on the city…

Bouzouki player Eoin Ó Neill has been a vital part of the Clare music scene, in Western Ireland, for more than 40 years. Through the years he has played and recorded with players like Mary Custy, Sharon Shannon, Kevin Griffin and Miko Russell, as well as tons of local talent both young and old. In 2015 he was given the MÓRglór award for outstanding…

Michael Barrett Donovan, originally from Northern California, moved to Norway from New York City in 2019 after finishing a masters degree in music composition and gigging within a wide array of musical genres. Since coming to Norway Donovan has fronted the original-music-performing trio Buster Sledge with guitar player Jakob Folke Ossum and banjo p…

Americian fiddler Liz Knowles has been a prominent member of the Irish music scene worldwide for several decades. She’s been working with Cherish the Ladies, String Sisters and Martin Hayes Quartet, just to mention a few. In addition to being a performer she is also a sought-after teacher, and it's her thoughts about practicing music that is the th…

I denne utgaven av Folkemusikkpodden får vi besøk av den svenske gruppen Triakel. De har siden oppstarten i 1994 etablert seg som en av de viktigste folkemusikkgruppene i Norden og har spilt utallige konserter rundt omkring i verden. Triakel balanserer mellom det humoristiske og det mørke, og mellom det røffe og det lyriske i musikken sin. Instrume…

Annbjørg Lien from Norway and Catriona MacDonald from Shetland have been among the most exiting fiddlers on the traditional music scene for more than 30 years. I got to speak with Annbjørg and Catriona prior to their duo show at the Norwegian national folk music venue, Riksscenen and we had an interesting chat, talking about their long relationship…

I denne bonusepisoden får vi høre et opptak fra festivalen Heme dine sommeren 2021, hvor undertegnede og Leif Ingvar Ranøien fra Hedmark musikkarkiv snakker om munnspilltradisjoner i Hedmark. Vi innleder med å snakke om munnnspillets historie og den rolle i den norske folkemusikktradisjonen. Videre spiller Leif Ingvar av ulike lydklipp fra arkivet …

I årets første episode av Folkemusikkpodden snakker vi med den svenske felespilleren Lena Jonsson. Lena er av Skandinavias mest innflytelsesrike folkemusikere fra sin generasjon og er for tiden aktuell med sin andre plate sammen med Lena Jonsson Trio «Stories from the Outside» som har høstet lovord fra fjern og nær. Vi slår av en prat med henne på …

Hans Martin Austestad is a Norwegian singer, songwriter and producer. In addition to all of that, he is also one of the most innovative and knowledgeable banjo players on the Norwegian folk scene. In this episode I have a conversation with him about how the banjo has shaped his musical career, and how it has led him down some very interesting and u…

Todays’s guest is Martin Green, member of the groundbreaking folk trio Lau and an accomplished composer and solo artist. I had a great time chatting with Martin, and we touched on a number of different topics, including what defines folk music for different people, creative techniques, band politics, approaching a band as an actual job, the current…

In this episode I’m speaking with English piano accordion player Karen Tweed. Karen is known for her smooth, playful style on the accordion and is regarded as one of the finest performers of Irish Music on the instrument. In this conversation we talk surprisingly little about the accordion, as we end up visiting a lot of different topics as diverse…

Stian Carstensen er mest kjent fra bandet Farmes Market, som i år fyller 30 år. Han har studert folkemusikk på Balkan med de beste krefter siden tidlig 90-tall og har jobbet med de fleste sjangere fra klassisk til country. Stian har sin egen måte å spille østeuropeisk musikk på, og hans komposisjoner er populære i det bulgarske sigøynermiljøet. Vi …

In this episode I’m joined by Norwegian fiddler and composer Bjørn Kåre Odde. He is one of the most exiting folk musicians in Norway at the moment and he has just released his debut solo album titled Folk Chamber. I got to sit down with him right after his concert at Osafestivalen this weekend and we had an interesting conversation about his work a…

Bli med oss nordover i denne spesialutgaven av Folkemusikkpodden reiser til Målselv for å besøke festivalen Kalottspel. Dette er en av landets eldste folkemusikkfestivaler og ble arrangert første gang i 1970 av Målselv Mållag og Målselv Spelmannslag. Under helgen får vi oppleve en rekke konserter, bla. Folkemusikk Nords storsatsing «Makalaus», dans…

I den foreløpig siste episoden av serien om norske folkemusikkinstrumenter har vi kommet til slåttetromme, og å gi oss en innføring i dette emnet har vi fått besøk av selveste Birger Mistereggen. Birger har vært er en profilert musiker i norsk musikkliv i en årrekke og er bla kjent for samarbeid med med artister som Øystein Sunde, Jonas Fjeld, Trio…

I denne ukens episode handler det om langeleik! Vi får besøk av Ingrid Lingaas Fossum som spiller og forteller om langeleikspill før og nå. Vi er inne på temaer som intonasjon, spilleteknikk, ulike typer instrumenter, tradisjoner og mye annet. Vi snakker også om hvordan Ingrids møte med musikken og kulturen i Tanzania formet hennes forhold til nors…

I denne ukens episode får vi besøk av Tom Willy Rustad som snakker om toraderens historie i den norske folkemusikk-faunaen. Tom Willy har lang fartstid i folkemusikkbransjen, både som pedagog og utøver. Han er kjent fra bla. gruppen Kvarts og har jobbet som lærer på folkemusikklinjen på Vinstra i en årrekke. I dag er han ansatt i folkemusikkarkivet…

I denne ukens episode av Folkemusikkpodden handler det om bukkehorn og vi får besøk av Eilif Gundersen og Bendik Smedåsgjelten Qvam, som begge er meriterte utøvere på instrumentet, de har bla. begge landskappleik-seiere bak seg. Vi snakker om instrumentets lange historie og hvilken plass bukkehornet har i den norske folkemusikkfacunaen i dag. Vi gi…

I denne episoden snakker jeg med Sigrid Stubsveen og Inga Myhr og folkedans og tradisjon. De jobber for tiden med en danseforestilling som bla. bygger på studier av arkivopptak av dansere fra Engerdal og Trysil. Vi snakker om folkedansens posisjon i samfunnet før og nå, og diskuterer hva som skal til for å gjøre folkedansen mer aktuell i vår region…

I dagens episode handler det om munnharpe og vi har besøk av ingen ringere enn Kenneth Lien og Hans Hulbækmo! Vi snakker om instrumentets historie, ulike stiltrekk, personlige erfaringer, og masse annet nerdete snacks!By Anders Lillebo

I denne bonusepisoden drar jeg og Sigrid Stubsveen til Hamar for å besøke Olav Sæta. Vi snakker om Olavs møte med Engerdal, med menneskene, musikken og tradisjonen, og han og Sigrid utveksler erfaringer fra arbeidet med musikken. Etter hvert kommer vi også inn på interessante temaer som folkemusikkens plass i lokalsamfunnet og fremtiden for engerda…

We're kicking of the second season of the show with legendary Swedish folk- and world musician Ale Möller. In this conversation we're focusing on Ale's approach to folk music and how he's able to maintain his own unique voice across all his various projects.By Anders Lillebo

In episode 15, I’m speaking with Swedish folk guitarist Oskar Reuter. Oskar is a versatile musician who is currently in high demand on the Scandinavian folk scene. In August he released his first solo album, called «Current State», featuring a collection of mostly original tunes played on fingerstyle guitar. Highly recommended! I had a great time c…

I sjette episode av Folkemusikkpodden snakker vi med Vegar og Mette Vårdal fra Kultivatorpodden. Vi utveksler erfaringer rundt det å snakke om folkemusikk i Norge og diskuterer hvordan vi kan få flere stemmer på banen. Besøk gjerne nettsiden for mer info og video: https://www.folkemusikkpodden.no/episoder/dr5hydcswalnzga0fo4mr3k3a20frw…

I femte episode av Folkemusikkpodden får vi besøk av gitarist Haldor Røyne Haldor spiller slåttemusikken på sin egen måte. Han er tro mot originalene, men man kan høre den allsidige bakgrunnen, og dette gjør at Haldor bidrar med en særegen stemme i sjangeren. Dette er den andre i en serie av tre episoder innspilte under årets Folkelarm-festival på …

I fjerde episode av Folkemusikkpodden får vi besøk av duoen Sarah-Jane Summers of Juhani Silvola. I denne samtalen kommer vi blant annet innom hvordan de forholder seg til musikalske sjangere, betydingen av Folkelarm for det norske folkemusikkmiljøet, hvordan de har taklet utfordringene i forbindelse med corona-pandemien og hvordan den nye hverdage…

I tredje episode av Folkemusikkpodden får vi besøk av Ola Vårtun og Martin Follstad fra duoen Tæladylju. Vi snakker om lek med sjangre, blanding av musikalske miljøer, bygdekultur og dårlig hembrent! Video og mer info, se: https://www.folkemusikkpodden.noBy Anders Lillebo

I andre episode av Folkemusikkpodden får vi besøk av Gjermund Larsen. Gjermund er en av Norges mest profilerte folkemusikere, meget anerkjent både som både felespiller og komponist. Sammen med Gjermund Larsen Trio har han utgitt en rekke kritikerroste plater som har gitt ham en fanskare langt utover det typiske folkemusikkpublikumet. I denne samtal…

I første episode av Folkemusikkpodden får vi besøk av Guro Kvifte Nesheim og Anna Malmström fra bandet GKN5. Vi snakker bla. om hvordan de, som band, har nærmet seg den tradisjonelt solistiske hardingfele-tradisjonen. I tillegg tar vi tempen på jam-kulturen i det norske og svenske folkemusikkmiljøet. Live musikk blir det også!…

In episode 14 I’m speaking with Scottish fiddler Lauren MacColl about her latest album, her creative process and the art of approaching old traditional material, whether it being in written or recorded form. For links, video and additional resources, visit the show website: https://thefolkmusicpodcast.com/episodes/landskein-with-lauren-maccoll…

In this episode I’m traveling to the Norwegian city Røros to speak with Olav Luksengård Mjelva, one of the busiest fiddlers in Norway. I’ve been a fan of Olav’s work for a long time, so it’s a real treat to be able to have him as a guest on the show. In our conversation we discuss his approach to musical collaborations, how to succeed as a touring …

In this episode I’m speaking with Folk singer and guitarist Matthew Byrne from Newfoundland about storytelling, tradition, creativity and guitar picks! For video, links and other resources, please visit the show website: https://www.thefolkmusicpodcast.com/episodes/the-art-of-storytelling-with-matthew-byrne…

Emma McPhilemy is the musical director of the Riverdance. On this episode we speak about her work with the show and also how she approaches the music industry as a classically trained musician.By Anders Lillebo

In this episode of the show I’m speaking with Ragnar Finsson and Oscar Beerten from the Faroese-Belgian duo Raske Drenge. Topics covered include their new album, the history of the Faroe Islands, the art of being in a successful band together and how push the boundaries of the folk music genre. For links, resources and videos, please visit the show…

This week I’m joined by Norwegian Harmonica player Richard Gjems. Richard has been one of the most respected harmonica players in the Norwegian blues scene for a long time, but he has been working in pretty much every musical genre there is, and a lot of his style comes from mixing different genres and techniques in an original way. Topics we touch…

This episode is all about the phenomenon known in Irish circles as «the session», which basically means a gathering of musicians playing Irish traditional music together in an informal way. Everyone that has been involved in Irish music, one way or another will be familiar with this. As any other social gathering, it comes with its own set of unwri…

Today's guest is Swedish percussion player Jens Linell. Jens is a well-known musician on the Scandinavian trad scene, through bands like SVER and GKN5. He is also a very thoughtful person with a lot of interesting views on folk music, so I knew he would be a great person to have on the show! In this conversation, we touch on topics like the role of…

In this episode I’m speaking with Scottish fiddler Sarah-Jane Summers. As well as being a tradition bearer of the Scottish old Highland style of fiddling, she has managed to create her own musical universe with a strong influence from free improvisation. In our conversation we touch on different topics like Scottish music, how to approach improvisa…

In this episode I’m speaking with Danish fiddler Maja Kjær Jacobsen. Topics we cover in this episode includes the Danish folk scene, what it means to be a bearer of traditions, and how to find ones musical identity. For resources and links mentioned in the episode, visit: https://thefolkmusicpodcast.com/episodes…

In this episode I’m speaking with Norwegian Hardanger fiddler Guro Kvifte Nesheim. She is a very innovative and productive musician, and I've been a fan of her work for some time now. I’m very happy that Guro could join me for this episode, because she has a lot of experience when it comes to today’s topic, which is Scandinavian traditional music p…

In this episode I’m speaking with Swedish musician Joel Andersson. Joel is a harmonica player and harmonica customizer who specializes in Irish traditional music. Since I dabble a bit in harmonica playing myself, I knew that I would have a great time chatting with Joel. We talk about the instruments history in Irish music, as well as its place in t…