Top names from all over Norway when Førdefestivalen celebrates
Karl Seglem is coming Førde with his entire NUNATAK band. Photo: Oddleiv Apneseth
Førdefestivalen has a habit of having strong Norwegian names on the bill every year, and the anniversary festival is no exception. -We are celebrating our 30th anniversary by inviting back artists the audience has wanted to hear it again Førde There will be reunions with both international and Norwegian audience favorites, in addition to new names, says director Per Idar Almås, who is very pleased with the Norwegian band he now presents.
Karl Seglem first out
First up is Karl Seglem, the saxophonist, fennel player, composer and poet from Årdal, who released the album NUNATAK last year, and received clear 6s on the dice in the Norwegian and international music press. -I'm really looking forward to presenting my music at Larris Scene on Wednesday, July 3rd, not least to have my entire fantastic NUNATAK band with me, says Seglem. Over the years he has performed on stage in Førde both as a soloist and in collaboration with a number of folk musicians, but this is the first time he has come with a full band. -The Harding fiddle has a central place in the soundscape I create, and then it is huge to have Håkon Høgemo himself and Sigrid Moldestad behind him, smiles Seglem, who also has Kåre Opheim on drums, Lars Jakob Rudjord and Andreas Ulvo on keyboards and Hallvard Gaardløs on bass.
Ragnhild Furebotten with new project
Ragnhild Furebotten is one of the leading fiddle players from Northern Norway, not least known from the popular Hekla Stålstrenga, which is still an A-lister on NRK. To Førdefestivalen She brings music she has created over the past five years; a period in which her life has taken many abrupt turns, and in this project she brings with her the Swedish Emilia Amper on the kleinharp and Frode Haltli on the accordion. Three big musical names in one and the same trio, there is every reason to have high hopes for them.
Furebotten is also part of Fotefar, where she, together with two other northern Norwegian regional musicians, Bendik Lund Haanshus and Lena Jinnegren, has had great success in highlighting the rich song treasure of Edvard Ruud (1902-2001). Fotefar comes to Førde with singer and fiddler Julie Alapnes, who is building a solid career both here in Norway and abroad. Alapnes is also a performer who has previously visited the festival in their international talent project for young musicians.
Johanne Flottorp will be the right soloist in the Haarklousalen. Photo: Heidi Fure
Spellemann Prize nominee Flottorp on solo stage
On the solo stage, the festival presents Johanne Flottorp from Åmli, who has been nominated for the Spellemannprisen for her self-titled debut album. She has made a strong mark on the folk music scene for many years, and about being a solo performer, Flottorp says: - When I think about it, I am not alone when I play solo. I have a whole army of people behind me. Every beat I play on this release, I have a special relationship with. And I also have a relationship with the source, whether it is a living person I have visited, whether it is a sheet music or whether it is a recording. Behind all of these are long lines of new sources, all of which play together with me.
Jo Einar Jansen also plays on the solo scene in Førde Photo: Knut Utler
Nordic-inspired Jansen
Another exciting name on the solo scene is Jo Einar Jansen, a musician, singer and composer from Frosta in Trøndelag, who has carefully studied folk music traditions in all the Nordic countries. He released his first solo album, Naken, in May 2018, with music mainly composed over the last 300 years on the fiddle, octave fiddle and Harding fiddle, both by Jansen himself and by older musicians known and unknown.
There will be a reunion with the fairytale quartet with Gjermund and Einar Olav Larsen and Ragnhild and Eldbjørg Hemsing in Førde Photo: Circle Photo
Reunion with Larsen/Hemsing
The icing on the cake for many will perhaps be the reunion with the sibling quartet Larsen and Hemsing in the concert Two Ladies, Two Gentlemen. Gjermund and Einar Olav Larsen and Ragnhild and Eldbjørg Hemsing are at the top of the Norwegian folk music scene and the classical music scene; four star-class soloists who will meet each other in the barn at Fjordamattunet on Sunday, July 7. The four will also be heard at the gala concert on Saturday evening.
VASSVIK 706 m.
Torgeir Vassvik gives you a fresh insight into the northernmost coastal area on the European mainland. His very unique performance of the archaic trance-inducing music of his people, the Coastal Sami, is a reflection of the rough and beautiful coastal nature. Vassvik has a rough and modern soundscape with joik, two fiddles, frame drum and acoustic guitar. -VASSVIK will have the audience right on top of Hafstadfjellet on Saturday morning, says festival director Almås.
The best from Ottadalen
Folk music with roots in Ottadalen is strongly represented when both Lendmenn and Aslak Brimi Quartet are on the program in Førde . Lendmenn won the group play final in the National Festival of Old-fashioned Dance in 2018, and will play at the dance in Førde , while the Aslak Brimi Quartet will have a rather exclusive concert at Gabriel Fliflet's boundless club on Saturday evening.
The entire program for Førdefestivalen will be launched on Thursday, April 4th at Larris Scene in Førde .