At home in the world, at home in Førdefestivalen : This is the opening concert
RIID - Daniel Lazar, Almir Meskovic, Ingrid Jasmin Vogt and Bellali Austria
This year the sound of Førdefestivalen the sound of the diversity of our country. Welcome Home and welcome to the opening concert! No artists cross national borders to play at Førdefestivalen this year. Yet they represent 24 different nations and traditions.
Every year, the opening concert on Thursday and the gala concert on Saturday are the two biggest concerts during Førdefestivalen . Here the audience gets a number of glimpses and tasters of what the festival has to offer. For those who are having a hard time choosing, these concerts provide a cross-section of this year's festival.
At the opening concert, the audience will meet six artists from eight different musical traditions: Kartellet (Norway), Meelodi (Norway, Iran, Syria), Kajsa Balto (Norway/Sapmi), Hamid Sakhizada (Afghanistan), Kvedarkvintetten (Norway) and RIID (Serbia, Mexico, Spain, Norway). The evening's hosts are Irene Kinuda Afriyie and Finn Tokvam.
The Cartel (Norway)
Two men and two women dance and act in the Kartellet universe. A universe of raw, folk power, combined with silly play and unexpected combinations.
To dance with a pole or to dance with someone of the same sex is a Northern Norwegian expression for dancing with someone of the same sex. This was common, among other things, during the Lofoten fishing season, where men danced with men in the same way as playing cards, fighting and singing. To dance with a pole was also used when women danced together. Intimate zones between people are constantly changing, and when can two people of the same sex play?
Choreography: The Cartel
Tone Ingvaldsen - dance
Inge Martin Helgesen - dance
Ådne Geicke Kolbjørnshus - dance
Dina Bruun Arnesen - dance
Nina Fjeldet - fiddle
Mariann Torset - tree organ
Melody (Norway, Iran, Syria)
The Bergen group Meelodi consists of Iranian vocalist Medi Farmani, Syrian oud player and vocalist Nawar Alndaffad and guitarist Ole André Farstad, known to many as the guitarist in the black-metal band Abbath. Farstad has traveled the world and studied traditional string instruments and percussion in world cultures, and these instruments are far ahead in Meelodi's sound. Meelodi takes song lyrics from the Persian mathematician, astronomer, philosopher and poet Omar Kayyam.
Ole Andre Farstad , percussion
Medi Farmani , vocals
Nawar Alndaddaf , vocals, oud
Snorre Bjerck , percussion, vocals
Torbjorn Hillersøy , bass
Per Jørgensen , trumpet, percussion, vocals
Kajsa Balto (Norway/Sapmi)
Urkraft meets the modern in Kajsa Balto's unique musical expression, where joik and Northern Sami lyrics are presented in a modern and exciting soundscape. The album Buot eallá (alt lever) was released in May 2020, and received a brilliant reception from the Norwegian music press. The title refers to the ancient Sami belief that everything in nature has a soul, and the album is a collection of personal joiks from Balto's own family and songs that are based on traditions from Sápmi. The music is described as beautiful, powerful and lyrical; an expansive and evocative journey that pays tribute to Mother Earth.
Kajsa Balto - vocals
Ragnhild Tronsmo Haugland - cello
David Aleksander Sjølie - guitar
Karoline Bjørhei - drums, percussion
Hamid Sakhizada (Afghanistan)
With his life as a sacrifice, Afghan musician Hamid Sakhizada promotes his tradition, the unique Hazara music. For years, the Hazara cultural heritage and traditions have been ridiculed and suppressed. Hamid takes the tradition seriously, and conveys it with warmth and empathy. The highly respected musician from Afghanistan has an all-consuming passion for the Hazara tradition and the dambura, a type of lute with two strings. The dambura provides both melody, chords and a distinctive rhythm to the beautiful Afghan folk music. Together with Indian violin, Persian drum and Norwegian mouth harp, a sound image is created that on the one hand gives the impression of tradition and folk music, but which is at the same time new and creative.
Hamid Sakhizada - vocals, dambura
Harpreet Bansal - violin
Birger Mistereggen - harmonica, scythe drum, percussion
Kaveh Mahmudiyan - tombak, daf, bandir
The Kvedar Quintet (Norway)
Tagal is a newly written work that explores the wordless part of the folk song. Composed by Jorun Marie Kvernberg for the vocal group Kvedarkvintetten. “Tagal” can be translated as to keep quiet, be silent or wordless, and the work challenges the framework for vocal music by virtually eliminating textual elements. Kvedarkvintetten consists of five folk singers from Hallingdal. The group has been central to the Norwegian folk music scene for many years. Individually, they are prominent performers in folk music and folk dance, and as a quintet they are one of the leading vocal groups in Norway that practice folk song in a capella format.
Margit Myhr - vocals
Sina Myhr - vocals
Helga Myhr - vocals and Hardanger fiddle
Tonje Risdal Liahagen - vocals
Silje Risdal Liahagen - vocals
RIID (Serbia, Mexico, Spain, Norway)
What happens when you mix Balkan rhythms, the temperament of flamenco and the innermost Nordic tones? This question is the starting point for RIID, the project that seduces, surprises and breaks new ground. Artists from Mexico, Norway, Bosnia and Serbia/Romania have created 'Balkan flamenco' - a new and exciting expression.
Almir Meskovic - accordion
Daniel Lazar - violin
Ingrid Jasmin Vogt - vocals
Bellali Austria - dance