Show #175: Garmarna

(Photo found at The Pure Drop.)

Garmarna provide a nice follow-up to the Balkan Beat Box show from December. But instead of looking to the Balkans, Garmarna draws inspiration from their native Sweden. They take the folk music of their homeland and drag it kicking and screaming into today.

The band was formed in 1990 in Sundsvall when Gotte Ringqvist, Stefan Brisland-Ferner, and Rickard Westman attended a performace of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Something about the music got inside them and Garmarna was formed the next day. In 1992 the trio were invited to play at the Hultsfred festival and, for the occasion, they brought drummer Jens Höglin aboard. He would end up becoming a full-time member. In the audience that day was Emma Härdelin who would soon join as well. With the line-up solidified, Garmarna released their first effort, an eponymous EP early in 1993.


(Photo from Falufolk.)

In addition to giving traditional Swedish folk music a bit of a rock makeover, Garmarna also incorporates samples and drum boxes into their sound. The performance here was culled from a radio broadcast of the band's appearance at the Falun Folkmusik Festival in their homeland in July 1998. At the time they were working on new material in the studio and some of it was given a workout at the festival. (Some of it would appear on their third album, Vedergällningen.) Hence the set consists of both older material as well as brand new tunes which feature drum programming more prominently than their earlier songs.

The Band:
Stefan Brisland-Ferner - violins, viola, hurdy-gurdy, programming, guitar
Emma Härdelin - lead vocals
Jens Höglin - drums and percussion
Gotte Ringqvist - luteguitar, guitar, violin
Rickard Westman - guitar, e-bow, bass

Setlist:
Vedergällningen
Gamen
Vänner och fränder
Min Man
Konungen och trollkvinnan
Herr Holkin
Sorgsen ton
Vittrad
Herr Holger
Herr Olof
Halling från Makedonien

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Garmarna

Here's Garmarna with the Hurdy Gurdy Project back in 2005 in Minneapolis doing "Klevabergselden". It is the first time I've encountered the hurdy gurdy doing the folk equivalent of doom metal. This is thick, sludgey stuff.