Lisa Knapp and Gerry Diver’s Hinterland (Ear to the Ground Music) is the first properly collaborative album between the real-life couple, beautifully ducking and diving between love songs, bird songs, spoken-word miniatures (Train Song) and John Barry-dusted murder ballads (Long Lankin).
Anders Hana, Olva Christer Rossebø and Åshild Vetrhus take inspiration from Norway’s rugged Rogaland in these tracks sourced from early-to-mid 20th century recordings.
A new Norwegian folk label, Krets, arrives with an arresting debut release – an “anarchistic” set of songs, dances, ballads and psalms from the rugged south-western county of Rogaland.
All are sourced from early-to-mid 20th-century recordings, and range from feverish dances such as Hallingkule (where repeated cyclical patterns sound ferocious between the bow’s horsehair and the strings’ steel) and the uncanny shimmer of Vinjavalsen (played on the langeleik, a zither with one string for the melody and eight for drones).
Jim Ghedi’s Wasteland (Basin Rock) is a full-throttle concept album of traditional songs, ballads and originals soundtracking a narrative of dystopian collapse, but the swaggering sonics often distract from the storytelling.
