“Twenty” is about the magical gravitational forces of music and its mysterious effects on life itself. Just as much as it marks our twenty-year anniversary as Bazar Blå, this music is also a celebration of the rare friendship that has kept us together for all these years. A unique musical and personal connection which inspires us to push boundaries and develop as musicians and as a collective. From the very beginning, Bazar Blå has functioned as a sort of safe-house for musical experiments and exchange of artistic ideas, many of which have found their ways into our music and thus into our musical personalities.
Seven eventful years have passed since our previous release and, looking back, it seems both like yesterday and a very distant past. At times we came close to getting lost forever, but we just could not rush this music or force it into existence. Now it is here and we are very happy to present this next step in the evolution of Bazar Blå.
(from official site)
Seven eventful years have passed since our previous release and, looking back, it seems both like yesterday and a very distant past. At times we came close to getting lost forever, but we just could not rush this music or force it into existence. Now it is here and we are very happy to present this next step in the evolution of Bazar Blå.
(from official site)
Two decades on the road, apparently with a few sticky patches in recent years, Bazar Blå is a Swedish trio based around the nyckelharpa of Johan Hedin, with the somewhat surprising addition of drums and bass behind this renaissance folk instrument. Although Twenty is their sixth album, this is the first time I've heard Bazar Blå's music - not so surprising, as they lean strongly towards world music and don't really incorporate the Swedish dance traditions I am more familiar with. In over an hour of new compositions, only one or two of the dozen tracks here approaches the driving dance style of much Scandinavian music: the rest is dark, brooding, intense, following another strand of Scandinavian tradition, well played and absorbing but more tantric than toe-tapping.
Ten of the numbers on Twenty were written by bass-player Björn Meyer, with the other two credited to Hedin. Percussionist Frederik Gille doesn't get involved in the composing, but his contribution to the sound is pivotal, providing the rhythm which holds these shifting wintry tapestries together. He has an over-fondness for sleigh bells, but otherwise the percussion is first class. I had hoped for more sparkle in the nyckelharpa, and this only really comes through on Strax and Dussinpolskan - although the bass mandola does add some brilliance to Bazar Blå's music too. There is a strong Swedish character to this album, mixed with Middle-Eastern and Asian flavours, so if you enjoy the gloomy and mysterious aspects of Nordic music, or the more laid-back side of Balkan or Arab traditions, Twenty may well suit your tastes.
© Alex Monaghan
Ten of the numbers on Twenty were written by bass-player Björn Meyer, with the other two credited to Hedin. Percussionist Frederik Gille doesn't get involved in the composing, but his contribution to the sound is pivotal, providing the rhythm which holds these shifting wintry tapestries together. He has an over-fondness for sleigh bells, but otherwise the percussion is first class. I had hoped for more sparkle in the nyckelharpa, and this only really comes through on Strax and Dussinpolskan - although the bass mandola does add some brilliance to Bazar Blå's music too. There is a strong Swedish character to this album, mixed with Middle-Eastern and Asian flavours, so if you enjoy the gloomy and mysterious aspects of Nordic music, or the more laid-back side of Balkan or Arab traditions, Twenty may well suit your tastes.
© Alex Monaghan
Tracklist:
1. Àziza
2. Svävaren
3. Tio i Tre
4. Lugnet
5. Dussinpolskan
6. Flytten
7. Strax
8. Klockan två
9. Lunken
10. Stillheten
11. Haft
12. Hymn
Johan Hedin: nyckelharpa
Björn Meyer: acoustic & electric 6 string bass guitar, bass mandola
Fredrik Gille: percussion
1. Àziza
2. Svävaren
3. Tio i Tre
4. Lugnet
5. Dussinpolskan
6. Flytten
7. Strax
8. Klockan två
9. Lunken
10. Stillheten
11. Haft
12. Hymn
Johan Hedin: nyckelharpa
Björn Meyer: acoustic & electric 6 string bass guitar, bass mandola
Fredrik Gille: percussion