Back in the 1990’s, there was a veritable storm of folk and folk-related releases from Sweden. Amongst the vanguard were Hedningarna (The Heathens), a group not afraid to revive, build, or otherwise alter traditional instruments. Hedningarna built their sound on drones and buzzes from hurdy-gurdy and fiddles, sometimes leaving the tunes in their minimalist grinding glory, or otherwise mixing their experimentation with older Swedish and Nordic pagan cultures into sonics that sometimes bordered on the electro-industrial (re-visit 1994’s astonishing Trä album). In those heady days, Hållbus Totte Mattson, Björn Tollin, and Anders Stake joined forces with two Finnish singers, Tellu Paulasto and Sanna Kurki-Suonio, with the women adding passionate incantations of Nordic spells and primal poetry. No one really sounded like Hedningarna, then or now.
Nine years on from a compilation release, Hedningarna have been reborn, sans the dual female vocalists. Hedningarna have returned to being a trio at its core, now comprised of Anders Norudde (violin, fiddles, moraharpa, bagpipes, flutes), Hållbus Totte Mattson (hurdy-gurdy, mandora, accordion, laptop), and Samuel Andersson (violin, fiddle, percussion of all kinds, more laptop manipulation). And on &, Valter Kinbom joins to add more percussion, along with Philemon Arthur & The Dung, an obscure Swedish duo who appear on one track.
01 - Tjuren
02 - Morafjälls
03 - Träslöjden
04 - Vem är jag
05 - Hedna
06 - Mycket vill ha mera
07 - Höjdaren
08 - Torget
09 - Hedersmannen
10 - Karbonader
11 - Soppan
12 - Bonden
13 - Men va fanken
14 - Hejsan svejsan
15 - Domen
Anders Norudde: Violin, mora-fiddle, moraharpa, basmoraharpa, swedish bagpipe, willow-flute, wooden flutes, vocal.
Hallbus Totte Mattsson: Hurdy-gurdy, hurdy-gurdy dulcilmer, mandora, basmandora, moraud, accordion, vocal
Samuel Andersson: Octave Violin, octave mora-fiddle, basmoraharpa, drums, percussion, slagbordun, basmandora, vocal.
Guests Artists:
Valter Kinbom: Percussion on track 5, 8, 10, 11.
Philemon Arthur & The Dung: track 14.
Nine years on from a compilation release, Hedningarna have been reborn, sans the dual female vocalists. Hedningarna have returned to being a trio at its core, now comprised of Anders Norudde (violin, fiddles, moraharpa, bagpipes, flutes), Hållbus Totte Mattson (hurdy-gurdy, mandora, accordion, laptop), and Samuel Andersson (violin, fiddle, percussion of all kinds, more laptop manipulation). And on &, Valter Kinbom joins to add more percussion, along with Philemon Arthur & The Dung, an obscure Swedish duo who appear on one track.
01 - Tjuren
02 - Morafjälls
03 - Träslöjden
04 - Vem är jag
05 - Hedna
06 - Mycket vill ha mera
07 - Höjdaren
08 - Torget
09 - Hedersmannen
10 - Karbonader
11 - Soppan
12 - Bonden
13 - Men va fanken
14 - Hejsan svejsan
15 - Domen
Anders Norudde: Violin, mora-fiddle, moraharpa, basmoraharpa, swedish bagpipe, willow-flute, wooden flutes, vocal.
Hallbus Totte Mattsson: Hurdy-gurdy, hurdy-gurdy dulcilmer, mandora, basmandora, moraud, accordion, vocal
Samuel Andersson: Octave Violin, octave mora-fiddle, basmoraharpa, drums, percussion, slagbordun, basmandora, vocal.
Guests Artists:
Valter Kinbom: Percussion on track 5, 8, 10, 11.
Philemon Arthur & The Dung: track 14.