Hippjokk

Amazon.com
On their fourth album the Swedish folk-rockers are minus the female vocalists, and return to their original trio. Anders Stake, Bjorn Tollin and Hallbus Mattsson push the far edge of "folk" using ancient instruments like bagpipes, transverse flutes, oud and drums in electronic and acoustic versions. The songs all have roots in very old Swedish tradition, but the execution is pure modernity. With guests like Wimme Saari, the famed Finnish "joiker" and Norwegian guitarist Knut Reiersrud they have forged a new sound for Scandinavia ... again. --Louis Gibson

Tracks:

Hoglorfen
Navdi/Fasa
Drafur & Gildur
Dolkaren
Bierdna
Kina
Forshyttan
Dufwa
Vals I Fel Dur
Skane
Graucholorfen

Amazon.com

On their fourth album the Swedish folk-rockers are minus the female vocalists, and return to their original trio. Anders Stake, Bjorn Tollin and Hallbus Mattsson push the far edge of "folk" using ancient instruments like bagpipes, transverse flutes, oud and drums in electronic and acoustic versions. The songs all have roots in very old Swedish tradition, but the execution is pure modernity. With guests like Wimme Saari, the famed Finnish "joiker" and Norwegian guitarist Knut Reiersrud they have forged a new sound for Scandinavia ... again. --Louis Gibson

Customer Reviews:

For Headbangers Who Are Open-minded!.......2003-01-19

This is some of the most powerful, intense, refreshing and different music I have heard in some time. Were it not for 3 wasted songs totalling a full 20 minutes in length which utilize Native-American-style chanting over programmed fake synthesized disco-drumbeats, this album would easily rate 5 stars. There is not a boring moment on the rest of the CD. Songs with hypnotic rythms and exotic, foreign, vaguely-Middle-Eastern sounding melodies using instruments you've probably never heard of are driven by powerful percussion and what sounds like an electric bass (no bass is listed on the credits; must be the listed "bass mandola", whatever that is). This has the intensity of a hard rock band without the usual hard rock instruments. In fact, by the time the lone electric guitar on this album kicks in on track 10, it almost sounds forced and out of place. This is an aural experience you will not soon forget and this CD is one you'll be playing over and over.

Ancient Scandinavia, here we come!.......2002-10-30

I've been a fan of Hedningarna for a long while, and this CD, the latest addition to my collection, is one of my favorites. While it's mainly instrumental, that doesn't stop it from being one of the most powerful CDs I've heard in a long while. The CD includes guest artists such as Wimme, a chanter from Finland, and an actual didgeridoo on a few of the tracks. And in case that doesn't have you convinced, the third song, Drafur & Gildur, is a bloody ballad about two dwarven brothers slaying trolls.

This is one seriously eclectic and wonderful CD.

One of my favorite songs has to be the last, "Graucholorfen," when everyone and the guest artists get back together in the studio for one last jam session that turns into a six minute trip to goodness-knows-where. Definitely one of my CDs of choice; I can't stop listening to it!

Entrancing.......2002-03-30

I'd bought this album on a whim after hearing one song that a Norwegian friend of mine played for me. I was blown away. I hadn't heard any Scandinavian folk music before this, modern or traditional, and the particular way Hedningarna adds a rock and even a techno undercurrent was unlike any music I'd encountered. The jojker (chanter) that performed with them on the album, combined with their heavy use of the didjeridoo (strange for Northern European music) gave it a primal and very evocative feel. For at least a month, this was the only album I played in my car, over and over. Since then, I've been evangelizing Hedningarna and playing their music to everyone I can, and everyone that has heard it wants the CD. I highly recommend this to anyone with open musical tastes.

Let's Go Viking!.......2000-12-25

I've had this CD for a more than a year now and it still gets regular rotation. I used to listen to a lot of metal (Sabbath, Maiden, etc.) before I started getting into different world music sounds. Hedningarna's music falls in between these 2 disparate genres because it is played on fiddles, lutes, flutes, accordions, etc. but it also has great tension and aggression. I'd been into Irish stuff for a while but this was my first foray into Scandinavian styles. Some of the tunes on here are originals and some are versions of old folktunes. All are enhanced with electronic techno dance-beats, there is some electric guitar and synth too. The Saami joikking sounds a lot like Native American chants. If you like this band, also check out the Nordic Roots compilation CD's and the band Vasen as well. Will these guys ever go on tour stateside???

5 star if Zappa and Beethoven had been aborted.......1998-12-20

Far beyond the written material available.

Lovely arctic shamanic rites mate with desert storytellers staging a coup on Greenpeace's late 70's sellout.

This is the faith of the 90's. 2190's that is.

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