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| Garmarna |
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Stefan Brisland-Ferner – violin,
hurdy-gurdy, perc
Emma Härdelin – voc, violin, perc
Jens Höglin – dr, perc
Gotte Rinsqvist – luteguitar, violin, perc
Rickard Westman – g
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| Garmarna |
Uninhibited
in their passionate quest for matching the folk of the future with the rock of ages, the
ethno-techno innovators from the Swedish group Garmarna constantly impress the listener
with their inventiveness. Finding innumerable ways to replant and rekindle ancient
traditions in the here-and-now, Garmarna are guaranteed to move one’s dancing feet as
well as satiate the unprejudiced mind.
Invariably maintaining that they are not particularly influenced by anyone, the
band members concede that they certainly are inspired by a multiplicity of musics.
Like – to quote – «everything between David Bowie via Beastie Boys to country
music and Pantera». (Intrigued already, you are?) As a matter of fact, it is possible to
draw an even more, much more chequered synopsis of the band’s self-confessed
inspirers. Like – everything between Hildegard von Bingen and Black Sabbath via Dr.
John and Shakespeare!
Yeah, Shakespeare. And moreover, Hamlet. To him, the greatest of all Danish princes,
Sweden’s great Garmarna owes its formation. In a way. To wit: in 1990, soon after
watching (and listening to!) the production of «Hamlet» which featured ancient Swedish
music, the three founding members of Garmarna – Rickard Westman, Stefan
Brisland-Ferner, Gotte Ringqvist – embarked on their search for olden tunes and
instruments. Before the band’s gig at the 1992 Hultsfreds Festival in their homeland,
Jens Höglin joined on drums. Singer Emma Härdelin made a guest appearance on
Garmarna’s debut EP of 1993, then joined on a permanent basis. With this five-strong
line-up the group recorded «Vittrad», the long-player which added samplers and
sequencers to the musical equation. The inspired mixture earned them the press-accolade of
«probably the best folk-music band in Scandinavia».
1996’s «Guds Spelemän"/"Gods Musicians» got them on the cover of
Billboard for a second time. The record merited rave reviews not only in the Swedish press
but also internationally, as was now customary. In America, the Wired magazine poured
praise on them. Likewise did Playboy (‘bout which don’t you be baffled, good
God-fearing citizens, for for years the crème de la crème of American music critics has
worked – and not necessarily naked! – for that picturesque periodical). The 1998
round of revitalising the repertoire found Garmarna, together with actress Felicia Konrad,
touring their millennial vision of the medieval sound world of Hildegard von Bingen. To
the absolute delight of all punters and buffs who caught the shows. Their next move, the
1999 «Vengeance», was considered «a breakthrough record for the entire genre of Nordic
music» – in America. Here in the Old World, however, Garmarna’s magnificence
has been an undisputed truth for years.
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