Search - Triakel :: Songs From 63 Degrees N

IC B.
Reviewed on 12/13/2017...

This is very pure, unadorned traditional music of "quiet but intense ethos". Chris Nickson/Allmusic reviews it below -- and I think he's got it right:

"...The mix of fiddle, harmonium, and voice creates a bristling darkness, especially on the brooding "Min Docka," where singer Emma Härdelin rolls her Rs with great glee.

...There's an obvious love of the music, and in presenting it, never seeking the darkness, but teasing it out where it occurs. It's certainly not evident in the country dance of "Bli Som Far," which glides around the floor, or "Tordyveln," which morphs into a polka. However, it can't be denied that wonderful as Härdelin is, she shines best on material like "Barnamorderskan," where tragedy is all too apparent. Triakel continue to grow as masters of their craft and more -- at times positively inspired."

On the remarkable and unparalleled Northside Records label.

Hear a sample:

https://soundhound.com/?t=100735078020021319

1 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.

This music will colonize a portion of your brain...

G. Axelson | Oakton, Virginia United States | 10/06/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mark Twain once wrote a short story in which a trolley conductor's rhyming lyric about different color tickets became so ingrained in the narrator's brain that it occupied every waking moment and only receded when he found someone else to take up the ditty and passed it on like something contagious. Well, so am I smitten. Emma Härdelin's clear, haunting vocals - and the fulsome instrumental backing of Kjell-Erik Eriksson and Janne Strömstedt - have colonized a portion of my brain and won't let it go. I wake up in the middle of the night hearing Emma's lovely voice singing the rather naughty "Älskaren i gluggen" - about a young woman whose lullaby to her child by an open window is also a warning to her lover that her husband is at home. Or the slightly mysterious sounding "Lihll-Pe i Floa." Or a song about toes and life, or... almost every other track on this CD. Incidentally, Emma's father is Thore Härdelin - perhaps the most celebrated fiddler in all of Sweden.



I wasn't totally sure I liked the record the first time I listened, but something pulled me back in. Then again. And again, like an addiction. Now I can't get enough of Emma and the gang. I am in love. I should confess a bias. I am a second generation American of Swedish descent with all four grandparents having been born in the old country. And so there may be a genetic attraction to the unique scandinavian musical blend of minor and major keys that co-exist in any given song in the most captivating ways. But I guarantee that any folk-music lover - and I'm talking about the genuine article, not watered down commercial stuff - will adore this body of work. I am ordering Triakel's other two CD's and can't wait for them to arrive. At which point, every waking moment... Unless YOU buy the CD and like Mark Twain's conductor, I find some peace having passed it on!"

Listen to this if you want to learn Swedish - you'll enjoy i

J. Jenkins | Everett, WA USA | 03/08/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After growing up with Polka's at the family parties, I was under the impression that was the only purely Swedish music available - Triakel is a pleasant discovery for me.



I found this record who teaches Swedish how I should begin - she said start with music and listen to the words. This record is outstanding for that - I am memorized.



The music is upbeat and well performed - a good mix of old and new adaptations of old. I enjoy listening to this on a regular basis - well worth the price."