
The Nordic Sound
The Nordic Sound is a living archive of Nordic music across traditions, genres, and generations. Created by Jameson Foster, Musicologist and Nordic Folklorist of University of Colorado Boulder
Episodes
92 episodes
Album Review: Maija Kauhanen and Johannes Geworkian Hellman, "Migrating"
Painting vivid impressionistic landscapes through their ancient instruments, Nordic folk titans Maija Kauhanen and Johannes Geworkian Hellman join forces on their debut album Migrating. Each of these musicians are heavy hitters, or even icons, ...
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8:56

#52 - Ritual Music with Faber Horbach (Sowulo)
Faber Horbach of Sowulo joins the Nordic Sound for episode 52 to talk about Sowulo’s origins, the recent tour, and walk us through the band’s development from Alvenrad to Wurdiz. We also get into a pretty good discussion about artistic integrit...
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1:18:02

Album Review: Noiduin, "Lovi"
Rooted in ancient Finnish lore, Noiduin emerges with their first full-length album Lovi, an homage to an otherworldly state or space, a rift between worlds, and a place of crossing where the veil between the living and the dead thins. With a so...
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9:01

#51 - Hedningarna with Anders Norudde
Anders Norudde is one of the minds behind the legendary Hedningarna - a band whose influence is still felt throughout the world of Nordic folk music today. With their reputation for bringing a more raw, primal, and percussive energy to traditio...
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57:15

Album Review: MÍO, "Hva Nå?"
As you all know, MÍO's debut record Ingen Tid å Miste earned the top spot on my 2023 Nordic Sound Top 10 list. All these years later, I still stand by what I’ve said before: not only does MÍO weave a musical experience like no other, but their ...
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12:37

#50 - Pain and Performance Art with Ingrid Auné Falch
Ingrid returns to the Nordic Sound for the 50th episode to talk about her recent performance project "Echoes" with Maria Franz and her solo project "Piina" - a multi-movement work seeking to explore the theme of pain through music. With no resp...
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1:09:40

#49 - The Art of Black Metal with Thomas Eriksen (Mork, Udåd)
The Black Metal perspective makes a long overdue debut to the Nordic Sound in episode 49 with the inimitable Thomas Eriksen (Mork, Udåd). Not only has Thomas made quite the name for himself as the mind behind Mork, but kept himself and others e...
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1:39:55

#48 - Olav Luksengård Mjelva
Over the course of his career, Olav Mjelva has become something of a face of the Hardanger Fiddle, with his fiddle being heard in settings such as Rings of Power, God of War: Ragnarök, and Marvel’s Loki. As well as be...
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1:06:43

Frigg, "Dreamscapes" - Album Review
Celebrating their 25th anniversary this year, Frigg have long established themselves as one of the leading string bands in Nordic folk. A small army of six musicians, what has always astounded me about the band is how effectively they use their...
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9:27

#47 - Ale Carr of Dreamers' Circus
A beautiful homecoming!Ale joins the channel once again from balmy California where Dreamers' Circus begin their 2025 U.S. tour to celebrate the release of their new album Handed On. In this conversation, Ale talks about the imp...
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56:14

#46 - Norwegian Classical Music with Ola Nordal
This year, I made it a New Years' resolution for the channel that we'd finally start an honest effort in expanding the Nordic Sound into new and more diverse genres, and what better way to bring classical music back into the picture than by cha...
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1:00:07

#45 - Torulf on Musical Storytelling in Ristningar i Ginnungagap
Nordicsoundarchive.comFredrik returns to the Nordic Sound for his second appearance to talk about Torulf's recent record Ristningar i Ginnungagap and the stories that inspire his music. Along the way, we also talk about his earliest memo...
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1:07:29

#44 - Lassi Logrén on the Tagelharpa (Jouhikko) Tradition
Jameson and Jouhikko virtuoso Lassi Logrén celebrate Finnish independence day by talking about the Jouhikko/Tagelharpa tradition, Finnish folk music, and the Tagelharpa renaissance we’re experiencing outside of traditional folk circles. We also...
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1:31:54

#43 - Ville and Tommie
Finnish/Swedish(/Cornish?) duo Ville & Tommie join me in Nordic Sound #43 to talk about their uniquely freeform approach to performing Nordic folk music as an accordion and fiddle duo and their debut album "Stuffed Pockets". Along the way, ...
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1:09:13

#42 (Part Two) - What is Nordic Folk Music?
In part 2 of Nordic Sound #42, Jameson and Fredrik poke and prod at the thorny question of what folk music is, what makes something folk music, and what folk music means in a Nordic context with Fredrik contributing what he learned while writin...
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42:22

#42 - Trollstemt Documentary with Fredrik Akselsen
Join me as I dive deep into the history of Norway's folk music tradition with Fredrik Akselsen, acclaimed director of the series "Trollstemt" - a documentary I had been keeping tabs on since Mattias Thedens of Gangar first promoted it last year...
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54:28

#41 - Songleikr with Maria Franz and Ingrid Auné Falch
Jameson is joined by Maria Franz and Ingrid Aune Falch to talk about Songleikr's history with Midgardsblot and how important storytelling is as a part of Songleikr's music (and folk music in general). After taking us through their history with ...
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1:23:41

#40 - Kjell Braaten
In Nordic Sound #40, Jameson is joined by Kjell Braaten to talk about Kjell’s approach to skaldic performance and his recent collaboration on the beautiful Lithuanian sutartines project with Stuba and Skaidra Jančaité as part of an ongoing miss...
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1:38:16

#39 - Einar Selvik of Wardruna (Live at CU Boulder)
In this co-sponsored event between ByNorse and the University of Colorado Boulder's Ethnomusicology and Nordic Studies departments, Einar joins Jameson in front of a live audience to talk about the animist cosmology behind Wardruna's music, wha...
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1:02:49

#38 - Mari Boine
In this monumental installment of the Nordic Sound, Jameson is joined by Mari Boine to reflect on her childhood, the rise and influence of her career through Gula Gula, how she has come to be an influential icon to so many around the world, and...
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1:06:21

#37 - Jonas Lorentzen of Nebala
Jonas Lorentzen returns to the Nordic Sound to discuss what Nebala's been up to since last time we met. In this conversation, we have a retrospective on the debut album, and where Jonas wants to take Nebala's sound and vision from there. We als...
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1:10:47

#36 - Nils Edström of Hindarfjäll
(#35 with Rúnahild is only available on Youtube due to unfortunate audio issues on my end)Today I am joined once again by Nils Edström, the man behind Hindarfjäll perhaps best known for his performance of My Mother Told Me with Peter Fr...
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1:23:47

#34 - Espen Winther of Eldrim
In this very special Nordic Sound Channel interview, I sit down with Espen Winther of Eldrim for an exclusive early look at the new record "Daudrastev" as we preview and discuss each track before the album releases. Espen has long ...
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1:48:32
