Swedish folk rock pioneers GARMARNA have teamed up with Folk ‘n Rock for the premiere of their new single “Dagen Flyr”. Listen to the new song HERE.
GARMARNA comment: “This song goes way back. We’ve played it live for nearly twenty years or so, and to finally release it feels less like a reveal and more as if we are putting something right. Being a choral from the Swedish speaking parts of Estonia, the lyrics concerns old age, a goodbye to life and a welcome of sorts to the inevitable death. Obviously we didn’t really treat it as something as sombre. Rather, Stefan came up with a very catchy violin-tune and once we paired the vocal part with the instrumental, everything else pretty much played out by itself. Arranging a GARMARNA tune can often be a painful and stretched out process but not in this instance. Bass riff, drums, some acoustic guitars – done and dusted!”
‘Förbundet’ is slated for worldwide release via Season of Mist on November 6. Pre-sales are available in the Season of Mist shop HERE.
Video credits:
Artwork by Axel Torvenius
Film / Photography by Severus Tenenbaum
Video by Aimed and Framed
The cover artwork of ‘Förbundet’ was created by Axel Torvenius and can be viewed below, together with the tracklist.
Tracklist:
- Ramunder (04:58)
- Två Systrar (05:53)
- Dagen Flyr (03:51)
- Sven i Rosengård (05:24)
- Ur världen att gå (04:52)
- Vägskäl (04:56)
- Lussi Lilla (04:35)
- Avskedet (05:27)
- Din Grav (01:56)
Total: 0:41:52
More than 25 years in the making, Swedish folk rock pioneers GARMARNA continue to invent what music rooted in the Scandinavian tradition is about. The new album ‘Förbundet’, also the band’s debut to the new label Season of Mist, is a hard-hitting record that pushes the boundaries of traditional folk and defines the soul of GARMARNA.
The folk act started in 1990, formed by Stefan Brisland-Ferner, Gotte Ringqvist and Rickard Westman. Later in 1992, Jens Höglin joined and vocalist Emma Härdelin in 1993. Having toured extensively in Europe and the United States, GARMARNA celebrated international success with their mix of Swedish traditional folk music, electronica, and rock. The band was nominated for a Swedish Grammy three times and won the title ‘folk album of the year’ for the album ‘Guds Spelemän’ (1996).
After releasing the trip hop and rock influenced ‘Vedergällningen’, GARMARNA took a long hiatus – lasting almost 15 years – aside from a few small live appearances. Early 2016, the experimental folk rockers returned with their sixth full-length, aptly titled ‘6’. While focusing on their own abilities, the band also charted previously unexplored territories and cooperated with major Swedish artists such as Maxida Märak, Thåström, Annika Norlin.
In 2018, the five-piece began a Kickstarter campaign to fund their new record. The recording was completed a year later. The new full-length ‘Förbundet’ was produced by GARMARNA’s own Stefan Brisland-Ferner and Christopher Juul (HEILUNG, VALRAVN, EUZEN) and features guest appearances of Maria Franz (vocals on ”Två Systrar”), Anders Norudde (moraharpa on ”Ramunder”) and Ulf Gruvberg (vocals on ”Lussi Lilla”). ‘Förbundet’ will see the light of day on November 6, 2020.
One of the underlying themes of the record is facing the beauty of living and the beauty in saying goodbye. Some of the core songs on the record, consisting of ”Dagen Flyr”, ”Ur Världen Att Gå” and ”Avskedet”, spread their message of sorrow and letting go across all of the other songs.
Having always pushed to reinvent themselves with every record, GARMARNA does not shy away from modern, electronic influences on ‘Förbundet’. Simultaneously, the musicians also took a closer look at what they believe is the core of their music, calling it the most satisfying albums they have made so far. ‘Förbundet’is all about that soul, from start to finish.
Line-up:
Emma Härdelin: Vocals, violin
Stefan Brisland-Ferner: Violin, viola, hurdy gurdy, tagelharpa, electronics, backing vocals
Jens Höglin: Drums, electronics
Rickard Westman: Guitar, bass
Gotte Ringqvist: Guitar, violin, tagelharpa, backing vocals
Recording studio: DNA Studios Stockholm, Studio NEVO Sundsvall, Studio Cobra, Stockholm
Producer: Stefan Brisland-Ferner
Executive producer: Christopher Juul
Engineer: Stefan Brisland-Ferner (DNA Studios), Henrik Heinrich (Studio NEVO), Christian Gabel (Studio Cobra)
Mixing and mastering: Christopher Juul, Lava Studios
Recording line-up:
Emma Härdelin: Vocals, violin
Stefan Brisland-Ferner: Violin, Viola, Hurdy gurdy, Keyboards, Nordic bowed lyre, Kantele, Moraharpa, Mouth harp, Electronics, Electric guitar, Mandolin, Backing vocals
Gotte Ringqvist: Acoustic guitar, Hardanger fiddle, backing vocals
Rickard Westman: Electric guitar, Electric bass
Jens Höglin: Drums, Percussion, Electronics
Guest musicians:
Maria Franz (HEILUNG): Vocals on “Två Systrar
Anders Norudde: Moraharpa on “Ramunder”
Ulf Gruvberg: Vocals on “Lussi Lilla”
Links: https://linktr.ee/garmarna_official
Pre-orders: https://redirect.season-of-mist.com/garmarna-forbundet