I believe many of our internationally known Finnish musicians have studied at the Sibelius Academy, which is a highly acclaimed music university in the fields of folk, jazz and classical music. How’s the music education system in Finland and why do you think there are so many talented musicians? We are very pleased to see Frixx among the top 40 albums of “Best of 2019-2020 Season” of Transglobal World Music Chart!įinland is a relatively small country, but it has a thriving music scene in terms of traditional and contemporary folk music as well as tango, jazz, rock, etc. When we plan for new repertoire we can still say to each other: “We’ve never done this or that kind of tune before. I believe we share among ourselves a strong vision of what’s “the Frigg sound” and how we want the band to sound like, especially when we’re testing new material and bringing in new tunes. Early Bird is the first single from the album and it’s as high energy journey through sonic Frigg landscapes as you can get! Perhaps a bit more “good ol’ Frigg style” can be heard on Juhlamarssi, Jouko-Taiga and VEP. Saatto is another epic multi-layered tune, performed only with the fiddles. polska tune with both rocking AND cinematic arrangement… Another really cinematic tune is Overtyyri. There’s again some stuff on FriXX with completely new approach to us, such as Maanitus, a minimalistic repetitive tune, or Varpunen, a trad. The music on FriXX is written by Esko, Tero and me. They became part of Frigg a few years ago. Our newest members are Juho Kivivuori (double bass) and Anssi Salminen (guitar). The other two fiddlers Tommi Asplund and Tero Hyväluoma have been in the band since 2006. There’s three of us from the original line-up: siblings Alina and Esko Järvelä on fiddle and myself on mandolin and cittern. Who plays on it?įriXX is our 20th year anniversary album and 9th studio recording. Dynamics, phrasing, timbre, groove, rhythmic microtiming and of course tightly synchronized interplay between the instruments all affect the flow and help to create a special atmosphere or a “storyline” or inner universe inside a tune – this is especially significant with instrumental tunes when there’s no vocals with lyrics. We have worked a lot with the compositions and interpretation on how the energy of the music flows. As we have grown as musicians – and human beings – so have new influences seeped in our music naturally from everything we listen to and like. Nevertheless, I’d like to think we have expanded our palette with new compositions and arrangements during these 20 years. We often perform tunes from almost all our albums. The musical concept behind Frigg’s sound has been bright and clear from the start really. How did Frigg’s musical ideas evolve over the years from your first album to your most recent recording FriXX? We mostly perform our own original tunes. There’s the frontline of four fiddles accompanied by guitar, double bass and mandolin – and tight interplay between all the instruments. Frigg’s music is energetic fusion folk music from Finland with deep roots in the Kaustinen fiddle style and elements from Nordic, Celtic and American musical traditions. Shortly put: big fiddle sound with plucked strings accompaniment. What do you consider to be the essential elements of your music? The band’s mandolinist talked to us about Frigg’s background and the new recording. Your Connection to traditional and contemporary World Music, including folk, roots, global music, ethno and crosscultural fusionsĮxtraordinary Finnish fiddle band Frigg is celebrating its 20th anniversary with yet another fantastic album titled FriXX.
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