The Folk Music Podcast

✨NEW EPISODE✨ Andy Irvine has been an immensely influential folk singer and songwriter for more than 60 years. Through his work with bands like Sweeneys Men, Planxty and Patrick Street, he has been a central piece in shaping the sound of modern Celtic Music.

We spoke with Andy in Oslo just before his solo show at the lovely venue Riksscenen. The conversation revolves around his work as a songwriter, and the pivotal moments in his career that led him to the place he is today.

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✨NEW EPISODE✨ In a small coastal town almost as far south you can get in Norway, Lars Jakob Rudjord creates instrumental music that takes you to places you’ve never been before. Though often compared to the likes of Nils Frahm, Olafur Arnalds or Joep Beving, Lars Jakob Rudjord has most certainly established his very own sound in the modern classical world. His melodies are just as well inspired by classical music, as by Norwegian folk music and Nordic folklore.

In 2023 he will be releasing his fourth album called «Kjempe-Jo» a collection of original music inspired by the legendary dancer, brawler, and mystic Jon Olsen aka Kjempe-Jo (Giant John).

In our conversation we touch on a bunch of different topics like the relationship between different genres like classical, jazz and folk, ways to explore your voice as a composer, the piano as a folk music instrument, the challenges of approaching folk music coming from other genres, small town life as a musician and more!

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We’re happy to welcome Kristian Qvam Karlsvik Dugstad to The Folk Music Podcast 🎉 During this current season of the show, he will appear as a guest host on several episodes, the first of which is already out this week. He will also be involved in some of the work that goes on behind the scenes.

Kristian has a background as a radio journalist in NRK (the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation), and hosts the podcast Toora Loora together with Co-host Josh O’Loughlin (The Kilkennys, The Boxty Gang), talking about a single folk song in each episode.

He started playing Irish folk at the age of 17, and quickly fell in love with the music, culture and people of the Island. He has since been involved in several bands in Norway and Ireland, and also plays Scottish Bagpipes in Oslo Caledonian pipe band. He currently works at TONO, the public rights organization for composers and lyricists in Norway.

Kristian is a knowledgeable and passionate person, it’s great to have him on as part of the podcast-team 😊

Please check out our latest episode, featuring his interview with the amazing Irish Sean-nós singer Nell Ní Chrónín!

✨NEW EPISODE✨ Nell Ní Chróinín is one of the most prominent people in the world of traditional Irish Sean Nós singing. She has won numerous top prizes in traditional Irish music competition like the Fleadh Cheoil and An tOireachtas from the age of 12 and onwards. She was the youngest ever recipient to receive ‘TG4’s Gradam Ceoil Traditional Singer of the Year‘ award in 2012. Today she's both a teacher and a professional performing artist - solo and with the Irish band Danu!

In the episode she talks about her own journey in music, the history and regional styles of Sean nós, and its place in modern traditional Irish music.

Listen in favorite podcatcher ☺️🎧

✨NEW EPISODE✨Mejram is a Swedish folkpop band with an appealing blend of American, Celtic and Nordic flavours. Just like the herb they take their name from, Mejram is Swedish for Marjoram, their music is subtle, sweet and intriguing.

Their second album «From Town» came out earlier this year, and just like their first release «Mejram» (2019) it features captivating lyrics in both English and Swedish.

In this conversation with Gabriella Josefsson and Marcus Fenn from the band we speak about their approach to songwriting, production and recording, and reflections about working together as a band.

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Photo by Joar Lindberg

✨NEW EPISODE✨ Fiddle player Dave Sheridan has been a highly respected musician on the Irish scene for a number of years, well known for his energetic and warm approach to the traditional repertoire. Originally from Tubber in Co. Offaly, he now lives in Carlow where he his a vital part of the local traditional music scene.

He has released two brilliant albums with the band Raw Bar Collective and is currently out with a brand new duo album with whistle player and Piper Brian Hughes.

This conversation is recorded with a live audience at a small folk festival in Norway called «Irskhælj», and the conversation flows through many different topics, like different approaches to producing traditional music recordings, the difference between learning to play music now vs in the pre-internet era, regional styles vs personal style, his various musical projects and more!

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New episode out, feat. the amazing Scottish multi-instrumentalist Anna Massie! Check it out where you get your podcasts 🙂

This is the first episode of a ten episode season this autumn. Tune in for a new episode every Tuesday for the next ten weeks!

Guitar talk and Rumination, with Anna Massie — The Folk Music Podcast Multi-instrumentalist Anna Massie is one of Scotland’s most renowned traditional musicians, known for her work with Blazin Fiddles, RANT and Mairead Green among others.

✨ NEW EPISODE ✨Danish Accordion player Anders Trabjerg first came to Galway in the 1990s because of his deep interest in Irish Traditional music. There he met Japanese fiddler Mayo Yanachi, who had come for the same reason, and today they are a married couple with two kids. For many years now, they have been working as professional musicians in the city’s vibrant music scene.

I’ve been friends with Anders and Mayo for a long time, and it’s always nice to visit them and their lovely family whenever I’m in town!

In this conversation we talk about how they both decided to move to Ireland, about their first encounters with the music and the culture, they explain how their gigs as session hosts in the pubs of Galway works, we reflect on the role of Irish traditional music in Irish society today, we discuss the role that institutions have in music education and how they manage to combine family life with both being gigging musicians.

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✨ NEW EPISODE OUT NOW✨ Michael Barrett Donovan, originally from Northern California, moved to Norway from New York City in 2019 after finishing a masters degree in music composition and gigging within a wide array of musical genres. Since coming to Norway Michael has fronted the original-music-performing trio Buster Sledge with guitar player Jakob Folke Ossum and banjo player Mikael Jonassen, and immersed himself in the many folk fiddle-scenes that can be found around Oslo.

I speak with him and the rest of Buster Sledge at the Norwegian folk festival Folkemusikkveka the day after the release of their second album «Call Home»

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Photo by Nikolai Grasaasen

💥NEW EPISODE 💥 Americian fiddler Liz Knowles has been a prominent member of the Irish music scene worldwide for several decades. She’s been working with Cherish the Ladies, String Sisters and Martin Hayes Quartet, just to mention a few.

In addition to being a performer she is also a sought-after teacher, and it's her thoughts about practicing music that is the theme of this episode’s conversation.

Topics we touch on are, the concept og «single foucus», scheduling practice sessions, setting goals for your practice, the importance of giving your brain a break, how everyone’s goals are different, what goes in to having a «convincing sound», how to practice for speed, and more!

⭐️NEW EPISODE⭐️ This week I got to speak with Annbjørg Lien and Catriona MacDonald, who have been amongst the most exiting fiddlers on the traditional music scene for more than 30 years.

I recorded this conversation with Annbjørg and Catriona in Oslo prior to their duo show at the Norwegian national folk music venue, Riksscenen. We had an interesting chat, talking about their long relationship as friends an musical colleagues, the link between Shetland and Norway and the very important topic of gender representation and equality in the folk music scene

Photo by Knut Utler Foto

Hans Martin Austestad is a Norwegian singer, songwriter and producer. In addition to all of that, he is also one of the most innovative and knowledgeable banjo players on the Norwegian folk scene.⁣⁣
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In this week’s episode I have a conversation with him about how the banjo has shaped his musical career, and how it has led him down some very interesting and unexpected paths.
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Listen in your favorite pod catcher!

Photo by Johannes Selvaag
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Todays’s guest is Martin Green, member of the groundbreaking folk trio Lau and an accomplished composer and solo artist.⁣⁣
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I had a great time chatting with Martin, and we touched on a number of different topics, including what defines folk music for different people, creative techniques, band politics, approaching a band as an actual job, the current state of the music industry and lots of other things. The conversation jumps around quite a bit, but I find these episodes, where the conversation just flows naturally, to be the best ones!⁣⁣
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This episode is on the longer side, but it’s all very interesting stuff I think, Martin has a lot of great insight into these things and I’m sure you’ll find it valuable as well⁣⁣.

Listen in your fav podcatcher 🎧 😊

Photo by Genevieve Stevenson

NEW EPISODE OUT NOW, with English piano accordion player Karen Tweed 🪗✨Karen is known for her smooth, playful style on the piano box and is regarded as one of the finest performers of Irish Music on the instrument. ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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In this conversation we talk surprisingly little about the accordion, as we end up visiting a lot of different topics as diverse as creativity, art, role models, musical colors and cartoons(!)⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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Listen on your favorite podcast player or watch it on YouTube!
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This Friday we’re going live! Between 1430 and 1600 we’ll be recording a show at the Norwegian showcase festival FOLKELARM 🎻✨ ⁣
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Interviews, live music and good vibes are on the program this afternoon as we are joined by Trio Törn, Floating Sofa Quartet and Jeff Wasserman
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Open for everyone with a ticket to the festival. See you there!⁣
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✨NEW EPISODE OUT NOW ✨ In this one I’m joined by Norwegian fiddler and composer Bjørn Kåre Odde. He is one of the most exiting folk musicians in Norway at the moment and he has just released his debut solo album titled Folk Chamber.⁣⁣⁣
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I got to sit down with him right after his concert at Osafestivalen this weekend and we had an interesting conversation about his work and creative process. We also got into important topics like having the right mindset and how to stay sane while doing what he does!⁣⁣⁣
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Listen in your favorite podcast player!

We're back! Kicking of the second season of the show with legendary Swedish folk- and world musician Ale Möller. In this conversation we're focusing on Ale's approach to folk music and how he's able to maintain his own unique voice across all of his various projects.

This is a rather special episode to me, as I've been a fan of Ale's work for many years. He has been one of my biggest musical role models ever since I started dipping my toes into the strange waters of folk music.

There are many nuggets of wisdom in this episode. I certainly came away from our conversation feeling more curious about music and life, and I think you will too!

In episode 15, I’m speaking with Swedish folk guitarist Oskar Reuter. Oskar is a versatile musician who is currently in high demand on the Scandinavian folk scene. His work includes projects like Goodland trio and the newly formed Grit Quartet. Recently, he has also become a permanet member of the band Sver, one of the busiest folk bands in Scandinavia.

In August he released his first solo album, called «Current State», featuring a collection of mostly original tunes played on fingerstyle guitar. Highly recommended!

I had a great time chatting with Oskar about his approach to folk music, his guitar style, his journey from jazz into the folk world, his solo album, his experiences in learning the nyckelharpa, and a bunch of other things!

Check out episode 15 in your favorite podcast app, or watch it on YouTube!

In episode 14, I’m speaking with fiddler Lauren MacColl. Lauren hails from The Black Isle in the Scottish Highlands and she is considered one of the country’s most expressive fiddlers.
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I’m really impressed by her latest album called Landskein, in which she focuses on old Scottish airs with a minimalistic approach to both arrangements and production. The whole album is recorded in a place called Abriachan Hall – a small, crinkly tin-roofed building known for its fine acoustics and ceilidhs, high in the hills above Loch Ness. Highly recommend checking out the album!⁣⁣⁣
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I had a great time chatting with Lauren, who is a very thoughtful and reflective person, and I enjoyed learning about her creative process. We also spoke about the art of approaching old traditional material, whether it being in written or recorded form.⁣⁣⁣
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Check out episode 14 in your favorite podcast app or on YouTube!
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Big news for my Scandinavian audience! Next week I’ll be recording the very first episode of the Norwegian edition of the podcast; Folkemusikkpodden. I’ve had such a good time making content for The Folk Music Podcast this far, but sometimes I feel like certain topics related to the Norwegian scene would be easier to discuss in the Norwegian language.

The first five episodes will be a collaboration between me and the Norwegian folk music venue Riksscenen, where I will be speaking with musicians featured on their program. Really thankful for their support with getting this new show off the ground!

Some of the episodes will me recorded in front of a live audience, and I hope many of my Oslo-based listeners want to come and hang out with us when we tape the show.

The first episode are scheduled to be recorded at Oct 22, featuring Hardanger fiddle player G**o Kvifte Nesheim and her amazing band GKN5.
More info at the Riksscenen website.

And to my non-Scandinavian friends: don’t worry - The Folk Music Podcast will still be releasing episodes as usual. Some really great guests lined up for the upcoming weeks!

Thanks for listening ❤️
Anders

Norwegian fiddler Olav Luksengård Mjelva playing one of his original tunes as part of his appearance on The Folk Music Podcast.

Check out episode 12, entitled "A World of Folk Music, with Olav Luksengård Mjelva"

Video & Sound by Anders Lillebo

Fiddle Solo, by Olav Luksengård Mjelva Norwegian fiddler Olav Luksengård Mjelva playing one of his own tunes as a part of his feature on the Folk Music Podcast. Check out episode 12; A World of Fo...

In this episode I’m traveling to the Norwegian city Røros to speak with fiddler Olav Luksengård Mjelva. I’ve been a fan of Olav’s work for a long time, so it’s a real treat to be able to have him as a guest on the show.

Olav is one of the busiest fiddlers in Norway, with a touring schedule that few other folk musicians can match. He is a founding member of the Norwegian/Swedish ensemble Sver, which happens to be one of my favorite bands. Other projects include The Nordic Fiddlers Bloc, a trio specializing in Norwegian, Swedish and Shetland fiddle music, and the duo Erik Rydvall & Olav Luksengård Mjelva alongside Swedish Nyckelharpa virtuoso Erik Rydvall.

In out conversation we discuss his approach to musical collaborations, how to succeed as a touring musician and the importance of finding your own voice as a musician. We also talk about one of his newest projects; The Folk Music Academy, an online learning resource for folk music from around the world. We even touch on things like the future of CD sales in the folk scene!

I really enjoyed this conversation with Olav, and I hope you’ll enjoy listening to it as well.

Check out this amazing performance by Swedish Folk Percussionist Jens Linell from the recording of Episode 6; Exploring Scandinavian Rhythms!

While you're there, consider subscribing to the YouTube Channel. There you will find video editions of all the episodes, in addition to exclusive live performances like this one!

Tambourine Solo, by Jens Linell Swedish folk percussionist Jens Linell doing an impromptu performance on the tambourine as a part of his feature on the Folk Music Podcast. Check out episode...