Frigg specializes in the rich folk heritage from Finland and Norway. The musicians combine elements of their respective folk traditions with touches of American Appalachian bluegrass and country & western music.
The seven-piece band contains three young Järvelä, two sons and a daughter of the most famous fiddle family in Finland, whose fathers and uncles founded JPP, and two Larsen brothers, members of a comparable Norwegian Hardanger fiddle clan. The traditional sounds are then boosted with innovative arrangements, and combined with mandola, cittern, double bass, guitar and dobro.
Frigg has been impressing festival audiences in Scandinavia and creating a phenomenal sensation among listeners and fellow musicians. Their debut CD, Frigg, was co-produced by Timo Alakotila.
With Oasis, the Finnish/Norwegian string band returned with a great new set of inventive tunes. Using traditional music as the starting point and their family ties to the great Finnish fiddle ensemble JPP, creating remarkable string music that incorporates elements of bluegrass and other American folk influences.
While a few compositions on their second CD, are given some expanded instrumentation, the highlight remains strong tunes, such as the hauntingly beautiful title track, and the crowd-pleasing “Fantomen,” that was very well received when the band appeared on the American public radio program “A Prairie Home Companion” on October 1, 2005.
In 2012, Frigg released the critically-acclaimed Polka V, winenr of Finnish Folk Album of the Year.
In 2017, the band released 2017’s Frost on Fiddles, Songlines magazine s ‘Top of the World’ album.
In 2020, Frigg released their tenth album titled Frixx, presented on January 31 in Glasgow City Halls at the highly influential Celtic Connections festival. Frixx contains Nordgrass, a mix of Nordic folk and American bluegrass.
In 2023, Frigg released Perintö / Heritage. The lineup in 2023 included Tommi Asplund, Tero Hyväluoma, Alina Järvelä, and Esko Järvelä on fiddles and harmonium; Juho Kivivuori on bass, Topi Korhonen on guitar, and Petri Prauda on cittern and mandolin. They all contributed their vast musical expertise to create Perintö.
Discography
Frigg (2002)
Keidas-Oasis-Oase (2005)
Live (2007)
Economy Class (2008)
Grannen (Frigg Music, 2010)
Polka V (Sibelius Academy Folk Music Recordings, 2012)
Timeline, compilation (2014)
Frost On Fiddles (Frigg Records, 2017)
Frixx (Frigg Records, 2020)
Perintö / Heritage (2023)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.