Helene Blum was born in 1979 in Gelsted on the island of Funen, Denmark. She learned classical piano and violin at an early age and spent many hours performing music with her three sisters. She also sang and played Danish songs, and grew up with church music. At nineteen, she still wanted to be a pianist, but that’s when she discovered folk music. She explored traditional Danish music and felt the urge to delve into its roots.
In 2004, she was the first vocalist to graduate with a degree in folk music from the Carl Nielsen Academy in Odense (Funen). The next year, she received a Danish music award in the category Folk Debut of the Year for her first solo release. She finally achieved success as an artist in 2009 with her breakthrough album ‘En gang og altid’ (‘Once and always’) that received rave reviews from the Danish media.
In 2013, the Helene Blum & Harald Haugaard Band won the prestigious European folk music prize ‘Eiserner Eversteiner’. In 2017, the song ‘Friheden Station’, fro the album Dråber af tid (‘Droplets of time’) was a number one hit on Danish radio.
Together with her husband, fiddler Harald Haugaard, Helene has performed hundreds of concerts throughout Europe and North America.
Although she is currently known as a contemporary folk singer, Helene Blum has also worked in musical theater and the opera. Her sources of inspiration are contemporary poetry, art and Nordic myths as well as the natural landscape of her native island of Funen, with which she feels a deep-rooted connection.
Discography:
En sød og liflig klang (Go’ Danish Folk Music, 2006)
En Gang Og Altid (Pile House Records, 2009)
Liden Sol (Pile House Records, 2010)
Men Med Åbne Øjne (Pile House Records, 2012)
Julerosen (Westpark Music, 2016)
Dråber Af Tid (Pile House Records, 2017)
Strømmen (Galileo Music Communication, 2020)
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.