Northern Resonance – Vision Of Three (Trad Records, 2024)
Swedish trio contemporary folk act Northern Resonance employs the entire globe as its musical playground. Following their Grammy-nominated debut album, Northern Resonance, in 2020, the trio, composed of Anna Ekborg Hans-Ers, Jerker Hans-Ers, and Petrus Dillner, unveils Vision Of Three an exquisite and enthralling collection of songs accompanied by an extensive world tour spanning four continents.
“Our first album consisted of a repertoire that we wrote together when we started playing together”, reflects Anna Ekborg Hans-Ers. ”It was also a test of how the instruments worked together in this unique setting”, adds Petrus Dillner. “Since then we’ve been exploring this deeply over time, and through that we’ve become more comfortable with our way of writing and arranging.”
The evolution extends beyond compositions and arrangements; the sound has taken a novel, flavorful direction. Influenced by an extended recording process and sound engineer Jeroen Geerinck, who became an integral part of the creative process, the finely crafted album exhibits a laboriously produced, almost pop-like quality. Anna emphasizes, “This record is more labored, produced as if it were a pop record. There was something more traditional about the first record; recorded live, no overdubs, a very acoustic record. This time we really produced and found out how we got the best out of these instruments and the band.”
As Northern Resonance tours globally, there’s a discernible surge in interest in instrumental and Nordic folk music. Their live performances exude explosive energy, with audience perceptions varying based on location. Jerker Hans-Ers notes, “Some people who hear us think very much about early music or chamber music, others about Swedish folk music, which they are very passionate about. As soon as you leave Sweden, the instruments become very exotic too, both the sound of them and the way they look. Not many people have encountered these instruments, I would say.”
Interest in folk music is burgeoning globally, breaking traditional confines and infiltrating concert halls and nightclubs. Vision of Three encapsulates this genre-blurring phenomenon as a new generation embraces the diverse facets of folk music.
Anna observes the changing landscape, stating, “We have noticed that many people have started to reach out more with folk music. New generations see that it is so broad, that there is both this archive music, older fiddlers, the solo traditions, but that there is also a more modern interpretation. And that there is this community and the whole subculture that comes with it. So it also feels like there are many people who are very positively surprised and discover a world that is quite different from what they might have thought initially.”
Musicians: Petrus Dillner on nyckelharpa; Anna Ekborg Hans-Ers on viola d’amore; and Jerker Hans-Ers on Hardanger fiddle.
I must add that I don’t get the blurry photography of the musicians inside the CD booklet.
Buy Vision Of Three.
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.